Cher, real name Cherilyn Sarkisian, is an American musician who used her popularity as a teenage pop singer to launch a successful recording, concert, and acting career. She was born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. Cher has been a well-known singer and actress for seven decades, making her one of the most popular people in the world. With good reason, many refer to the American icon Cher as the “Goddess of Pop“.
BIOGRAPHY
She is well-known for her unique contralto singing voice and her achievements in a variety of entertainment industries, including music and movies. Cher began her solo career shortly after becoming well-known in 1965 as part of the folk-rock husband-wife team Sonny & Cher, best known for their hit song “I Got You Babe” and their wildly successful TV series. She debuted on Broadway and enjoyed success in movies like Mask and Moonstruck in the 1980s, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
WIKI
Here are some quick Wiki facts about Cher.
| Full Name | Cherilyn Sarkisian |
| Nick Name | Cher Cheryl LaPiere Cher Bono Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere Bono Allman |
| Gender | Female |
| Date of Birth | May 20, 1946 |
| Zodiac Sign | Taurus |
| Age | 77 years old |
| Birthplace | El Centro, California United States |
| Home town | California, United States |
| Current Residence | Malibu California |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Education | Dropped out |
| Profession | Acting Dancing Singing Theatre Television Host |
| Net Worth | $360 million |
| Weight | 61 kgs |
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Body Type | Smart |
| Body Measurement | 36-26-36(Inches) |
| Bust Size | 34B |
| Shoe Size | 8(US) |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Ex-Spouse | Gregg Allman Sonny Bono |
| Children | Chaz Bono Elijah Blue Allman |
| Hobbies | Singing Acting Eating |
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Cher is active on many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. She constantly shares new posts on these social media accounts and has a huge fan following like Austin Butler and Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio.
| 3.9M Followers | |
| 2.6M Followers | |
| 3.2M Followers | |
| Website | Official Website |
| YouTube | Official Channel |
ZODIAC SIGN
Her Zodiac sign is Taurus like JoJo Siwa, Katherine Eliza, Charli D’Amelio, and Ali Rehman Khan. The people with the Taurus zodiac sign are multitaskers and have natural problem-solving abilities.
FAMILY
Cher was born on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California, to truck driver John Sarkisian and Arkansas-born Georgia Holt (formerly Jackie Jean Crouch). Georganne LaPiere is one of her sisters. Cher’s father is of Armenian descent, and her mother’s side of the family is English and German with more distant Irish, Dutch, and French ancestry. When Cher was a young girl, her father abandoned the family, and Cher’s mother eventually married Gilbert LaPiere, a banker. Cher’s mother, who wanted to be an actress and model, paid for her acting lessons.
| Father | John Sarkisian |
| Mother | Georgia Holt |
| Sister | Georganne LaPiere |
CHILDREN
Cher has two children from her two marriages: Her first marriage to the late Bono ended in his death on January 5, 1998, while she had another son, Chaz Bono, who was born Chastity and underwent a gender change in 2008. She had a brief marriage to singer Gregg Allman, to whom she gave birth to son Elijah Blue Allman in 1976.
PERSONAL LIFE AND RELATIONSHIPS
In November 1962, Cher got to know singer Sonny Bono while he was producing records for Phil Spector. Cher accepted Sonny’s offer to clean his house when one of her friends moved out. She and Sonny developed a great friendship before falling in love. Cher had stage nervousness, so even though Sonny intended to start her as a solo artist, she urged him to perform with her. As a result, he started going on stage with her and singing harmonies. The couple fought in court for money and Cher’s eventual custody of their child. June 26, 1975, saw the finalization of their divorce.
Cher married rock icon and Allman Brothers Band co-founder Gregg Allman on June 30, 1975, barely four days after she and Sonny had officially divorced. She filed for divorce nine days later due to his heroin and alcohol addiction, but they reconciled in less than a month. Still, they separated in 1979. Cher has also been romantically associated with other well-known figures, such as Tom Cruise, Tim Medvetz, the Hell’s Angel, Ron Zimmerman, David Paich of Toto, and Gene Simmons, the frontman of Kiss.
EARLY LIFE
Cher moved to Los Angeles when she was sixteen years old, where she eventually married singer-songwriter Salvatore (“Sonny”) Bono in 1964. The duo started singing together, and in 1965, “I Got You Babe“, which went on to sell over three million copies, became their first significant pop hit. The pair continued to have success, but by the late 1960s, their notoriety was starting to wane. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a television variety show from 1971 to 1974, provided a kickstart. Cher’s solo singing career took off during this period. Despite their separation in 1974, Cher and Sono hosted different television programs in 1976–1977.
EDUCATION
Cher has gone to Fresno High School’s Center for Early Education. She was a student at Montclair College Prep. When she was sixteen years old, she left school.
CAREER
Following Sonny’s departure from the entertainment industry, Cher developed a lucrative nightclub act and pursued her past passion for acting. She starred in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, (1982) on Broadway and in the movie. She was nominated for an Academy Award in Silkwood (1983) for her supporting performance. Her portrayal of an Italian-American widow in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987) earned her an Academy Award in 1988. Her other features included Suspect (1987), Tea with Mussolini (1999), and Mask (1985). She played a nightclub owner and performer opposite Christina Aguilera in the musical drama Burlesque in 2010, and she voiced a lioness in the wide comedy Zookeeper the following year. Cher then made an appearance in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).
Cher’s music career faded after two hit albums, 1987’s Cher and 1989’s Heart of Stone, but she returned with the releases of Believe (1998) and Living Proof (2002). She received a Grammy Award in 2000 for the dance hit “Believe“. Cher’s successful (and lavish) Las Vegas residency from 2008 to 2011 demonstrated her ongoing popularity. She started a second musical residency in 2017 in Las Vegas and D.C. One of her latest albums was 2013’s Closer to the Truth which received a Kennedy Center honor in 2018.
FILM CAREER
Before moving to New York in 1982, taking acting classes, and landing a role in the Broadway production of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Cher had always dreamed of being a successful film actress. She was then allowed to star in the critically acclaimed movie Silkwood. Cher won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie.
For Cher’s acting career, 1987 was a significant year. Moonstruck, The Witches of Eastwick, and Suspect were the three films in which she starred. The latter was a commercial and critical success, and Cher won the Best Actress Oscar. Suddenly, she was one of the 1980s’ most sought-after movie actresses, making $1 million in every picture. Cher’s following box office performance has been erratic. Her 1990 motion picture Mermaids saw some box office success. She made a well-publicized comeback to Burlesque films in 2010. “You Haven’ Seen the Last of Me“, one of her movie-related hits, peaked at #1 on the dance chart.
TELEVISION
However, Sonny and Cher’s hits had halted by the end of the decade, and their IRS debt had become a significant source of financial hardship. As a result, they created a cabaret performance, having already adopted an image that would be interpreted as more mature. The duo ended up hosting a summer replacement program for CBS after their highly humorous show. This ultimately resulted in the 1971 premiere of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, an Emmy-nominated variety show that aired until 1974. More top 10 singles, including “All I Ever Need Is You” and “A Cowboy’s Work Is“, came from the show, which also gave Sonny and Cher a boost in their music career.
SONGS AS A SOLO ARTIST
In the 1960s, Cher began to make a name for herself as a solo artist. She gained recognition early on for her songs that addressed her sense of alienation and were sensitive in a way that she would eventually learn to appreciate. With the song “You Better Sit Down Kids“, which ranges from the viewpoint of a parent letting his kids know the realities of a divorce, she had a top 10 smash.
The title track of her 1971 album Gypsies, Tra, MPS, and Thieves featured a discussion of a “travelin’ show” family and teenage pregnancy, and it became her first No. 1 solo success in her career. Cher sang to a lover who had left her for a man in “The Way of Love“, another top 10 smashes. The title tune from the 1974 album Half-Breed, which depicted the continual persecution of a half-Native American narrator caught between two cultures, sent her to the top of the charts again. With the string-heavy disco song “Take Me Home” from the 1979 album of the same name on the Casablanca label, Cher was able to once more make it into the pop top 10 at the end of the decade.
SOLO STUDIO ALBUMS
| Title | Year |
| All I Really Want to Do | 1965 |
| The Sonny Side of Chér | 1966 |
| Chér | 1966 |
| With Love, Chér | 1967 |
| Backstage | 1968 |
| 3614 Jackson Highway | 1969 |
| Chér / Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves | 1971 |
| Foxy Lady | 1972 |
| Bittersweet White Light | 1973 |
| Half-Breed | 1973 |
| Dark Lady | 1974 |
| Stars | 1975 |
| I’d Rather Believe in You | 1976 |
| Cherished | 1977 |
| Take Me Home | 1979 |
| Prisoner | 1979 |
| I Paralyze | 1982 |
| Heart of Stone | 1989 |
| Love Hurts | 1991 |
| It’s a Man’s World | 1995 |
| Believe | 1998 |
| Not Commercial | 2000 |
| Living Proof | 2001 |
| Closer to the Truth | 2013 |
| Dancing Queen | 2018 |
| Christmas | 2023 |
COLLABORATIVE STUDIO ALBUMS
| Two the Hard Way(with Gregg Allman as Allman and Woman) | 1977 |
| Black Rose(as lead vocalist of Black Rose) | 1980 |
FILMOGRAPHY
Here is the list of movies Cher has worked in.
| Title | Year |
| Wild on the Beach | 1965 |
| Good Times | 1967 |
| Chastity | 1969 |
| Come Back to the 5 & Dime | 1982 |
| Silkwood | 1983 |
| Mask | 1985 |
| Suspect | 1987 |
| The Witches of Eastwick | 1987 |
| Moonstruck | 1987 |
| Mermaids | 1990 |
| The Player | 1992 |
| Prêt-à-Porter | 1994 |
| Faithful | 1996 |
| If These Walls Could Talk | 1996 |
| Tea with Mussolini | 1999 |
| Stuck on You | 2003 |
| Burlesque | 2010 |
| Zookeeper | 2011 |
| Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | 2018 |
| Bobbleheads: The Movie | 2020 |
CLASSIC CHER
The legendary singer made a comeback to the stage on February 8, 2017, when she opened her Classic Cher show at the Park Theater at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Bob Mackie created the outfits for her spectacular performance, which featured some of her biggest hits.
The pop icon was presented with the Billboard Icon Award in May 2017 following a powerful performance of her hits “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time“. She discussed the history of her music career in her victory speech, saying,
“I’ve wanted to do what I do since I was 4 years old. I’ve been doing it for fifty-three years. I turned 71 yesterday, so that’s not a reason to applaud. And, hey, I can do a plank for five minutes“.
MAMA MIA, “THE CHER SHOW”
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, the 2008 follow-up to the well-liked Broadway show, marked Cher’s comeback to the big screen in 2018 and brought her back together with her former co-star Meryl Streep. In September, the musician announced the Here We Go Again Tour and released the Dancing Queen tribute CD.
In that same year, the jukebox musical The Cher Show made its Broadway debut after making its Chicago debut. The legend gave the production a lukewarm review at first, saying it
“needed work”.
However, by April 2019, she was excited enough to go on The Tonight Show with the cast of the show.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Cher is among the best-selling musicians in the world, having sold over 100 million records to date. In addition, she has received numerous honors and awards, including the Billboard Icon Award, the Cannes Film Festival Award, the Academy Award, the Grammy Award, and three Golden Globes.
| Awards | Won |
| Academy Awards | 1 |
| Advertising Age Magazine Awards | 1 |
| AGVA Entertainer of the Year Awards | 3 |
| amfAR Awards | 1 |
| Anděl Awards | 1 |
| Armenia Music Awards | 1 |
| Attitude Awards | 1 |
| Bambi Awards | 1 |
| Best of Las Vegas Awards | 2 |
| Billboard Awards | 4 |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | 1 |
| Bravo Otto | 1 |
| Broadway Showbiz Awards | 1 |
| Broadway World Las Vegas Awards | 1 |
| CableACE Awards | 1 |
| Cannes Film Festival | 1 |
| CFDA Fashion Awards | 1 |
| WLS Radio Hit Parade Awards | 2 |
| World Music Awards | 1 |
| Women’s World Awards | 1 |
| Vegas Magazine Awards | 1 |
| Satellite Awards | 1 |
| Premios Amigo | 2 |
| People’s Choice Awards | 1 |
| Online Film & Television Association | 1 |
| New York Festivals TV and Film Awards | 1 |
| MTV Awards | 1 |
| Los Premios 40 Principales | 1 |
| Guinness Book of World Records | 2 |
| Grammy Awards | 1 |
| Golden Globe Awards | 3 |
| Glamour Awards | 1 |
| Disc Magazine Awards | 2 |
BRAND ENDORSEMENT
Cher endorses brands such as
- Smashbox
- OPI
- H&M
- Balmain Blaze Bag
- MAC
- UGG Brand
PHILANTHROPY
Cher’s main charitable projects have supported medical research, patients’ quality of life, anti-poverty programs, veterans’ rights, and underprivileged children. She is famous for her philanthropic activities like Robyn Rihanna Fenty. International initiatives supported by the Cher Charitable Foundation include the Children’s Craniofacial Association, Operation Helmet, and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
NET WORTH
According to estimates, Cher is worth about $360 million like Jackie Chan.
SOURCE OF INCOME
Her records and thousands-of-attendee singing performances are her sources of income. She has made appearances in many films and television series, which significantly increases her net worth. She has a $360 million net worth as of 2023 and makes millions of dollars a year from her professional career.
FAVORITES
The favorites of Cher are as follows.
| Favorite Songs | Song for the Lonely You Haven’t seen the Last of Me |
| Favorite Food | Chocolate Cake Italian Food |
INTERESTING FACTS
- She and Barbra Streisand are the only two American female musicians to have both a number-one song and an Oscar Best Actress in Motion Picture.
- Cher’s mother arranged roles for her and her sister to perform as extras in television series such as Ozzie and Harriet when Cher was a little girl.
- Cher is a supporter of the LGBT Community like Scarlet Johansson.
- At 52 years old, Cher became the oldest woman to have a number-one song because of the popularity of “Believe“.
- Cher made history in 2011 when she became the only performer to have a song at the top of the Billboard chart for six straight decades. She reached the top of the Adult Contemporary chart in the 1980s, the Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the 2000s and 2010s, and the Hot 100 in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s.
- Cher had severe difficulties with math and reading during her time in school, to the point where her grades deteriorated. Although the teachers said she wasn’t achieving her full potential, the reality was that she had dyslexia and dyscalculia.
- Mego, a toy manufacturer, decided to model a doll after Sonny and Cher during the time they were doing their legendary variety show. Reportedly, the Cher doll did better in the past than the Barbie doll at the time of release.
- Over the weekend, when Cher and Alexander “AE” Edwards were leaving a restaurant in Los Angeles, the renowned singer was seen holding hands with Alexander “AE” Edwards. Not only did the pictures inspire rumors of a potential new romance, but they also raised questions over Edwards’ forty-year age difference. One such photo showed Edwards kissing her hand.
CONTROVERSIES
- In 2012, Cher issued an apology for a divisive remark she made about the late George Floyd. The “Believe” hitmaker took back a tweet on Saturday that said she might have stopped Floyd from dying while in police custody. Floyd passed away after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned his knee to his neck for around nine minutes. Chauvin is presently undergoing trial for the murder and manslaughter charges. Cher said
“Was talking with Mom & She Said ‘I Watched Trial Of Policeman Who Killed George Floyd, & Cried”,
Cher wrote last week in a tweet that has since been deleted, according to CNN.
“I Said ‘Mom, I Know This Is Gonna Sound CRAZY, But.. I Kept Thinking …Maybe If I’d Been There,…I Could’ve Helped”.
- Cher discussed her current Celebration tour with the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview. The interview included an old clip of Cher calling another artist “mean“. Cher asserted that they were no longer at odds, saying,
“I truly like her”.
Though Madonna “can be” mean, Cher said,
“We buried that hatchet a long time ago because I called her something so much worse, and she forgave me. But I give her this: No one like her had their ear to the ground and knew everything before anybody else. I mean, she knew what was coming, and she was right on it”.
- Cher has opened up about her hugging experience with former vice president and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden in light of the current issue surrounding him. Over the past few years, Biden has been the target of an increasing number of claims that he has made women uncomfortable by using physical touch.
When was Cher born?
American singer-actress Cher was born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. She is also a television personality.
How old is Cher?
As of 2023, Cher is 77 years old.
What are the nicknames of Cherilyn Sarkisian?
She has multiple nicknames like Cher, Cheryl LaPiere, Cher Bono, Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere, and Bono Allman.
