Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and LGBT activist. Her debut solo album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut female album to chart four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop," and "All Through the Night"—earning her the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for The Goonies and her second album True Colors (1986), which included the number one hit "True Colors" and "Change of Heart," which peaked at number three.
Since 1989, Lauper has released nine studio albums and participated in many other projects. In 2010, Memphis Blues became Billboard's most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 consecutive weeks. In 2013, she won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, becoming the first woman to win the category alone. The musical won five other Tonys, including Best New Musical. In 2014, Lauper received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording, and in 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards.
Lauper has sold over 50 million albums and 20 million singles, winning awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, MTV Video Music Awards, Billboard Awards, and American Music Awards. She is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has won three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). She won the inaugural Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," a video recognized as one of the greatest of the era. Her debut album is included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and "Time After Time" is on VH1's list of the 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years. VH1 ranked her number 58 among the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. She also appeared in the first WWE WrestleMania, managing wrestler Wendi Richter who won the WWF Women's Championship in 1985.
Lauper is noted for her humanitarian work, particularly advocating for gay and transgender rights in the United States. In 2013, she was invited as a special guest to attend President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration in recognition of her charitable efforts.
United States
