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

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

11 Responses

  1. savanna says:

    In her memoir, Cyndi says “My mother… made up a stage name for herself: Catrine Dominique.”
    https://books.google.com/books?id=vdtdAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=mother&f=false

    “She’s picked out a stage name – Katreen Dominique”
    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/dream-girl-19840524#ixzz45B35lGw3

    So Catrine Dominique is not her mother’s real name. The surname is still correct I believe.

  2. andrew says:

    Cindy’s mother’s family is from Palermo, Sicily.

  3. cwm85 says:

    Weird woman. No surprise she is german. Surprised by Italian.

  4. fuzzybear44 says:

    What is going on in that picture. PLEASE tell me, that was not on purpose

  5. andrew says:

    her mother’s name was Catrine Dominique Gallo

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