Cyndi Lauper (b. 1953)

Talk to Cyndi Lauper

Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI

Biography

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range, Lauper has sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has also been celebrated for her humanitarian work, particularly as an advocate for LGBTQ rights in the United States.

In Their Own Words (3)

"...I'm a recovering Catholic. … There's, y'know, the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of Mercy, and it just so happens that I was with the Sisters of No Charity and No Mercy at All."

"When you take a group of people and you repress them and they cut themselves off from their feelings as a human - and a human being has sexual feelings, has bodily feelings - what you are handing over to children is a monster. Because if you are not connected to who you are in your heart, and you don't understand and have compassion for yourself, how in the wide world of sports are you gonna have compassion with forty screaming children?" , 1996

on tolerance of gays: "You always have to remember - no matter what you're told - that God loves all the flowers, even the wild ones that grow on the side of the highway."

1996

"It is not a dirty word, "feminism." I just think that women belong in the human population with the same rights as everybody else. … The problem is, "A feminist looks like this, or is like that." We are taught not to like ourselves as women, we are taught what we're supposed to look like, what our measurements are supposed to be. I never hear what measurements men are supposed to be. Just women."

1996

Timeline

The story of Cyndi Lauper, told in moments.

1953 Birth

Born Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents divorced when she was five. She started singing at 12, using her mother's acoustic guitar to teach herself.

Did singing at 12 feel like escape from a broken home? What did your mother's guitar mean to you?

1983 Event

Released She's So Unusual, the first debut album by a woman to produce four top-five singles. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" became a feminist anthem. "Time After Time" hit No. 1.

Did you intend 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' as a feminist anthem? What does that song mean to you now?

1984 Event

Won the Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Female Video at the first MTV Video Music Awards. She was 31.

How did it feel to win Best New Artist? Did MTV change your career or did you change MTV?

2013 Event

Wrote the music for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. It won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. She was the first solo woman to win the Tony for Best Score.

Why write a Broadway musical about drag queens? What does the Tony mean to you?

2021 Legacy

Founded True Colors United, an organization addressing homelessness among LGBTQ youth. Lauper has been one of the most vocal celebrity advocates for LGBTQ rights since the 1990s.

Why did LGBTQ advocacy become so important to you? What drove you to found True Colors United?