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Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere (better known
as Cher) (born on May 20, 1946), is an American actress,
singer, songwriter, and entertainer. Among her many
accomplishments in music, television, and film, she has
won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and
three Golden Globe Awards.
Cher first rose to prominence in 1965 as one half of the
pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher. She also established
herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 26 albums,
numerous compilations and tallying 22 Billboard Top 40
entries over her career. These include twelve Top 10
singles and four number one singles.
She became a successful television star in the 1970s,
and a well-regarded film actress in the 1980s. In 1988,
she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role
in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.
In a career that has now surpassed 40 years, Cher has
established herself as a legendary pop culture icon and
one of the most popular female artists in music history.
Since her debut in 1964 Cher has sold over 180 million
albums and over 70 million singles worldwide solo. She
has sold a total of 250 million records worldwide,
became one of the biggest-selling artist of all time.
Early life: Cher was born in El Centro,
California, on May 20, 1946 at 7:25 a.m. Her mother,
Georgia Holt (née Jackie Jean Crouch), an aspiring
actress and occasional model, is of Cherokee, Irish,
German, and English descent. Her father was John
Sarkisian, an Armenian refugee. Cher's mother and father
separated when she was young and she was raised
primarily by her mother. The early days for Cher and her
mother were often difficult financially and led to
Georgia placing Cher in foster care for a brief period
of time as a child. However, Cher was enamored of seeing
her mother on stage and dreamed of one day becoming
famous. Later, Georgia was able to provide her daughter
with acting lessons to help guide her career. In those
years Cher had a relationship with the actor Warren
Beatty. Due to severe, undiagnosed dyslexia, she left
Fresno High School at the age of sixteen.
Born into a lower-income California family, actress/pop
singer Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) attempted to
escape her poverty by entering show business as a go-go
dancer at the age of 16. She met and married
singer/promoter Sonny Bono, who lifted her from
obscurity as half of the immensely popular singing duo
Sonny and Cher. The diminutive, ebullient Bono and the
tall, deadpan Cher became a top recording team (their
big hit was "I Got You, Babe") and a regular
guest act on the many variety shows of the period.
Sonny and Cher continued their upward climb until
musical tastes changed in the early '70s, whereupon they
began concentrating on comedy sketches and
kidding-on-the-square insults directed at one another in
their own variety weekly, The Sonny & Cher Comedy
Hour, which enjoyed a successful three-year network run
beginning in 1971. It was on this program that Cher,
began sharpening her acting versatility in such sketch
roles as brash housewife Laverne, sardonic waitress
Rosa, and a whole slew of historical vamps. But Cher
began to chafe at Bono's hold on her career and her
private life, and the couple divorced in 1974.
Both Sonny and Cher were starring on separate TV series
that fall, but they also each faced poor ratings; so the
pair decided to team up professionally once more in 1976
for a new Sonny & Cher Show, although Cher was now
married to Gregg Allman and pregnant with their son
Elijah. But the old chemistry was no longer there, and
the new program was canceled in the following year.
Bono eased out of show business for a successful
political career, while Cher began seeking out film
work. At first treated condescendingly by critics, she
matured into a first-rate actress in such movies as Come
Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
(repeating her Broadway role), Silkwood (1983), Mask
(1985), Suspect (1987), and Moonstruck (1987). She was
nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Silkwood,
received one for her role in Moonstruck, and shared a
Best Actress award at Cannes for her supporting role in
Mask. Something of an enigma in the show business world,
Cher has managed to retain her stature as a highly
respected film actress while promoting exercise videos
and a line of cosmetics, in addition to recording new
chart-topping songs and appearing in music videos.
Caesar & Cleo didn't trouble the chart compilers
with any degree of success, but late in 1964, Cher (then
known as Cherilyn) was signed to Liberty Records'
Imperial imprint, and Bono came along as producer. A
Spector-ish version of "Dream Baby" managed to
get airplay in Los Angeles, becoming a local hit, and
they suspected they were onto something. That same
month, Sonny & Cher, as they were now known, signed
to Reprise Records and released their first single,
"Baby Don't Go." The song became a major local
hit in Los Angeles, after which the duo jumped from
Reprise to the Atco label, a division of Atlantic
Records. In April 1965 their first single, "Just
You" was released and rose to number 20 on the
charts. The duo was on its way, and Cher also had
Imperial Records after her for a second single. The
couple had seen the Byrds pioneer commercial folk-rock
with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," and had
witnessed them performing another Dylan number,
"All I Really Want to Do" at a club in Los
Angeles. The group intended to issue their own recording
of "All I Really Want to Do," but Cher, with
Sonny producing, beat them to the punch with her own
recording of the song.
She pursued a dual career for the next two years,
cutting solo recordings under Sonny's guidance that
regularly charted, and duets with her husband for Atco.
A month after "All I Really Want to Do," they
released "I Got You Babe," which was one of
the biggest-selling and most beloved pop/rock hits of
the mid-'60s, and the couple's signature tune across two
eras of success. Cher's solo career ended up slightly
overshadowed by her work with Sonny & Cher, but at
the time she was fully competitive on her own terms --
her first LP reached the Billboard Top 20 and was on the
albums charts for six months. "Bang Bang (My Baby
Shot Me Down)" was another hit, a million-seller
that made number three in America and England, and she
made the Top Ten once more with her 1967 single
"You Better Sit Down Kids." The latter song,
written by Bono (and which was also a hit for Glen
Campbell), dealt with divorce, an unusual subject for a
1960s pop record, and was one of a series of releases on
which Cher's music broached difficult areas -- others
were "I Feel Something's in the Air," which
dealt with unwanted pregnancy, and "Mama (When My
Dollies Have Babies)," both written by Bono.
Cher's solo career at Imperial, which had created some
political problems for the couple at Atlantic, ended
with the lapsing of her contract in 1967, and she moved
to Atlantic. Ironically, it was this move that
contributed the unhappy reversal of the couple's
fortunes at the end of the decade.
By the end of the 1960s, Sonny & Cher were no longer
selling records. A series of commercial missteps,
coupled with a change in public taste, had sharply
curtailed their sales, and a pair of movies (Good Times,
Chastity) had lost millions. Additionally, they were no
longer recording for Atlantic -- though they were still
under contract to them -- owing to the label's decision
to take Cher's solo recordings out of Sonny's hands and
assign a new producer to her.
Coupled with the presentation of a bill from the
Internal Revenue Service for $200,000 in back taxes,
these events left the couple in dire financial straights
at the end of the 1960s. They were forced to play club
dates, opening for artists like Pat Boone, and it was
there that their second career, and a second career for
Cher, took shape. A new contract with Decca Records in
1971, coupled with a chance at a summer replacement gig
on the CBS television network, brought them a second
chance at success.
The try-out on television was a success, as the couple
proved to be as funny as they were musically diverse. It
took a little longer to find a new formula for Cher's
music -- her initial single on Decca's Kapp label,
"Classified 1A," written by Bono, was a
failure; a serious song dealing with a girl's feelings
for a boyfriend killed in Vietnam; it was topical in all
the wrong ways to become a pop chart success. Producer
Snuff Garrett was recruited to work with her, and he
found a series of songs that were perfect for Cher's
maturing talent.
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," a conscious
attempt to emulate Springfield's "Son of a Preacher
Man" (which also recalled Cher's own "Bang
Bang") was released late in 1971 and became a
number one hit and a million-seller. To some listeners,
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" was the epitome
of schlocky pop/rock, but the song's subject matter,
unusual tempo changes, and an incredibly memorable
chorus-hook became a vehicle for a transcendent
performance by the singer, marking Cher's maturation as
an artist (the B-side, "I Hate to Sleep
Alone," written by Peggy Clinger of the Clinger
Sisters, curiously enough, managed to recall Sonny's
Spector-influenced productions from the Imperial years).
A follow-up album, featuring her covers of contemporary
hits such as "Fire and Rain," sold well also,
and her next single, "The Way of Love," a
revival of a mid-'60s Kathy Kirby hit, solidified the
image of a new, more confident and powerful Cher. And
the debut of the couple's regular network variety series
on CBS in January 1972 brought them back to the center
of American and international popular culture in a more
mature, wittier guise, and one that concentrated much
more on Cher as a personality.
Her 1960s music ran the gamut from Spector-style
miniature teen-pop symphonies to covers of contemporary
adult pop ("It's Not Unusual") and folk-rock,
all cut under Bono's guidance. Her voice wasn't very
rich or powerful, but it was expressive and surrounded
by Bono's radiant Spector creations, and she could put
over an almost inappropriately cheerful sounding version
of "The Bells of Rhymney" or "Blowin' in
the Wind." By contrast, her early- 1970s material,
solo or with Sonny, had a more adult point of view and
personality. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and the
later number one solo hits "Half-Breed" and
"Dark Lady" were dramatic, highly intense
performances, almost as much "acted" as sung,
and very different from her 1960s output.
In 1974, it was revealed that the couple's marriage was
coming to an end. Ironically, Cher came out of this
split more secure than her husband, despite his having
guided her career for a decade and having all of the
real training in the entertainment business. She
embarked on an acting career, even as she continued to
make headlines for her romantic exploits, including an
affair with (and two marriages to) Gregg Allman.
She became a far better actress than she
was a singer, first revealed in Mike Nichols' Silkwood
(1983) and then in Peter Bogdanovich's Mask (1985) and
George Miller's The Witches of Eastwick (1987). Her
acting peers caught on to the worth of her work in time
for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her
performance in Norman Jewison's 1987 romantic comedy
Moonstruck.
Since the mid-'70s, Cher has been known more for her
acting than for her music, although she has continued to
record for numerous labels, including Columbia, and in
1998 scored an international chart-topping smash with
the club-friendly single "Believe." She is, by
Garrett's analysis, more of a stylist than a singer, and
almost as much a personality as an actress, almost a
modern-day Helen Morgan (Showboat, etc.) with better
luck in life and career.
Marriages and relationships: In the early 1960s
Cher had a relationship with the actor Warren Beatty.
Sonny & Cher first met in 1962. Though they had
claimed to be married as early as 1963, and exchanged
rings in Tijuana, Mexico, it is believed that they
weren’t legally married until an impromptu ceremony in
Las Vegas in 1969. Cher married her second husband, rock
star Gregg Allman, in 1975. They later separated and
were divorced in 1977. Their son is Elijah Blue Allman
of the band Deadsy, who was born in 1976.
Following their break-up, Cher was involved in a number
of very public relationships with high profile men
including record executive David Geffen and Gene
Simmons, bass guitarist from the rock band Kiss.
In the early 1980s, Cher dated guitarist Les Dudek, whom
she had worked with on the Black Rose project. In the
mid-1980s, she was rumored to have dated a number of
younger film stars, including Eric Stoltz and Val
Kilmer. In 2006, her son, Elijah Blue Allman, indicated
on The Howard Stern show that Cher in fact had a
romantic relationship with actor Tom Cruise in the
mid-1980s. She had a well-publicized romance in 1986
with a much younger Rob Camiletti. When they met, he was
22 and she was 40. The media dubbed him “Bagel Boy,”
as it was learned that he was once a baker in a bagel
shop. It was widely speculated in the tabloid press that
that the couple were planning to marry, but this never
occurred. In the mid-1980s she had a relationship with
Josh Donen.
Cher was involved with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora
for two years in the early 1990s, and has also been
linked to musicians Eric Clapton and Mark Hudson. Rumors
also circulated that she was dating her lead guitar
player on her lengthy Farewell Tour. "National
Equirer". This was brought on by their intimate
relationship onstage with Cher doing "I Found
Someone" on her Farewell Tour. It was also said
that they still feel the same way after the tour ended.
Over the span of her lengthy career, Cher also has been
rumored to be romantically linked to numerous men
including the actors Ray Liotta, Matt Dillon, John
Heard, Tv host John Loeffler and Tony Anstis and the ice
hockey player Ron Duguay. But most of these affairs are
unconfirmed so far.
Personal wealth: It is believed that Cher has
become one of the wealthiest entertainers in the
industry. According to a 2002 Rolling Stone magazine
article, her personal net worth was estimated to be over
US$600 million. She is noted for her expansive
collection of real estate and maintains a primary home
in Malibu, California, valued at US$25 million. It was
reported in April 2006 that Cher had purchased a
condominium in the Sierra Towers in West Hollywood,
California, for US$4.5 million. In May 2006, she sold
her Florida mansion for US$8.8 million. In addition, she
owns homes in Aspen, Colorado, and London. She has
claimed to own an impressive antique and art collection
reportedly worth US$192.5 million, and her recent
contract for a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
will earn her US$60 million.
In July 2006, it was announced that Cher, in conjunction
with Sotheby's and Julien's Auctions were planning to
auction about 800 of her personal possessions from her
Italian Renaissance-themed Malibu estate, including
numerous antiques, art collectibles, paintings, career
memorabilia, furniture (including her bed) as well as
numerous pieces of jewelry, clothing, stage costumes,
gowns, a 2003 H2 Hummer and her 2005 Bentley. The event,
which took place October 3-5 in Beverly Hills,
California, raised US$3.5 million. Cher had said a large
percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Cher
Charitable Foundation.
As a gay icon: Cher has long been considered an
icon in popular gay culture. She has been imitated by
drag queens across the world for decades. Her transition
to dance music and social activism in recent years has
further contributed to her iconic popularity within the
gay community.
The NBC sitcom Will & Grace acknowledged her status
by making her the idol of gay character Jack McFarland.
Cher guest-starred as herself twice on the sitcom, in
2000 and 2002. In 2000, Cher made a cameo on the show,
in which Jack believed her to be a drag queen, and said
he could "do" a better Cher himself. In 2002,
she played God in Jack's imagined version of Heaven.
Cher's status may have been boosted by her support of
her openly lesbian daughter Chastity Bono. Although not
supporting Chastity immediately after she came out, Cher
has since become one of the gay community's most vocal
advocate and supporter.
In 1998, Cher was honored with a GLAAD Media Award (Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and in November
1999, The Advocate named Cher one of the '25 Coolest
Women'. In October 2005, the Bravo program Great Things
About Being... declared Cher the number one greatest
thing about being gay.
Her perseverance and longevity is the inspiration for
the famous quote by gay impressionist Jimmy James:
"After a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left
are cockroaches and Cher".
Political interests: Unlike her late ex-husband
Sonny Bono, Cher has always been a staunch Democrat. She
has attended and performed at Democratic Party
conventions and events. Today, she considers herself a
Democrat by default, but more of an Independent because
of what she perceives to be the recent moderate to
conservative leanings of the current Democratic Party.
In 1996, Cher appeared on C-SPAN as part of a national
AIDS awareness event. She also disclosed her personal
friendship with CNN host Lou Dobbs.
On October 27, 2003, Cher anonymously called a C-SPAN
phone-in program. She recounted a visit she had made to
maimed soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
and criticized the lack of media coverage and government
attention given to injured servicemen. She also remarked
that she watches C-SPAN every day. Though she simply
identified herself as an unnamed entertainer with the
USO, she was recognized by the C-SPAN host, who
subsequently questioned her about her 1992 support for
independent presidential candidate Ross Perot.
On Memorial Day weekend in 2006 she called in again,
endorsing Operation Helmet, an organization started by a
doctor which provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge
to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to those
ordered to deploy in the near future. She identified
herself as a caller from Malibu, California, and
proceeded to complain about the current presidential
administration. She read aloud a letter from a soldier
on the ground in Iraq, praising Operation Helmet's
efforts, and decrying the lack of protection afforded by
the military's provisions for troops.
On May 18, 2006, Cher was a guest on The Ed Schultz Show
to discuss her work in support of U.S. troops fighting
abroad, as well as returning veterans. Schultz noted her
involvement with both Operation Helmet and the Intrepid
Fallen Heroes Fund, which is constructing an advanced
training skills facility at Brooke Army Medical Center
in San Antonio, Texas. The center will serve military
personnel who have been catastrophically disabled in
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those severely
injured in other operations, as well as in the normal
performance of their duties, combat and non-combat
related.
During the interview with Schultz, Cher again said she
is an independent. Her comments about the current
political scene in the U.S. led him to interject,
"You're fed up with everybody", to which she
replied, "I really am. I couldn't be a Republican
'cause I think I believe in too many services for poor
people, but I'm fed up with the Democrats. I just
think...you're gonna find all their spines where you
find the elephant's graveyard."
Towards the end of the interview, Schultz asked Cher
what she thinks about today's protest songs. She
responded, "You know, I think it's the duty of
artists to say what they want, in favor or in
opposition. Unfortunately, I think that, with [the Bush
administration], you haven't been able to really voice
any opposition because of 9/11, if you say anything
opposed to the administration, somehow they've been able
to wrap themselves in the flag, so that if you have any
opposing viewpoint, you're unpatriotic." She was
about to offer her thoughts on this, but stopped,
saying, "I don't know what you can say on your
program, so I won't talk the way I normally talk."
Implying her comments would be salty, she did add,
though, "I don't like it...it rubs me the wrong
way. And if I could say all those seven words [that
George Carlin's famous routine suggests cannot be said
on TV], that's what I'd be saying."
Cher is still involved with Operation Helmet, and
appeared with Dr. Bob Meaders (founder of Operation
Helmet) on C-Span again on June 14, 2006. She then
appeared with him on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2006. It
has been reported that Cher has so far donated over
US$130,000 to Operation Helmet.
Humanitarian work: Cher has been involved with
many humanitarian groups and charity efforts over the
years. After appearing in the movie Mask, she served as
National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson of the
Children’s Craniofacial Association. Over the years
while touring, she frequently donated concert tickets to
families and non-profit groups for children and youth
with facial deformities. Such donations were alluded to
in an episode of the TV series X-Files entitled The Post
Modern Prometheus.
In 1993, Cher participated in a humanitarian effort to
Armenia, (where her father was born) bringing much
needed food and medical supplies and touring the
war-torn region. In 1998, she co-hosted the annual Amfar
AIDS Benefit at the Cannes Film Festival with Elizabeth
Taylor.
In August 2005, it was reported that Cher had
voluntarily sent payments to help a 16-year-old
Northport, Alabama, boy with muscular dystrophy who
required home healthcare. He was all but bedridden after
his 69-year-old adoptive mother, who'd suffered two
strokes, was left disabled and the boy's home health
care was cut off when he lost his Medicaid coverage.
She is also the namesake of the Cher Charitable
Foundation, which donates funds to various charities and
causes close to her heart.
Cher is a major contributor to Operation-Helmet.org, a
charity that provides helmet upgrade kits to troops at
no cost to them. This continues her active support of
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines since the Vietnam
War.
Image and enduring popularity: Cher’s lasting
legacy in popular culture has long been disputed. She
has stated of herself that “singers don’t consider
me a singer and actors don't consider me an actor”,
despite her undeniable achievements in both arenas. She
is highly respected for her considerable career
longevity and ability to bounce back when critics have
long written her off. She has also been quoted as
saying, “Some years I'm the hottest thing, and the
next year, people are so over me”. She has described
herself as a "hit and miss artist" and
"more of a stylist than a musician."
Cher has a very large and devoted fanbase that has
transcended generations. Their devotion is evidenced
through the biennial Cher Convention which began in
Chicago in 2000 as a tribute by fans when her song
"Believe" reached number one. With all
proceeds going to the Children's Craniofacial
Association. The event is now held every other year, and
has included Las Vegas in 2002 and 2004, and Los Angeles
in 2006.
An upcoming fan event, The Cher Expo, with a
presentation of Cher memorabilia and a variety show in
her honor is planned for Hilton Head Island, South
Carolina in 2007 and Atlanta in 2009. A charity drive
for Operation Rebound, a division of the Challenged
Athletes Foundation, is also planned; monies raised will
be used to help amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan
return to an active and athletic life.
An absurdist Monty Python ragtime song that pays homage
to Henry Kissinger compares the former Secretary of
State's cleavage more favourably to Cher's.
Tattoos: Cher became famous for her many tattoos,
long before they were fashionable among women in
Hollywood. Among them were a large butterfly and floral
design on her buttocks, later imitated by androgynous
Dead or Alive singer Pete Burns; a flowing necklace on
her left upper arm with three charms hanging on it: an
Egyptian ankh, a cross and a heart, a kanji on her right
shoulder (Chinese 'li'; Japanese 'chikara'; 力,
meaning 'power'); a small cluster of Art Deco crystals
on her inner right arm; a black orchid design just above
the crease of her right thigh; and a chrysanthemum on
her left ankle.
Media reports in recent years have indicated that Cher
has since committed to having all of her tattoos
removed, and the process has apparently been underway.
Some pictures from her most recent concert tour have
shown blank skin where some of the smaller tattoos once
were. Elderly pop culture historian, Thomas Caputo
actually specializes in Cher tatoos.
Influence: In her early career, Cher was a
fashion trendsetter, popularizing long straight hair,
bellbottoms and an exposed midriff. Through her
television shows she inspired women and pushed the
censors with her baring outfits and creative ensembles,
frequently designed by Bob Mackie. She has also inspired
a generation of younger singer/actresses who have noted
her as being influential on their
In July 1999, Cher ranked number 43 on VH1’s 100
Greatest Women of Rock & Roll poll and in September
2002, she ranked number 26 on VH1’s 100 Sexiest
Artists. She has appeared on the cover of People
magazine 13 times. In a recent poll, A&E's Biography
Magazine ranked her as people's third favorite actress
of all time behind two of her Hollywood idols, Katharine
Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn. |
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