Cher Biography

Cher (born Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere on May 20, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, director, author and all-around entertainer. Through her achievements in music, television and film, she has won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy and 3 Golden Globe Awards, among others.

She first rose to prominence in the mid 1960s as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher and also established herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 26 albums, numerous compilations and achieving 22 Billboard Top 40 hits, (including 12 Top 10 hits and 4 #1 hits) over her career. Her albums have so far included 10 gold, 1 platinum and 3 multi-platinum RIAA certifications.

She became a successful television star in the 1970s and a film actress in the 1980s. In 1988, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

According to the 2007 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records, Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour is the top grossing tour ever, after earning nearly $400 million.

In a career that has now surpassed 40 years, Cher has emerged a pop-culture icon and one of the most enduring and respected entertainers of all time.

Cher was born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946 at 7:25 a.m. Her mother, Georgia Holt (née Pelham), an aspiring actress and occasional model, is of Cherokee, Armenian and English descent. Her father was John Sarkisian, an Armenian-Iranian refugee. Cher's mother and father separated when she was young and she was mostly raised by her mother. Her mother later remarried. Due to severe dyslexia she left high school at the age of sixteen.

Sonny and Cher first met in 1962. Though they had claimed to be married as early as 1965, numerous reports have indicated that they had exchanged rings in Tijuana, Mexico, but weren’t legally married until an impromptu ceremony in Las Vegas in 1969. She married her second husband, rock star Gregg Allman, in 1975. They later separated and were divorced in 1978.

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 started 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 rumored that that the couple were planning to marry, as this was the subject of much tabloid speculation throughout the late 1980s.

She was involved with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for two years in the early 1990s and was also linked to musicians Eric Clapton and Mark Hudson. Rumors also circulated that she was linked to her lead guitar player on her lengthy Farewell Tour.

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 around $600 million. She is noted for her expansive collection of real estate and maintains a primary home in Malibu, California, which is reportedly valued at $25 million. It was reported in April of 2006 that Cher had purchased a condominium in the Sierra Towers in West Hollywood, California, for $4.5 million, and, in May of 2006, that she had sold her Florida mansion for $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 $192.5 million, and her recent contract for a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was reportedly signed for $60 million.

In August of 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 jewellery, clothing and stage costumes and gowns, a 2003 H2 Hummer and her 2005 Bentley. The event, which took place October 3-5 in Beverly Hills, California, raised $3.5 million of which Cher had said a large sum would benefit the Cher Charitable Foundation.

Unlike her late ex-husband Sonny Bono, Cher has, until quite recently, 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 due to 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 C-SPAN during a phone-in. 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.

Also, during the interview with Schultz, Cher 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."

Clearly suggesting 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."

Currently, Cher is 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 $130,000 to Operation Helmet.

Cher has been involved with many humanitarian groups and charity efforts over the years. She has served as National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson of the Children’s Craniofacial Association since 1990 after appearing in the movie Mask. 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 of 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 suffered two strokes was left disabled and 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.

Cher’s lasting legacy in popular culture has long been disputed. She herself has stated 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" though she also assumes an active role in the production of her music.

See Cher discography