Cyndi Lauper, a pixie-like singer whose 1983 hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” inspired women of all ages to do as the song advises, is enchanting.
Lauper is cool. Her cheerful personality, creative fashion, and colorful hair inspire self-expression.
Behind her cartoonish voice that makes listeners feel happy, the singer fights with psoriasis, which at one point was so severe that “It looked like someone threw boiling water on me.”
The renowned music artist, now 69, recently acknowledged her continuous battle with psoriasis, an incurable chronic skin ailment, since 2010.
Symptoms of psoriasis include soreness, itching, and scaly patches. Approximately 8 million Americans and 125 million worldwide have the skin disorder.
Lauper initially had scalp irritations and general pain, which worsened.
The award-winning singer initially blamed her itching scalp on frequent hair coloring, but the bouts continued, causing physical and mental distress.
The “Time after Time” singer is a touring popstar, activist, and mother.
Lauper supports the LGBT community as a human rights advocate, motivated by her lesbian sister Ellen.
For Wyoming’s gay 21-year-old student Matthew Shepard, who was battered to death, she wrote “Above the Clouds” in 2005. She established “True Colors,” a 2007–2008 musical tour that benefits local and private LGBT charities and foundations.
Lauper is a talented singer, songwriter, and actress in addition to her advocacy. Lauper won a Tony, two Grammys, an MTV Music Video Award, and an Emmy for her 1995 Mad About You appearance in her 40-year career.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and was a special guest at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013 for her humanitarian work.
Lauper is powerful despite her diagnosis. Stress can worsen psoriasis, so the True Colors singer is learning to control it.
After being diagnosed with severe psoriasis, she penned the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots, which won a Tony Award for Best Original Score. Lauper is the first solo Tony winner in that category. The musical won five more Tonys, including Best New Musical.
Lauper opens up to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) about her autoimmune skin issue to help others.
I’ve never managed stress well. She added that she heals and reduces stress holistically at home and on the road. Reiki, a Japanese stress-reduction and relaxation technique, helped her, she said.
Lauper meditates, practices yoga, and walks with her dog and 1991 husband David Thornton to stay grounded in addition to reiki. The couple has a 1997-born son.
Lauper advised individuals to “make a little time for you” because “it’s not a bad thing to take care of yourself.”
Start small. “How about five minutes for you?” she added.
Lauper says, “when psoriasis gets really bad, it’s really hard to get up again,” with tenacity. When she couldn’t control her body temperature, she got a cold, which can cause hypothermia. Despite resting, it got worse, and people commenting, “it’s just a rash,” made it worse.
“You don’t have to suffer,” Lauper remarked. Topical, oral, and injectable treatments can reduce the agony of psoriasis. Lauper, Novartis’ Cosentyx representative, says she’s “four years clear.”
Lauper told HealthDay about her psoriasis treatment in 2017.
It’s funny—you wear gloves or other things to hide psoriasis, but it’s not. No, I wasn’t wearing it to show off. Don’t all hide it? More more than you think have it and don’t talk about it. It’s mostly invisible, therefore it’s excellent to discuss.”
Her podcast PsO in the Know features celebrities, advocates, and sufferers who discuss psoriasis.
The third-season show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher.
Besides Lauper, other celebrities have psoriasis. Kim Kardashian, 42, openly discusses her challenges after being diagnosed at 30. Her 67-year-old mother Kris Jenner termed her first outbreak “life-changing” in her late 20s. Art Garfunkel, 81, Jon Lovitz, 65, and “The Beaver” or Jerry Mathers, 74, also have psoriasis.
Thank goodness role models like Cyndi Lauper help others overcome their obstacles. We can’t picture a world without her bravery and journey!