Cher: surprising facts about her life and career

Cher, no last name needed, is one of the most iconic and most fabulous divas of all time! This stunning actress, singer, model, and fashion icon is ever closer to the age of 80. Join us as we take a look at some of the most surprising and exciting facts about Cher's life and career.

Cher came into the world on May 20th, 1946, as Cherilyn Sarkisian and grew up in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County. Cher is of Armenian descent on her father's side and has Irish, English, German, and Cherokee roots on her mother's side of the family.

Photo: Cher / Twitter (X)

Cher's mother and father had a complicated relationship due to Cher's father, John Sarkisian's gambling and substance abuse problems. When Cher was just a few months old, her father, who worked as a truck driver, abandoned Cher and her mother.

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Cher's mother, Georgia Holt (nee Jackie Jean Crouch), supported Cher by working as a bit actress on TV shows and modeling. Holt appears on shows such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Studio 57.'

Georgia Holt soon remarried fellow actor John Southall and had another child, Cher's half-sister, Georganne. The couple stayed together until Cher was nine years old, and Southall was like a father to Cher.

Pictured: Cher's mother in May of 2021 at 95 years old, via Cher / X (Twitter)

Following her mother's divorce from John Southall, Cher and her sister Georganne grew up in very humble circumstances. Their mother would remarry and divorce several times and was constantly moving the family around the country. The family was so poor at times that Cher has said she had to hold her shoes together with rubber bands, and her mother even had to put her daughter into the care of an orphanage temporarily.

Cher was fascinated by movie stars when she was growing up and idolized Audrey Hepburn, and her favorite film was 'Breakfast at Tiffany's. Cher says that she was inspired by Audrey's character in the movie and even tried to recreate her outfits.

Image: Screenshot, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Paramount Pictures

Cher loved acting and performing from a young age and often scored the male roles in school plays because of her low voice. Although she wanted to be an actress or a singer, she thought she wasn't talented enough to do either. So Cher decided she would simply be famous when she grew, even if she didn't know what she would be famous for.

When Cher was 16, she decided to drop out of school. The performer has said that she was never truly present in school anyway; she was always thinking about growing up and becoming famous.

Pictured: a picture of Cher from her high school yearbook. By Owl, yearbook of Fresno High School, Fresno, California

Cher also left home at this time and moved to Los Angeles with a friend, where she worked and took acting classes.

Cher worked as a dancer in small clubs on Sunset Strip and used her outgoing nature to try to meet contacts among the clients such as performers, agents, and managers. Cher was desperate to meet someone to help her get her big break when she met Sonny Bono in 1962.

Sonny Bono worked for a record producer and offered Cher a job as his housekeeper, which Cher eagerly accepted. Soon enough, Cher was able to release her first single - 'Ringo I Love You.' It was not a hit.

The public listening to the music on the radio mistook Cher's deep voice for a man and thought the song was a love ode from a gay man to the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr.

Cher and Sonny had become very close friends, and soon they were lovers. It wasn't love at first sight though, Cher has said the first thing she noticed about Sonny was his hair, describing it as "something in between Caesar and Napoleon." By October of 1964, the pair married in an unofficial wedding in Tijuana, Mexico.

Since Cher's single was a total flop, at the end of 1964, Cher and Sonny decided to join forces and become a singing duo. They used the stage names Caesar & Cleo; however, the songs they released didn't end up being very popular.

Liberty Records' Imperial then picked up Cher in 1964, signing her as a solo artist with Sonny acting as her producer. 'Dream Baby' was released under Cher's stage name 'Cherilyn' and was mildly successful. Her next single, a cover of Bob Dylan's 'All I Really Want to Do,' made it to number 15 on the 'Billboard Hot 100' in 1965 and was the real breakthrough in Cher's musical career.

Despite Cher's success as a solo artist, the couple really wanted to perform together again. Part of Cher's motivation to perform with Sonny was that Cher suffered from stage fright. When she performed with Sonny, she conquered her fear of the stage by looking at Sonny when she was singing. In 1965 the duo put out their first album as 'Sonny & Cher' titled 'Look at Us.' The album featured the iconic song 'I Got You Babe,' which would launch the pair to international pop star status.

The pair were unstoppable between 1965-1972, releasing ten chart-topping singles during that time, iconic hits such as: 'I Got You Babe,' 'Baby Don't Go,' 'The Beat Goes On,' 'All I Ever Need Is You,' and 'A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done.' By December of 1967, they had sold more than 40 million records across the globe, making them pop rock's favorite duo. Ahd while Sonny & Cher were on fire, in 1966, Cher launched a concurrent solo career with the release of her million-selling solo debut, 'Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).'

However, as the world changed, Sonny & Cher soon fell out of favor; the younger generation found them "too square" for the times. Their stance on monogamy, mind-altering substances, and their musical style quickly felt too old-fashioned for the younger generation.

1969 brought great joy to the couple with the birth of their child Chaz Bono and brought grief when the duo lost their contract with their record label.

In an attempt to reclaim their fame, Sonny & Cher mortgaged their house to release an unsuccessful art film that put them in debt and even tried an 'adult' lounge act which many simply called "depressing."

Starting in 1971, Cher and Sonny hosted their own variety show, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour." The show was on air until 1979, the TV show was a showcase for Cher's unique and spectacular personal style.

Pictured: Sonny and Telly Savalas on 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.'

Photo: CBS

Through the early '70s, Cher continued to release songs as a solo artist. Cher found Billboard chart success with her solo hits like "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves," and "Dark Lady." Then, in 1975 Sonny, and Cher divorced; their relationship had been unhappy for quite some time. As a result of their relationship struggles, their show was put on hiatus in May 1974.

However, the divorced couple reunited professionally to reboot their program in 1976 as 'The Sonny & Cher Show.' The show was on air until 1979 when Cher released her hit disco album, 'Take Me Home.'

Cher continued to be highly successful into the 1980s, both with her singing and her acting. In 1980 she began a two-year concert residency in Las Vegas. Later she landed roles in the movies 'Silkwood' (1983), 'Mask' (1985), and 'Moonstruck' (1987), for which she won the Best Actress Oscar.

Cher spent the rest of the late 80s focusing on music career, releasing three rock albums: 'Cher' (1987), 'Heart of Stone' (1989), and 'Love Hurts' (1991). But even though Cher had already had an impressive 30-year long career, her biggest hit was yet to come. Her dance-pop album 'Believe,' released in 1998, was her most successful album yet. Her single also titled 'Believe' became one of the best-selling songs of all time, selling over 11 million copies.

In 2005 she finished her three-year-long farewell tour, and then in 2008, Cher began a three-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Then, even though Cher had already done a farewell tour, she just couldn't stay away from music. Cher released her first album in 12 years in 2013, and it was even more successful on the charts than 1998's 'Believe.' The album titled 'Closer to the Truth' debuted in the #3 slot.

After acting in 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!' in 2018, Cher released a new, genderless perfume named 'Cher Eau de Couture' in 2019. Then, in 2020, she became the new face of the fashion label 'Dsquared.'

'Photo: Cher / Instagram

In 2022, she started dating music producer Alexander Edwards, who is around 40 years her junior. They don't care about the age difference and the couple still seems smitten almost two years in!

In late 2023, she dropped her first-ever Christmas album, which was a massive success. It was the top-selling Xmas album of the year and put her back on the charts for the first time in 21 years. Her boyfriend produced the track 'Drop Top Sleigh Ride.'

Cher has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Apart from her musical and acting skills, she has shown herself to be a kind and genuinely caring person through her philanthropic and social activist ventures.

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