When she was diagnosed, and experiencing bouts of severe psoriasis, she wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit musical Kinky Boots, which earned her a Tony Award for Best Original Score. Lauper is the first woman to win a Tony–alone–in that category. The show also won five other Tony Awards, including Best New Musical.
Speaking with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), Lauper speaks candidly on how she lives with the autoimmune skin condition, hoping to help others.
“I’ve never been able to really manage stress.” She said, adding that she’s taken a holistic approach to healing and relieving stress at home and on the road. She studied reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation, to which she said, “That helps me.”
In addition to reiki, Lauper makes a conscious effort to stay grounded with meditating, yoga, or a walk in the fresh air with her dog and/or husband, David Thornton, whom she married in 1991. The two have one son, who was born in 1997.
