Lauper has released over 40 singles, and as of 2011 had sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and 1 million DVDs and 20 million singles, making her one of the best selling artists of all time.

At the age of twelve, Lauper learned how to play an acoustic guitar, which her sister had given to her, and she started to write her own lyrics.

Music critics that saw Lauper perform with Blue Angel thought that she had star potential since she had a wide singing range ( four octaves ), perfect pitch, and a vocal style all her own.

Lauper knew she could write songs, but the record company had a lot of material they wanted her to record.

Steven Spielberg had asked Lauper to be the musical director of his latest film The Goonies, an adventurous family film about lost treasure.

Lauper stated in a 1986 interview that she had been working 12 hour days and had gynecological problems.

Lauper had a minor operation and spent some time in the hospital.

Lauper has been quoted as saying that she had long despised the song because of Richard Donner's insistence on everything being perfect for the video shoot.

Lauper had no control over the song, which was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

Lauper had become close friends with Yoko Ono.

Lauper had threatened to dress like a lighted Christmas tree, but settled on a traditional white wedding dress.

Lauper's sister Ellen had come out as a lesbian and Lauper considered her to be a role model.

Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world ( as early as 1994, she had performed at the closing ceremonies for Gay Games IV in New York City ).

Though she had not released an album of new material since 1997's Sisters of Avalon, Lauper remained busy through the years.

Midway through the film, Sean Astin had to leave, much to the puzzlement of his costars, and without ever getting to say a personal message to Cyndi Lauper that he intended to.

In October 2008 it was revealed the band had recorded a Christmas duet entitled " A Christmas Duel " with Cyndi Lauper, which was available as a free download from their website on November 28, 2008.

On November 27, 2008, The Hives official website had begun to play the Cyndi Lauper / The Hives duet automatically whenever it is visited.

By the mid 1970s and early 1980s, the original wave of singer-songwriters had largely been absorbed into a more general pop or soft rock format, but some new artists in the singer-songwriter tradition ( including Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Nicks, Cheryl Wheeler, Loudon Wainwright III, The Roches and Warren Zevon ) continued to emerge, and in other cases rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case, Paul Collins and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singer-songwriters.

In the early 1990s Cyndi Lauper had a bob haircut with very unusual colors ; soon afterwards, the cut became identified with Uma Thurman in the film Pulp Fiction in 1994.

The album is known primarily because it included song " The Goonies ' R ' Good Enough " by singer Cyndi Lauper, who had a cameo in the film ( as herself, singing the song on TV ).

The following year, singer Cyndi Lauper began a verbal feud with manager " Captain " Lou Albano, who long had a reputation of being a villain, that brought professional wrestling into mainstream culture in a storyline that became known as the " Rock ' n ' Wrestling Connection.

After much buildup and hype, the Fabulous Moolah lost the championship when defeated by Richter, who had Lauper in her corner, on July 23, 1984 in the main event of The Brawl to End it All, which was broadcast live on MTV.

" Debbie Miller from Rolling Stone commented that Madonna's voice " doesn't have the power or range of, say, Cyndi Lauper, but she knows what works on the dance floor.

Lauper worked on the movie originally titled Moon Over Miami, which later became Off and Running with David Keith, Richard Belzer and David Thornton, whom she started seeing romantically.

She closes the album with a stark rendition of " Silent Night " in memory of Peter Wood, the close friend and musician to whom Lauper dedicated her hits compilation, Twelve Deadly Cyns ... and Then Some.

Some examples include Cyndi Lauper, Sheena Easton, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Joan Osborne, Rita Coolidge and Rod Stewart, all of whom have made forays into this once-shunned territory.

In the 1980s, she joined the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) as part of the Rock ' n ' Wrestling Connection storyline, feuding with Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter, the latter of whom defeated her for the WWF Women's Championship in 1984.

Lauper was accepted in a special public high school for students with talent in the visual arts, but she was held back and eventually dropped out, earning her GED sometime later.

Even though Lauper was now performing on stage, she was not happy singing cover songs.

Many people wanted to sign Lauper only if she would sign on as a solo artist.

Lauper held out, wanting the band to be included in any deal she made.

Lauper started working in retail stores such as the New York high-end thrift store Screaming Mimi's to make ends meet, and she still sang in local clubs.

An example is her Platinum-certified " Girls Just Want to Have Fun "; Lauper says the original lyrics of the song dealt more with a girl pleasing a man, and therefore she changed the lyrics, wanting the song to be more of an anthem as she felt the original song seemed misogynistic.

" Lauper, in return, made many appearances as herself in a number of the World Wrestling Federation's " Rock ' n ' Wrestling Connection " events, including the inaugural WrestleMania event, where she was the manager of Wendi Richter.

Lauper also sang the theme song for the series " Pee-wee's Playhouse " the same year, though she was credited as " Ellen Shaw ".

In 1997, Lauper announced that she was expecting a child.

Lauper embarked on an Australian tour playing at the Kings Park Botanic Gardens in Perth, supported by Katie Noonan and Kate Miller-Heidke on February 22, 2008, and she was the headline and final act at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party, on March 2, 2008.

Lauper plays Sylvia Pickel ( pronounced with an emphasis on the " kel ", as she points out ), a trance-medium who has contact with a wisecracking spirit guide named Louise.

During 2002, she performed for many benefit concerts, the famous VH1 Divas Live, a concert to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, alongside Cher, Anastacia, Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Shakira and Stevie Nicks.

The show's theme song was performed by Cyndi Lauper, although she is credited under the pseudonym " Ellen Shaw ".

Lauper wanted to write her own material and stop doing cover songs.

According to Lauper, she wanted it to be just like Shear's version, with a bit more of an acoustic sound.