Cyndi Lauper
Lauper in 2010, Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper
Place of Birth: Queens, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: June 22, 1953
Ethnicity:
*father – Swiss-German, German
*mother – Sicilian Italian
Cyndi Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist.
She is the daughter of Catrine Gallo and Frederick Arthur Lauper. Her mother used the stage name Catrine Dominique. Cyndi is married to actor David Thornton, with whom she has a son.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Cyndi’s genetic ancestry consists of:
*38% Southern Italy
*38% England & Northwestern Europe
*15% Germanic Europe
*7% Northern Italy
*2% North Africa
Cyndi’s patrilineal line can be traced to Christen/Christian Lauper, who was born, c. 1614, in Allenwil, Schüpfen, Bern, Switzerland, and to his wife, Anna Lauper.
Cyndi’s paternal grandfather was Alfred Lauper (the son of Bendicht/Benedict Lauper and Juliana Elisabeth Götz). Alfred was born in Diepholz, Germany, to a Swiss father, of Swiss-German descent, and a German mother. Bendicht was the son of Nikolaus Lauper and Anna Maria Stähil.
Cyndi’s paternal grandmother was named Anna Maria Katharina “Marie” Graff/Graf. Marie was German.
Cindy’s maternal grandfather was Sebastiano “Benny” Gallo (the son of Francesco “Frank” Gallo and Domenica Pampalone). Benny, and his parents, were Italian emigrants, from Palermo, Sicily. Francesco was the son of Vicenzo Gallo and Giuseppa Arena. Domenica was the daughter of Sebastiano Pampalone and Geatana Mazza.
Cindy’s maternal grandmother was Concetta Pampalone (the daughter of Giacomo Pampalone and Grazia Dellaira/Dell’Aira). Concetta, and her parents, were Italian emigrants, from Palermo, Sicily. Giacomo was the son of Sebastiano Pampalone and Gaetana Mazza.
Sources: http://cerca.unita.it
Genealogy of Cyndi Lauper (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Cyndi’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Cyndi’s mother – https://www.findagrave.com
How come she’s nearly 40% british/northwest euro if she has no documented ancestry from these places?
Yeah it can be that
Huh? Northwest Europe almost always includes Germany and Switzerland, especially in DNA profiling.
Kathryn Hahn is 5/8 German and 1/8-1/16 English, and her FYR DNA test was 40% England/NWE. Bob Odenkirk has no English ancestry at all, and he scored 11% England/NWE on his.
Agree, still a lot though.
“Germany and Switzerland are both part of the Central European region and the DACH region:
Central European region
Germany and Switzerland are both located in Central Europe, along with Austria, which is another neighboring country.
DACH region
The DACH region is made up of the three Central European countries of Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH).
Switzerland is a landlocked country in west-central Europe. It’s bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Germany is located in Central Europe, with coordinates of 51.00°N 10.00°E”
Either these results are off due to some methodological error, or Lauper is the result of an affair… also her mom could have impregnated from another man before she met M.r Lauper and then they decided to register the baby on his name.
It seems people of German and Swiss descent tend to score variable amounts of “England and NW European” on such DNA tests. It does not make much sense to me but it appears to be common.
I’ll say it again. Ancestry’s “England & Northwest Europe” category includes Belgium, England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland. It’s purposefully very broad. Don’t get too hung up on the England part.
The grave of Cindy’s mother:
https://es.findagrave.com/memorial/240242393/catrine-lauper
Cindy’s maternal grandfather was Sebastiano “Benny” Gallo (the son of Francesco Gallo and Domenica Pampalone). Benny and his parents were Italian emigrants from Palermo, Sicily. Francesco was the son of Vicenzo Gallo and Giuseppa Arena. Domenica was the daughter of Sebastiano Pampalone and Geatana Mazza.
Cindy’s maternal grandmother was Concetta Pampalone (the daughter of Giacomo Pampalone and Grazia Dellaira/Dell’Aira): Concetta and her parents were Italian emigrants from Palermo, Sicily.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/G7FV-BGV
What a terrible photo of Cyndi.
Looks like her decapitated head was sewed back on her neck. :/