A pioneer in women's hockey, Cindy Curley is a four-time member of the United States Women's National Team who has helped influence the growth of the sport across the country, including in her home state of Massachusetts.

Cindy Curley was born on November 12, 1963 in Stow, Massachusetts. Her father played hockey in college, and while watching her brothers play, Cindy found her desire to play, too.

Cindy went on to star with the Providence College Friars of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) for four seasons beginning with 1981-82. At the time of her induction, she ranks third all-time at the school with 225 career points, while her 110 goals rank her fourth all-time at Providence and 115 assists place her third. Cindy helped Providence capture the 1984 and 1985 ECAC Conference Tournament titles, scoring the title-clinching goal in the former. In 1984-85, her senior season, she was named to the ECAC All-Star Team after posting 62 points (33 goals and 29 assists) in just 21 games. She received Providence's Paul Connolly Memorial Award in 1985, presented annually to the senior female athlete who has distinguished herself among peers both athletically and academically.

After college, Cindy played for Assabet Valley’s women's team, which was coached by her father, and the team played in various tournaments across the country.

In 1987, Cindy tried out, and was selected for, the United States Women’s National Hockey Team. In that first year, she played on the U.S. team in the unofficial Women’s World Championship. Team USA would take home the bronze medal, reaching the podium on the rink that finally showed the International Ice Hockey Federation the strength of the women’s game and that a World Championship was needed.

Three years later, in 1990, the IIHF held the first official Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Ottawa, Ontario, and Curley was selected to represent the United States once more. She was a powerhouse, scoring 11 goals and 12 assists in five games to lead the tournament in points and earned selection to the All-Star Team. Her 23 points in 1990 remains a single-tournament record. Curley also reached multiple other records that still stand today at the 1990 tournament: most goals (11, tied with Angela James and Krissy Wendell) and assists (12) at a single tournament, most points (9) and goals (5) in a single game, and most points (6) and goals (4) in a single period.

Cindy returned for the 1992 and 1994 championships, where she captained the team. In 15 career games, she accumulated 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists). Team USA took home the silver at each of the 1990, 1992 and 1994 tournaments. Additionally, she helped the U.S. earn the silver medal at the IIHF Women's Pacific Rim Championship in 1995.

Following several knee surgeries, Cindy Curley retired from active play, but continued to work within and for the advancement of girls' and women's hockey as both a coach and official. She served on the board of USA Hockey as well as many councils and committees, for various periods between 1995 and 2007. Curley was also a member on the U.S. Olympic Athlete Advisory Committee from 2005-08.

Her dedication to improving grassroots hockey opportunities, as well as her extraordinary playing career, helped earn her induction into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. That was followed by her induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and the Providence College Hall of Fame in 2013.

In 2026, Cindy Curley added one more honour to her resume: She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category.