Cindy Lauper Mini Biography

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American Grammy- and Emmy-award winning singer-songwriter and actress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first artist to have four top-five singles released from one album. Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40 singles, selling more than 25 million albums and singles worldwide. She continues to tour the world in support of human rights.

Lauper was born to Fred and Catrine Lauper in Queens, New York and raised in Queens. Her mother uses the stage name, "Catrine Dominique" for the music videos in which she has appeared. Her father was of Swiss descent and her mother was Italian American (from Campania).

When Lauper was five, her parents divorced, and her mother moved with the three children to Ozone Park. Lauper's mother remarried, divorced again, and went to work as a waitress trying to support her children. It was during this time that Lauper began listening to artists like Judy Garland, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Beatles. Her mother encouraged her independence and creativity. At the age of twelve, Lauper learned how to play an acoustic guitar, which her sister had given her, and she started to write her own lyrics. She had a great love of art and music and tried to find ways to express herself. Even at this early age, Lauper started dyeing her hair different colors and wearing radical fashions. Lauper was accepted in a special public high school for students with talent in the visual arts, but she was held back and eventually dropped out, earning her GED sometime later. At the age of seventeen, she left home, planning to study art. Her journey would take her to Canada, where she spent two weeks in the woods with her dog, Sparkle, trying to find herself. She eventually wound up in Vermont, where she took art classes at Johnson State College. She supported herself by working at various odd jobs. Feeling homesick, she eventually returned to Ozone Park.

In the mid-70s, Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands (such as Doc West and Flyer, who still perform under the names Gap Wilson Band and Red, White and Blues Band) in the New York metropolitan area, singing hits by bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Bad Company. Even though Lauper was now performing on stage, she was not happy singing cover songs. In 1977, Lauper damaged her vocal cords and took a year off. She was told by three doctors that she would never sing again. Her friends told her to see a vocal coach, which led her to Katie Agresta, who helped Lauper regain her voice by teaching her proper vocal exercises.