Cyndi Lauper Looks Nearly Unrecognizable Today
Cyndi Lauper turned 70 in 2023, and while her timeless feminist bop might still be number one, she'll readily admit that aging hasn't been much fuh-un. "I was always pissed off on my birthday," she told People after joining the septuagenarian club. She even admitted to having zero interest in celebrating her birthday when she turned 30, which is the age she was when she recorded "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."
While Lauper might not be a fan of birthdays, she's no ageist. She told AARP that she believes people should never let their age hold them back when achieving their dreams, which is how she's lived her life. "I am not a car, and you don't need to check under the hood to see the mileage," she said. Just looking at her, you wouldn't think the mileage was high at all. That youthful exuberance is still there, and she still loves to dye her hair. During her heyday in the '80s, Lauper seemed to gravitate mostly towards warm colors, such as the neon red hue she rocks in the "Time After Time" music video. When she got older, pink became a favorite. In 2017, she explained why she decided to stick with it for a bit because the color was associated with the Women's March, where some attendees carried "Girls Just Want to Have Fun-Damental Rights" signs. But she eventually made a major change to her mane that left her looking almost unrecognizable.
She had a change of heart about her hair color
In January 2024, Cyndi Lauper was photographed with her husband, David Thornton, at WeHo's San Vicente Bungalows. There were still hints of her peppy punk pizzazz, such as her white cat-eye glasses and colorful coat featuring an embroidered T-rex wearing a crown. However, she didn't appear to have much makeup on and was sporting a tousled pixie that was dyed an icy blue hue. The "True Colors" singer once revealed that she associates the color with that old "blue hair old ladies" trope, telling Allure, "I wanted to change it to blue because I felt like hey, it's the right age, aren't I supposed to have blue hair?" At the time, she was 64.
While Lauper might look a bit different these days, her complexion is remarkably smooth. When The New York Times Magazine asked her if she was willing to experiment with cosmetic procedures in 2006, she stated, "If it gets to the point where I have to have Scotch tape on my eyelids to hold them up, I will definitely try to do something. I don't really want to go over the cliff." But that same year, Lauper decided to have a tummy tuck. In a 2011 appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show," she explained why she later regretted it. "The surgeon was a diva," she recalled (via the Daily Star). "She left and some student sewed me up. It's not good."
She has the same skin condition as Kim Kardashian
Cyndi Lauper and Kim Kardashian both have psoriasis, an inflammatory condition with symptoms that include scaly, red patches of skin. When she was in her late 50s, Lauper's psoriasis forced her to make some major changes to her beauty routine. While she looked as colorful and carefree as ever, she wasn't having fun with her hair and makeup. "I dyed my hair red, put extensions in and then I just wore a wig so I wouldn't have to mess with my scalp too much," she told The Healthy. This is because her condition was making her scalp flake and bleed.
Lauper also took extreme measures to cover up the redness on the rest of her body. "I put on thick mesh over my skin," she said. "You thought you were looking at my skin, but you weren't. ... The problem is when you came off stage and you took that stuff off, it came off with the skin." At its worst, Lauper told the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD) that her psoriasis made it look as though her skin had been burned with scalding water. She also suffered from exhaustion and found it difficult to get out of bed.
Lauper eventually decided to start experimenting with treatments until she found one that helped control her symptoms. Now, she hopes she can help other psoriasis sufferers by sharing her experience. She told AAD, "It's important to know that you're not alone."