Cyndi Lauper's Real Name: Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper

Quick answer: Cyndi Lauper's real name is Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper. She was born on June 22, 1953, in Brooklyn (Ozone Park / Queens area), New York, and performs as Cyndi Lauper—a spelling variant of Cynthia.

Birth name and early career

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper grew up in Queens. She sang in cover bands and the group Blue Angel before her solo breakthrough. "Cyndi" is the familiar short form of Cynthia; she did not invent an unrelated alias (Britannica; Songwriters Hall of Fame; LOC).

Her 1983 debut solo album She's So Unusual made her the first female artist to place four top-five singles from a debut on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop," and "All Through the Night" (Billboard; Songwriters Hall of Fame).

Music, acting, and advocacy

Lauper won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist (1985). Later hits include "True Colors" (1986). She acted on television and film and wrote music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots (with Harvey Fierstein), which won the Tony Award for Best Score among other honors (Songwriters Hall of Fame; Britannica).

She is also known for LGBTQ+ advocacy and the True Colors Fund / related campaigns tied to her 1986 hit. She has continued touring and releasing music into the 2010s and 2020s, including memoir Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir (Billboard artist page).

She's So Unusual CD/vinyl remaster Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir Kinky Boots original Broadway cast recording