The Incredible Journey Of Cher: Goddess Of Pop
One of the incredible things about Cher is that regardless of what age you are, you probably recognize the starlet's name thanks to her decades-long career. Cher was the daughter of a struggling single mom. Despite these humble beginnings, Cher was so determined to be a star that she left school at 16, moved to Los Angeles, and committed herself to her dreams. From being a Hollywood laughing stock to an infomercial queen, she's overcome the odds at every turn. Read on to see how the Goddess of Pop became one of the world's biggest stars.
Destined To Be A Performer
Cher's mother, Georgia Holt, was a struggling model and actress who moved Cher and her half-sister, Georganne, around quite a bit. While on the move, Georgia often got her daughters roles as extras.
At the age of nine, Cher staged a performance of the musical Oklahoma! for her class. Her low singing voice enabled her to play the male roles since none of the boys wanted to participate, and she directed the female actors and choreographed the dances.
She Knew That She Wanted To Be Famous
Cher sometimes doubted herself growing up, especially since there weren't as many dark-haired actresses in the Hollywood films she loved. She loved Audrey Hepburn and decided that she wanted to become famous.
Though she had humble beginnings, she was eventually enrolled in a private school where she was an immediate standout, and embraced the attention. She performed songs at lunch and had a look and style that caught people's attention. One of her former classmates said of Cher, "She said she was going to be a movie star and we knew she would."
She Wasn't Fond Of School
Though Cher excelled in English and French classes and was highly creative, she wasn't academic by nature. She spent most of her time thinking about the fame she wanted to achieve one day.
She also struggled with school due to having dyslexia, which she wasn't diagnosed with until she was 30 years old. At the young age of sixteen, Cher dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles with a friend. To support herself, she danced in Hollywood clubs where she would boldly approach anyone she thought could help her get into the industry.
Meeting Sonny Changed Everything
Cher's drive and persistence quickly paid off; she met performer Sonny Bono the year she moved to Los Angeles. He introduced her to his boss, the record producer Phil Spector, who used her as a backup singer and produced her first single, "Ringo, I Love You."
The song was unsuccessful, but Sonny was adamant about Cher's solo career. Since she had stage fright, the two began performing together, but their first duo singles were also unsuccessful.
Success Came At Last
In 1964, Sonny and Cher unofficially tied the knot and Cher signed a deal with Imperial Records. Sonny became her producer and the two worked together on her cover of Bob Dylan's "All I Really Want To Do."
The single reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and her debut album of the same name peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200. In 1965, Sonny and Cher recorded their smash hit, "I Got You Babe," which was and still is one of the most beloved pop/rock hits of all time.
Rising Fame And A Passion For Fashion
In 1965, the musical duo moved to England in accordance with the Rolling Stones' suggestion that they would be better received there. Their song "I Got You Babe" outperformed The Beatles on the British charts, and British teens adored their fashion sense.
Striped pants, ruffled shirts, and big, furry jackets became all the rage in Britain thanks to the couple's near-immediate stardom, prompting Cher to start her own clothing line. In 1965, their first duo album, Look At Us, spent two months at number two on the Billboard 200, right behind The Beatles' Help!
Cher Kept Up With Her Solo Work
Sonny and Cher matched The Beatles in achieving five top 50 songs at the same time. In the two years following their breakthrough hit, they sold 40 million records around the world. All the while, Cher continued her work as a solo artist.
Sonny wrote "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," which became Cher's first million-seller solo single. In 1966 she released her second and third solo studio albums, and her fourth came in 1967 and featured the US top-ten single "You Better Sit Down Kids."
She Was Pegged As A Model By The Editor Of Vogue
Former Vogue editor Diane Vreeland took notice of Cher at a party for Jacqueline Kennedy. At her suggestion, Cher began working with photographer Richard Avedon and was featured in various issues of the magazine.
Cher stunned at the Met Gala when she arrived at the event in 1974 dressed in a controversial gown, which she would go on to wear on the cover of Time the following year. She also fought for the right to reveal her navel on television and was later called the "pioneer of the belly beautiful" by People.
Family Life And A Dip In Her Career
1969 was a transformative year for Cher. After her fifth studio album was met with little success, she was dropped from Imperial Records. ATCO wanted Cher as a solo artist but dropped the musical duo Sonny and Cher.
At last free from Sonny's creative control, Cher experimented with new sounds in her sixth studio album, 3614 Jackson Highway, which some refer to as her best album. Sonny disagreed and the couple's relationship began to falter. Nevertheless, the two were officially married in 1969 after Cher gave birth to their first child.
Film Failure And Television Success
In 1969, Sonny and Cher landed themselves in nearly $200,000 worth of debt due to their unsuccessful film Chastity. On the bright side, the movie showed off Cher's acting ability, which would come in handy two years later.
The couple tried a different approach, putting together a nightclub routine that garnered the attention of television executives. After making several guest appearances on shows, they landed The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which earned Cher the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress-- Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1974.
Her First Musical Comeback
Sonny and Cher made their musical comeback in the early '70s, recording four albums in just two years while putting on their television show and raising an infant. At the same time, Cher was making her solo comeback with the help of producer Snuff Garrett.
Her hit "Gypsys, Tramps, & Thieves" was produced by Garrett and become the first solo artist single to rank number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Garrett later insisted that Cher record "Half-Breed," which Mary Dean wrote specifically for her. The hit was Cher's second US solo top single and was certified gold, along with its album.
Moving On From Sonny
During Cher's success in the early '70s, it became painstakingly obvious that Sonny didn't know what was best for her music career, despite his stronghold over her. Snuff Garrett's success with Cher only underscored Sonny's bad advice, especially when disagreements between the two lead to Garrett's resignation.
Sonny and Cher parted ways and she was granted the funds she felt he'd withheld from her as well as custody of their child. When the two split, Cher began a relationship with David Geffen, a record executive who helped free her from her business ties to Sonny.
Her Failed Attempt At Becoming A Rockstar
While she was still with David Geffen, the two were committed to turning her into a rockstar, resulting in the unsuccessful album Stars, which now stands as a cult classic. Shortly after her divorce from Sonny was finalized, Cher married rocker Gregg Allman.
A year later, the couple welcomed a son and the following year, they released the duet album Two the Hard Way. The album was a failure and the two separated in 1978, after which Cher began a two-year relationship with KISS member Gene Simmons.
Capitalizing On The Disco Craze
As the decade neared, Cher decided to take a new approach to her music career. She signed with Casablanca Records and put out the disco album Take Me Home, which was a bestselling album for more than half a year.
The album and its featured single of the same name were certified gold, leading Cher to rethink her distaste for disco. The album also gave her the momentum to give rock another try in her final album of the '70s, Prisoner.
Cher Goes Rock And Roll
Immediately after Take Me Home and just before the '80s hit, Cher put out her rock album Prisoner. The albums clashed, which had a negative impact on the receptibility of both. The single "Hell on Wheels" was featured in the musical drama Roller Boogie.
Once the '80s hit, Cher formed a rock band, Black Rose, with her next romantic partner, Les Dudek. She chopped off her long black hair and adapted a Joan Jett look. Though the band broke up in 1981, Cher did have some rock success in her collaboration with Meat Loaf for the song "Dead Ringer for Love."
Her Film Success Took Fans By Surprise
After her commercially unsuccessful I Paralyze pop album in 1982, Cher moved into the world of film. The only person who would take her seriously as an actress was director Robert Altman, who Cher credits with launching her acting career.
After performing in his Broadway stage production and its film adaptation of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Cher wowed audiences with her performance in Silkwood alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. The film landed her the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress -- Motion Picture.
Becoming A Hollywood Leading Lady
In 1985, Cher established herself as a leading lady of Hollywood by starring in the film Mask alongside big-time actor Sam Elliot. Her role earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress.
Around the same time, she began dating Tom Cruise, who is 16 years her junior and was just starting to establish himself as a Hollywood leading man. She also dated Val Kilmer and Eric Stoltz who, like Tom Cruise, were both young and fresh stars in the film industry in the '80s.
1987 Was A Huge Year For Cher's Film And Music Career
Cher applied the same work ethic she had in the '70s to the year 1987, putting out three films and an album. She starred alongside Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson in the drama Suspect, acted next to Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer in the comedy horror The Witches of Eastwick, and played opposite Nicholas Cage in the rom-com Moonstruck.
The latter won Cher an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. To top it all off, she returned to music and at last established herself as a serious rock and roll singer through her album Cher, which was certified platinum.
Establishing Herself In Rock Music
Still hot off her first successful rock album, Cher put out Heart of Stone which gave us the rock hit "If I Could Turn Back Time." The song became one of Cher's most successful singles and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her burst of success garnered her the Favorite All-Around Female Star People's Choice Award in 1989. She continued her rock streak with her 1991 album Love Hurts, which spent six weeks at number one in the UK and was certified gold.
Her Stint As The "Infomercial Queen"
In the early '90s, Cher established herself as an exercise guru with her book Forever Fit and her CherFitness exercise videos. Upon contracting the Epstein-Barr virus, she took a step away from music and acting and started doing infomercials for health and beauty products.
The public did not receive the infomercials well, deeming her a sellout and prompting Saturday Night Live parodies of the star. Cher retorted by making cameo appearances, creating a catalog business, and putting out a rock version of "I Got You Babe" and the charity single "Love Can Build A Bridge."
Her Music And Film Comeback
In 1995, Cher signed with WEA and released the album It's A Man's World. The album had R&B influences, which impressed critics and audiences alike. It also featured multiple singles that were covers of men's songs, an idea Cher came up with while conceptualizing the album.
The following year, Cher starred in the HBO film If These Walls Could Talk alongside Sissy Spacek and Demi Moore. The film garnered an 18.7 rating, setting the record for HBO originals to date.
Sonny's Passing And Believe
A month after Sonny's 1998 passing, Sonny and Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sonny's widow, Mary Bono, joined Cher in Sonny's absence at the ceremony. Cher delivered a eulogy at his funeral and included him in her book The First Time.
The same year, she released the upbeat album Believe. Its dance-pop genre featured autotune, which was a breakthrough technology at the time. The album raised Cher to a whole new level of fame, achieving gold or platinum status in 39 countries. The title track reached number one in 23 countries and earned Cher a Grammy for Best Dance Recording.
Reaching New Levels Of Fame
In the final year before the new millennium, Cher proved that her fame could continue on an upward track. She performed the Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl, attracted more viewers to VH1 than ever before during their Divas Live 2 special, and sold out every Believe tour show in America.
On top of all that, she released two compilation albums in '99, one of which was certified gold and the other which sold three million copies outside the US in less than two months. The same year, Billboard named her the number-one dance artist the World Music Awards presented her with their Legend Award.
Committing To Her Songwriting
Like many singers, Cher has largely performed songs that she didn't write. In 1994, she attended a songwriters' conference that prompted an album that she wrote nearly in its entirety. The album, Not.com.mercial, was rejected by her record label, so she released it on her website alone.
Another under-wraps record was her collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan on their album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. She uses her former pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason for the album's credits, though only one copy was ever sold and was the most expensive album on record.
Her Groundbreaking Farewell Tour
Cher's 2001 album Living Proof peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and prompted a tour the following year. She named the tour Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, as it was set to be her last concert tour before her retirement.
Fans scrambled to see her live, and the worldwide tour was expanded from 49 shows to 325 over the course of three years due to high demand. It became one of the highest-grossing tours of all time, and its corresponding television special won Cher a Primetime Emmy.
Coming Out Of Retirement
Cher remained in retirement from the end of her Farewell Tour in 2005 to the start of her Colosseum at Caesars Palace residency in 2008. The three-year, 200-performance agreement allegedly earned her $60 million a year and featured aerialists, special effects, and nearly two dozen costume changes.
The residency wouldn't be her last in Las Vegas. In 2017, the ever-enduring star signed onto not one, but two three-year residencies: one at the Park Theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and one at The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Washington, DC.
Returning To Film
In 2010, Cher once again proved she was far from done when she starred opposite Christina Aguilera in the musical film Burlesque. Her character's ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" was well-received by fans, and made it to number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs in 2011.
The same year, she was the voice of Janet the Lioness in Zookeeper, a comedy starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson. Two years later, Lifetime aired her documentary, Dear Mom, Love Cher, which highlights the story of her mother, Georgia Holt.
Her First Album In Over A Decade
Cher set a new record for herself in October 2013 with the album Closer to the Truth, which reached her highest spot yet on the Billboard 200, coming in at number 3. The album was her first since 2001 and proved that the then 67-year-old could still hold her own.
Cher sang on of the album's singles, "Woman's World," on The Voice's season four finale. In 2015, she was Marc Jacobs' guest at the Met Gala and later posed for his brand's fall/winter campaign. In 2017, Gwen Stefani presented her the Billboard Icon Award.
Mamma Mia! And More
Despite being only three years older than her longtime friend Meryl Streep, Cher performed as Meryl's mother in the musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018. Cher's cover of two ABBA songs, as well as her acting performance, were as well-received as ever.
The same year, Cher went against her claim that she was done touring and embarked on the Here We Go Again Tour. All the while, she's working on a Christmas album, an ABBA cover album, an autobiography, and a biographical film.
Humanitarian Efforts
Throughout all of her fame and fortune, Cher has managed not to lose sight of those in need. In addition to the Cher Charitable Foundation, she is a spokesperson for Keep a Child Alive and a contributor to Operation Helmet and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
She served as the National Chair of Habitat for Humanity's "Raise the Roof" initiative and is a top supporter of the Peace Village School. She has partnered with Icelandic Glacial and is an active member of the LGBTQ community, for which she received the GLAAD Vanguard Award.
