Cyndi Lauper Biography Quotes 13 Report mistakes

Early Life and Influences
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper was born on June 22, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up mostly in the Queens neighborhood of Ozone Park. Her mother, Catrine, an Italian American who later appeared in several of her daughter's music videos, encouraged creativity and resilience after divorcing Cyndi's father, Fred Lauper, who was of Swiss-German descent. Cyndi began writing songs and playing guitar as a young teenager, absorbing the sounds of the Beatles, Judy Garland, Motown, and early folk and blues. Leaving home in her late teens, she worked odd jobs, studied art, and sang in clubs, determined to find a musical path that matched her distinctive voice and irreverent style.

First Bands and Blue Angel
In the late 1970s, Lauper's first serious projects included singing in hard-touring cover bands and then co-founding Blue Angel with saxophonist and songwriter John Turi. Managed for a time by Steve Massarsky, Blue Angel released a self-titled album in 1980 that showcased Lauper's elastic soprano and theatrical phrasing. Critical notices were promising, but the band struggled commercially and became mired in legal disputes; the fallout, including a lawsuit, led Lauper to declare bankruptcy. She returned to waitressing and singing in small clubs to protect her voice, but the experience strengthened her resolve and sharpened her sense of artistic independence.

Breakthrough: She's So Unusual
Lauper's solo break came after she connected with manager David Wolff, who helped secure a deal with Portrait/Epic. Producer Rick Chertoff assembled a collaborative studio team, including engineer and bassist William Wittman and members of the Hooters, notably Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian. The resulting album, She's So Unusual (1983), fused new wave, pop, and a downtown New York sensibility. Girls Just Want to Have Fun, originally written by Robert Hazard, became a feminist-spirited pop anthem; the colorful video, with professional wrestler Captain Lou Albano playing her father and Catrine appearing as herself, became a signature of the MTV era. Time After Time, co-written with Rob Hyman, reached No. 1 and showcased Lauper's tenderness as a storyteller. She Bop, co-written with Stephen Broughton Lunt, Gary Corbett, and Rick Chertoff, stirred PMRC-era controversy without dimming its chart power, and All Through the Night introduced audiences to her interpretive gifts. She's So Unusual made Lauper the first woman to score four top-five U.S. singles from a debut album and won her the Grammy for Best New Artist.

Icon, Videos, and Rock 'n' Wrestling
Lauper's look, two-tone hair, thrift-store glamour, and humor, was immortalized in photography by Annie Leibovitz and in visually inventive videos that earned multiple MTV honors. Her collaboration with MTV extended to the World Wrestling Federation, where she joined the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" promoted by Wolff. She appeared ringside for matches featuring Wendi Richter and brought Albano and other wrestlers into her videos, helping to fuse pop, television, and sports entertainment in the mid-1980s. She also recorded The Goonies 'R' Good Enough for Richard Donner's 1985 film, creating another video spectacle threaded with her mother's cameos and wrestling personalities.

True Colors and Late-1980s Work
Her second album, True Colors (1986), broadened her palette. The title track, written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, became a career-defining ballad and an enduring anthem of acceptance that Lauper made unmistakably her own. Change of Heart added dance-rock energy, with the Bangles contributing backing vocals. In 1989 she released A Night to Remember, featuring I Drove All Night, another Steinberg-Kelly composition that highlighted her dramatic range. The late 1980s underscored Lauper's durability beyond her debut's blast of fame.

1990s to 2000s: Reinvention and Collaboration
Throughout the 1990s, Lauper mixed social commentary with pop craft. Hat Full of Stars (1993) tackled difficult themes and included Sally's Pigeons, co-written with Mary Chapin Carpenter. The best-of set Twelve Deadly Cyns (1994) introduced new audiences to her work, including the reggae-tinged Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun). Sisters of Avalon (1996) explored electronic textures and global influences. In the 2000s she moved fluidly among projects: At Last (2003) interpreted standards; The Body Acoustic (2005) reimagined her hits with guest artists such as Sarah McLachlan and Shaggy; Bring Ya to the Brink (2008) found her collaborating with contemporary dance producers and returning to the club charts with Into the Nightlife. With Memphis Blues (2010), she partnered with celebrated musicians from the blues world and topped genre charts, demonstrating her range as a stylist and historian of American music. Detour (2016) saluted classic country with affection and verve.

Acting and Television
Lauper pursued acting alongside music. She co-starred with Jeff Goldblum and Peter Falk in the 1988 film Vibes and later appeared in Off and Running (1991), where she met actor David Thornton. On television, her recurring role as Marianne Lugasso on Mad About You earned her an Emmy Award in 1995, adding to her stature as a multi-talented entertainer comfortable with comedy and character work.

Stage, Kinky Boots, and Awards
A major creative turn arrived when Lauper composed the score for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, adapted by Harvey Fierstein from the British film and staged by director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Opening in 2013, the show was a hit, and Lauper became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score without a co-writer. The production's star, Billy Porter, delivered a Tony-winning performance that helped carry Lauper's songs to audiences worldwide, and the musical's subsequent West End run extended its international footprint. The project affirmed her skill as a dramatist, able to write character-driven music while retaining her melodic flair.

Advocacy and Philanthropy
Lauper has long advocated for LGBTQ rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, and youth homelessness prevention. Her hit True Colors became an emblem of dignity and inclusion; the True Colors Tour gathered artists in support of equality; and in 2008 she co-founded the True Colors Fund, later known as True Colors United, to address homelessness among LGBTQ youth. She worked closely with her longtime manager Lisa Barbaris and a network of partners and advocates to build programs, raise funds, and influence public policy. Beyond her foundation, she has lent her platform to numerous causes, reflecting her belief that pop success carries civic responsibilities.

Personal Life
Lauper married David Thornton in 1991, and they welcomed their son, Declyn, in 1997. Catrine, her mother, remained a beloved presence in her life and art for decades, appearing in early videos and inspiring essays in Lauper's 2012 memoir, written with journalist Jancee Dunn. Lauper has spoken candidly about career highs and lows, vocal health, and the importance of family and trusted collaborators in sustaining a long artistic life.

Legacy
Cyndi Lauper's legacy rests on a union of voice, image, and empathy. She helped define the visual language of 1980s pop while writing and interpreting songs that prize individuality and heart. Key creative relationships, with Rob Hyman and Rick Chertoff in the studio; with photographers like Annie Leibovitz; with theatrical partners Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Mitchell; and with managers David Wolff and later Lisa Barbaris, shaped distinct chapters of her career. As an artist who has earned Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Awards, she bridged music, television, and theater without surrendering the exuberant outsider spirit that first made her famous. Her catalog, from Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Time After Time to the anthemic True Colors and the stage-ready Kinky Boots, continues to resonate across generations, affirming her place as a singular American musician and storyteller.

Our collection contains 13 quotes who is written by Cyndi, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Music - Equality - God.