Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton—known better, of course, as Cyndi Lauper—is an icon of music, feminism, and fashion.
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Her multi-decades-long career includes hits like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time” and more. She won the Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards and, ever since, she’s been known for her pink hair, social activism, and knack for bringing anything she touches to life.
To date, Lauper has sold more than 50 million records, won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, and the Tonys, and is celebrated for her humanitarian work, especially as an advocate for LGBT+ rights in the U.S. She was also a special guest at President Obama’s second inauguration.
Here, we wanted to dive into Lauper’s best quotes outside of her music work. What does she have to say about life and love, her craft, and the world at large?
1. “You always have to remember—no matter what you’re told—that God loves all the flowers, even the wild ones that grow on the side of the highway.”
2. “Everything does go in a circle.”
3. “There’s ageism in everything. I don’t give a hoot. It isn’t what other people think; it’s what you think. But it’s hard to come to terms with getting older. I admire people like Vivienne Westwood.”
4. “I learned jazz; that comes from blues. I learned rock; that comes from blues. I learned pop; that comes from blues. Even dance, that comes from blues, with the answer-and-response.”
5. “God has more important things to worry about than who I sleep with.”
6. “Humour is a great vehicle for getting a message across. If you get too serious, you could die of starch.”
7. “I never had a rivalry with Madonna. You don’t knock another sister, ever. There’s room for everybody on this planet; you don’t have to be like anyone else.”
8. “I get the greatest feeling when I’m singing. It’s other-worldly. Your feet are anchored into the Earth and into this energy force that comes up through your feet and goes up the top of your head and maybe you’re holding hands with the angels or the stars, I have no idea.”
9. “I lucked out when I started to sing. I’d already experienced failing at everything else.”
10. “The more you practice and study, the better you are… so I still practice and study all the time.”
11. “If you saw me without makeup, you wouldn’t recognize me.”
12. “My mother said I was a little odd as a kid. I was alone a lot, but I didn’t feel alone.”
13. “Where I come from, if you see your family and friends’ civil rights being taken away, you speak up and do everything you can to keep that from happening!”
14. “With fame, I’m able to create more. With every success, you have more freedom to create.”
15. “I come from a line of great Sicilian women, and their mentality is to endure and push through to the other side.”
16. “When I sing I have a lot of visions. Like what’s happening now in my life.”
17. “The ’80s was a really creative and brave period. Remember, it was a period of ultra-conservatism, and so you needed brave people to push ahead like that.”
18. “You know, I’ve been playing with my hair color ever since I was nine.”
19. “I absolutely refuse to reveal my age. What am I—a car?”
20. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like if somebody from outer space landed with three heads. Then all of a sudden everybody else wouldn’t look so bad, huh? Well, OK you’re a little different from me but, hey, ya got one head.”
21. “Men and women are different. I don’t think men grow a brain until 26 or even 30. Girls mature a lot quicker.”
22. “Understand where it is you want to go. Then picture yourself there. If you can picture yourself there, then you can be there. Bottom line.”
23. “You can laugh when I talk, but not when I sing.”
24. “It’s that anonymous person who meanders through the streets and feels what’s happening there, feels the pulse of the people, who’s able to create.”
25. “When I sing I don’t feel like it’s me. I feel I am fabulous like I’m 10 feet tall. I am the greatest. I am the strongest. I am Samson. I’m whoever I want to be.”
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
