Once upon a time, Cyndi Lauper was on top of the world. She was one of the fiercest pop music queens of the ‘80s thanks to killer songs like “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” Thanks to her infectiously fun beats and wildly clever lyrics, you might think that Lauper has always had a relatively easy life. That’s not really true, though: like far too many pop queens, Lauper led a very tragic life before she became famous.
Sadly, even fame wasn’t enough to protect the singer from tragedy. From her earliest career moments to a devastating health diagnosis later in life, Lauper has had more trauma than most of her pop star colleagues combined. Just what made Cyndi Lauper’s life so not-so-beautifully tragic? Keep reading to find out!
Surviving a traumatic childhood
Many musicians are what the kids call “nepo babies.” In other words, they had famous parents and never had to worry about money. Moreover, they were almost certain to follow in their parents’ footsteps and become rich and famous in their own right. However, Cyndi Lauper’s childhood was anything but privileged. She didn’t have the blessing of famous parents, and she underwent tragic abuse on a regular basis.
Growing up in the perfectly normal, working-class neighborhood of Ozone Park in Queens, Lauper seemed like she’d have a relatively normal childhood. Unfortunately, her dad left when she was only 10 years old, leaving the singer to face abandonment issues at a very young age. Her mother married another man, one who was reportedly described as a “violent bully.” All of this tragedy came to a head when her stepfather allegedly tried to sexually assault both Lauper and her sister; when the creep peeped on a young Lauper in the shower, she left home at the tender age of 17.
Cyndi Lauper blew out a vocal cord
After Cyndi Lauper left home, things got pretty bleak. All she could find were low-paying jobs, and when she didn’t have enough money to eat, she’d perform on street corners for spare cash. She had to terminate an unplanned pregnancy, and when she hitchhiked, she was forced to perform unwanted sexual acts. At one point, she was even assaulted by one of the bandmates she thought she could trust.
Cyndi Lauper’s incredible voice would eventually lift her out of poverty and into the limelight. However, about a decade before her career really took off, she nearly sabotaged her future by doing the one thing every singer fears: she blew out a vocal chord! Her voice gave out during a couple of major performances in the ‘70s, but it always came back. Eventually, her doctor confirmed that she had blown out a chord.
While this incident was scary, it also changed Lauper’s life for the better. She blew her vocal chord out singing hard-rocking tunes like “I’ve Got the Music in Me.” As she recovered, the musician realized she was better off singing pop music than hard rock, which is how she’d eventually sing such boppy tunes as “Time After Time!”
She had a heartbreaking career trajectory
As you’ve read about Cyndi Lauper’s traumatic early life, you’ve likely been clinging to the hope that things get better. She’s one of the most famous singers of the ‘80s, so everything must have worked out for her, right? Well…not exactly. At first, she was playing with a band (Blue Angel), and she blew off an early offer to kickstart her solo career. The band’s first album flopped, and they fired their manager; when he sued for $80,000, Lauper didn’t have the money to defend herself, so she was forced to file for bankruptcy.
After that, things got better for a time. Cyndi Lauper’s belated solo debut album, She’s So Unusual, generated four hit songs (including “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”) and made her into a household name. Sophomore album True Colors was, like the previous album, a multi-platinum hit. But her third album (A Night To Remember) was, ironically, completely unmemorable and was widely panned by critics. Around this time, she broke off things with her manager and her boyfriend and even considered taking her own life!
A devastating diagnosis
Unfortunately, fate had one more wild curveball to throw at Cyndi Lauper. While touring, she felt a nasty scalp pain, but she thought this was caused by the hair dye she had so recently used. Eventually, she got the bad news: her doctor diagnosed her with psoriasis. This caused pain up and down her entire body and threatened her ability to tour. After all, it’s hard to rock out when you just want to rest in bed all day!
We only know about the singer’s struggle because she decided to tell the world her story. In searching for psoriasis solutions, she eventually got a coffee enema with a nasty side effect: it killed her voice. Fortunately, the singer eventually found a better solution, but it suppressed her immunity. Still, she thinks the trade-off is worth it, and she speaks about psoriasis and her struggles whenever possible, helping to raise awareness of this important condition.