Cyndi Lauper was known throughout the ’80s for her daring and experimental fashion choices. When she hit the scene with her smash hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, scores of girls followed her fashion lead. Cyndi’s style is not for the faint of heart. She has an irreverent fashion sense that doesn’t follow any rules. She mixed, matched and clashed colors, patterns, textures and styles to create unique looks that were 100% “her.”
Lauper grew up in Queens, New York. An indifferent student, she eventually dropped out of high school, and for the next several years, she worked at a number of assorted jobs and sang popular songs in nightclubs. After she suffered an injury to her vocal chords in 1977, she began to study under a vocal coach. That same year she and fellow musician John Turi formed the rockabilly band Blue Angel, and for the first time, Lauper publicly performed songs that she had had a hand in writing. Critics praised Lauper’s piercing and multihued vocals, and the band won a recording contract and released an eponymous album in 1980 on the Polydor label. Commercial success eluded them, however, and in 1982 Blue Angel was dissolved.
Lauper’s distinctive voice and charmingly quirky persona helped her to quickly rebound, and in 1983 her first solo album, She’s So Unusual, was released on the CBS imprint Portrait Records. It included the effervescent single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the popularity of which was enhanced by its supporting video, which became an MTV favorite. The chart-topping album spawned other hit singles, among them the ballad “Time After Time.” At the 1984 Grammy Awards, She’s So Unusual was a nominee for album of the year, and Lauper won the award for best new artist.
Although subsequent albums, including True Colors (1986) and Hat Full of Stars (1993), failed to ignite the charts, Lauper remained an enduring pop icon and appeared regularly on television variety programs and talk shows. She also took guest roles on television, notably on several episodes of the 1990s sitcom Mad About You—which garnered her an Emmy in 1991—and in episodes (2009–13) of the crime show Bones.
Cyndi Lauper was a vocal advocate for the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender people. In 2008 she cofounded the True Colors Fund, which supported those communities.
Lauper grew up in Queens, New York. An indifferent student, she eventually dropped out of high school, and for the next several years, she worked at a number of assorted jobs and sang popular songs in nightclubs. After she suffered an injury to her vocal chords in 1977, she began to study under a vocal coach. That same year she and fellow musician John Turi formed the rockabilly band Blue Angel, and for the first time, Lauper publicly performed songs that she had had a hand in writing. Critics praised Lauper’s piercing and multihued vocals, and the band won a recording contract and released an eponymous album in 1980 on the Polydor label. Commercial success eluded them, however, and in 1982 Blue Angel was dissolved.
Lauper’s distinctive voice and charmingly quirky persona helped her to quickly rebound, and in 1983 her first solo album, She’s So Unusual, was released on the CBS imprint Portrait Records. It included the effervescent single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the popularity of which was enhanced by its supporting video, which became an MTV favorite. The chart-topping album spawned other hit singles, among them the ballad “Time After Time.” At the 1984 Grammy Awards, She’s So Unusual was a nominee for album of the year, and Lauper won the award for best new artist.
Although subsequent albums, including True Colors (1986) and Hat Full of Stars (1993), failed to ignite the charts, Lauper remained an enduring pop icon and appeared regularly on television variety programs and talk shows. She also took guest roles on television, notably on several episodes of the 1990s sitcom Mad About You—which garnered her an Emmy in 1991—and in episodes (2009–13) of the crime show Bones.
Cyndi Lauper was a vocal advocate for the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender people. In 2008 she cofounded the True Colors Fund, which supported those communities.
