Cher – The Age-Defying Goddess of Pop

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6 years ago

Cherilyn Sarkisian ‘Cher’ also known as the ‘Goddess of Pop’ is a famous American singer and actress. In a largely male-dominated industry, Cher has been described as the ’embodying female autonomy’. Cher is known mostly due to her distinctive contralto style singing voice. In her long and glorious 5 decades in the industry, Cher has worked in innumerable areas of entertainment and adopted various styles that have brought her worldwide recognition.

Early Life and Education

Cher was born as Cherilyn Sarkisian on 20 May 1946 to Georgia Holt and John Sarkisian in the city of of El Centro, California. Her parents divorced when she was just 10 months old and her mother remarried several times since her first divorce which meant that Cher had to move around the country a lot during her formative years. She has one half-sister, Georganne, from her mother’s marriage to actor John Southall

During her mother’s marriage to bank manager Gilbert LaPiere, Cher was enrolled into a private school named Montclair College Preparatory School in Encino, Los Angeles. Although she was not brilliant academically, Cher was described as both creative and intelligent and earned excellent grades in French and English. She later discovered that she was dyslexic. Cher considers Audrey Hepburn, and especially her role in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as her inspiration.

Career Rise

Cher received her first taste at world-wide fame for her song “Ive Got You Babe” that she performed with singer Sonny Bono. She eventually fell in love with Bono and together, they were known as ‘Sonny and Cher’. ‘I’ve Got You Babe’ reached the number one spot in 1965 on both British and American Charts. Together they sold approximately 40 million records all over the world by 1967 and were labelled as the “it” couple by Time Magazine. Around the same time, in the year 1966, Cher also began her solo career and her song “Bang Bang” became her first million-seller. She ventured into television in 1970’s with the ‘The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour’ show that found a viewership of 30 million weekly viewers during the course of its three years on air, as well as ‘Cher’ a variety TV show she hosted. It was at this time that she was seen as a fashionista for her elaborate choice of outfits on her TV shows.

Cher debuted on Broadway in 1982 with play “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” which was later adapted into a film. She was applauded for her performances in films such as ‘Silkwood’ in 1983, Mask in 1985 and Moonstruck in 1987. The Latter earned Cher an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other notable works include her rock-inflected album titled ‘Cher’ in 1987,Heart of Stone in 1989, and Love Hurts in 1991. But the title track of her 1998 album ‘Believe’ gave her new heights of fame and recognition and became UK’s biggest selling single album by any female in the industry.

Personal Life

Cher was married to fellow singer Sonny Bono, the other half of the famous ‘Sonny and Cher’. The couple was married in 1969 in a low profile marriage in a hotel room in Tijuana, Mexico. Together, they have one child a son, Chaz Bono, who is also a famous American Personality. However, the couple divorced in 1975 and in the same year, Cher remarried Gregg Altman, another American Musician, with whom she had another child, a son Elijah Blue Allman, also a musician. Her second marriage was also short lived and ended in divorce in 1979.

With Ex-Husband Sonny Bono

Cherilyn Sarkisian ‘Cher’ – Young Pictures

Home

Until 2016, Cher owned and lived in a 16,000 Square feet estate in Malibu, California in an Italian Renaissance-Style home which was designed by Ron Wilson. She put up her properties for sale for an estimated $40 Million. As of 2017, it was reported that Cher has moved to London and owns penthouse apartments London’s Canary Wharf and Isle of Dog area.