Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and activist. Over the course of her 40-year career, she has firmly established herself as a pop culture icon. Her well-deserved success stems from a difficult childhood and youth. Escaping from an abusive stepfather, a 17-year-old Lauper first traveled to Canada and then to Vermont, where she took art classes and worked various odd jobs to support herself. She began her singing career by performing with several cover bands, and later teamed up with saxophonist John Turi to form the band Blue Angel. After the group's breakup, she launched her solo career with the 1983 release of her debut album ‘She’s So Unusual’, which became a massive success and established her as a star. Since then, she has released ten additional albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, including more than 20 million albums and 30 million singles. Lauper is one of the few performers to have won three of the four major American entertainment awards—earning two Grammys, one Emmy, and one Tony Award. Dubbed by AllMusic’s Lindsay Planer (not Planner) as “an iconoclastic vocalist who revolutionized the role of women in rock and roll,” Lauper has been inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is also credited with helping to bring punk and new wave music into the mainstream American pop landscape. As an activist, she is a lifelong supporter of women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights, founding the True Colors United organization to address youth homelessness, particularly among LGBTQ+ youth.