Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an iconic American Grammy Award-winning singer and Emmy Award-winning film, television and theatre actress. Her melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s and New Wave — the decade and genre in which she first came to fame. A high-profile star of the early MTV Era, Lauper was born in Ozone Park, New York, to Fred Lauper and Catrine Dominique, a waitress. Her father was of German and Swiss descent and her mother was Italian American (Sicilian, precisely). She has a sister (Elen) and a brother (Frank). At the age of 12, she learned how to play the guitar and started writing her own lyrics. She soon dropped out of high school and traveled to Canada, then returned to New York at a later time. In the mid-seventies Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands (such as "Doc West" and "Flyer") in the New York metropolitan area, singing hits by bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin,...This information was automatically generated from Freebase article Cyndi Lauper. You should replace/update it...