Grammy-Winning Musician
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$30 Million
"I'm not gonna worry about what people think about me. I'm too busy. I don't give a hoot." Cyndi Lauper has become something of an entertainment icon during her career. As one of the greatest female rock and rollers of all time, as ranked by Rolling Stone and VH1, Lauper has established herself as a musician to remember. While Lauper has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, she has become so much more than just a musician.
Lauper has come closer than any other singer to earning the coveted EGOT award, winning an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony Award. If Lauper wins an Oscar before she retires, she'll be one of the most decorated entertainers of all time. With that being said, Lauper is still immensely successful in the acting world as well as the musical world. In her acting career, Lauper has appeared in 65 projects including her Emmy-winning performance on Mad About You (1992). Lauper has also been celebrated as an advocate, activist, and humanitarian. She would receive a special invitation to President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.
A Wild Childhood
Cyndi Lauper was born on June 22, 1953, in Brooklyn, NY. She was raised in a Catholic household by her father, Fred, and her mother, Catrine. Lauper had a younger brother named Fred and an older sister named Ellen. Her parents would divorce when Lauper was just five-years-old before remarrying and subsequently divorcing a second time.
During her childhood, Lauper would grow up in the Ozone Park neighborhood in Queens. She fell in love with music at a young age and by the time that she was 12, she was writing her own songs on an old guitar that her sister had given her. Lauper cites Judy Garland and the Beatles as being two influential artists during her childhood.
As an eccentric childhood, Lauper was never afraid to try something different. She was always wearing a new color of hair or even crazier clothing. Due to her outgoing and unashamedly different style, Lauper would find herself bullied by her classmates. Lauper would get expelled from Richmond High School, but she would still go on to earn her GED. When she was 17 years old, Lauper would leave home due to problems with her stepfather. She would spend a few weeks in the woods in Canada, along with her dog Sparkle, before settling down in Vermont. Lauper would attend Johnson State College while working a multitude of odd jobs in order to support herself.
Becoming a Rock Star
During the early 70s, Lauper began performing with a variety of cover bands. She would end up injuring her vocal cords during a show in 1977 and this would force the young star to take a year off from using her singing voice. She was warned that she would probably never sing again. Thanks to coaching by Katie Agresta, Lauper was able to regain her prior form. Had she not gotten her voice back, who knows what Lauper could be doing today.
Lauper would release her solo album, She's So Unusual in 1983. The record would become an instant chart-topper as it went on to sell 6 million copies in the United States alone. Lauper's lead single was titled, 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' and it would quickly become a cultural anthem. The music video for the song would send Lauper straight up the charts at MTV. Lauper would drop a string of mega-hits in the time following including 'Time After Time' and 'She Bop'. In 1984, Lauper would in a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. A year later, Lauper would appear as an extra in the hit film The Goonies after recording a song for the soundtrack.
As 1986 came around, fans would find Lauper releasing her sophomore record, True Colors. While True Colors didn't replicate the success from Lauper's first album, it still sold more than seven million records around the world. Lauper would land her feature film debut in 1988 in the film Vibes with Jeff Goldblum. While the film was poorly received, it would give Lauper the acting bug that would follow her for years to come. Following her downward trend, Lauper would release her third record in 1989 to even worse sales. While Lauper still had a following, she was starting to struggle. Fortunately, Lauper had other doors opening up for her.
Lauper would turn her focus to acting in a sincerer way after scoring a recurring role on Mad About You in 1995. The series starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt. Lauper would win an Emmy while working on the series. She would follow that role up with appearances on hit shows, That's So Raven and Bones. Lauper still continued to make music, releasing Hatful of Stars in 1993. The album failed commercially but it received rave critical reviews. The album explored serious topics including homophobia and domestic abuse. Lauper would release a compilation album in 1995, and she would follow that up with a full-length record in 1997 titled, Sisters of Avalon.
Lauper would take a break from recording music until 2003's At Last which consisted of a collection of pap tracks. She would drop another album in 2008 titled Bring Ya to the Brink. Bring Ya to the Brink would score a Grammy nomination for the track, 'High and Mighty'. Lauper would stretch her musical skills even further when she released a blues-inspired album titled Memphis Blues in 2010. That album would go on to become the bestselling blues album of 2010.
With her music at a standstill, Lauper would release her memoir, Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir in 2012. She would then head to Broadway in order to write music for an adaptation of the book Kinky Boots by Harvey Fierstein. The play would win six Tony Awards which included Best Original Score, Bets Musical, and Best Leading Man. Buoyed by her success on stage, Lauper would return to music in order to release a country album titled Detour (2016). The record featured Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Jewel, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris.
While Lauper has earned acclaim for her entertainment work, she has done more than her fair share of work as an activist. Lauper is an outspoken LGBT+ activist, and she has campaigned all over the world for gay rights. Lauper would establish the True Colors tour for Human Rights starting in 2007. Every ticket sold would have proceeds donated to advocacy groups and charities for equality. Lauper would continue her ascent up the ladder of advocacy with a contribution to The Huffington Post in 2008 which was simply titled, 'Hope'. The article would get the attention of President Barack Obama, and she would later perform at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Cyndi Lauper is married to David Thornton and the two have been together since the late 80s. Thornton and Lauper share one child together. Lauper most recently performed at WorldPride NYC 2019 where she was backed by Thomas Wilkins and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. She is currently working on new music and most recently appeared on the 2018 television show, Magnum P.I.
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