Cher is an American singer, actress, and television personality, often referred to by the media as the Goddess of Pop.
She has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry.
Born on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California, Cher is of Armenian heritage on her father’s side and of English, German, Irish, Dutch and French heritage on her mother’s side.
She has had a successful singing career, with hits in every decade from the 1960s to the 2020s, and is the only performer to have earned ‘top 10’ hit singles in four consecutive decades.
As an actress, Cher has won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film, Moonstruck.
She has also been involved in television, including co-hosting The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and having her own variety show, Cher… Special, in the late 1970s.
In addition to her entertainment career, Cher has been a prominent figure in fashion, known for her bold and innovative style, often working with designer Bob Mackie.
She has been a strong advocate for various social and political causes throughout her career.
Net worth | $360 million |
Profession | Singer, actress, television personality |
Date of birth | May 20, 1946 |
Nationality | American |
Background
Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt, was an occasional model and bit-part actress of Irish, English, German and Cherokee ancestry.
Her father, John Sarkisian, was an Armenian-American truck driver with drug and gambling problems.
Cher’s parents divorced when she was ten months old, and her mother later married actor John Southall, with whom she had another daughter, Georganne, who is Cher’s half-sister.
Her family history is marked by resilience and adaptability, with a blend of marriages and relationships that shaped her upbringing.
Cher’s family background influenced her music and performances, reflecting a journey from modest beginnings to international stardom.
Net worth
Cher has a net worth of $360 million.
She has earned her wealth through her successful career in the entertainment industry, spanning over six decades.
Cher has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling musical artists.
She has also won numerous awards, including a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a Cannes Film Festival award.
Cher’s net worth comes from various sources, including royalties from her iconic records, her Las Vegas residency, ticket sales from tours, successful movies and other business ventures such as fragrances and commercials.
She has also appeared in major Hollywood movies and has launched her own fragrance line.
Cher’s net worth is a testament to her hard work and dedication in the entertainment industry.
Salary
Cher has averaged around $6 million per year.
In specific instances, she earned significant amounts, such as $300,000 a week as a successful nightclub singer in Las Vegas in 1979.
Cher also signed a $60 million per-year deal to headline the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for three years in 2007.
Sonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher.
They started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector and achieved fame with two hit songs in 1965, Baby Don’t Go and I Got You Babe.
The couple released three studio albums in the late 1960s and two albums in the 1970s under the MCA/Kapp Records label.
They also positioned themselves as media personalities with two top ten TV shows in the US, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, a variety show, aired from 1971 to 1974 on CBS.
The show was known for its humor, music performances and celebrity guests.
The couple’s career as a duo ended in 1975 following their divorce.
Solo career
Cher went on to a highly successful career as a solo singer and actress, while Sonny Bono was eventually elected to Congress as a Republican U.S. Representative from California.
In 1975, after the divorce, she started her career as a solo act.
Cher was known for her unique voice, bold fashion choices, and strong stage presence.
Her solo career was marked by numerous hit songs, successful albums, and memorable performances.
In November of 1987, Sonny Bono and Cher reunited for a performance of I Got You, Babe on the Letterman show.
This was the final time they ever sang together, as Bono passed away in January 1998.
Cher’s career has spanned over five decades, and she has become an icon in the entertainment industry.
She has won numerous awards, including an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance By an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
Acting career
Cher’s acting career began in the 1960s with her involvement in the folk-rock husband-wife duo, Sonny & Cher.
However, she pursued acting more seriously in the 1980s, appearing on Broadway in the play Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean in 1982 and reprising the role of Sissy in its film adaptation.
Cher continued to earn the respect of critics and fans alike by turning in a number of strong big-screen performances, including her roles in Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck.
Her ability to reinvent herself and navigate the evolving trends of popular culture has been crucial to her success in the entertainment industry.
Cher has been presented as a product of male creativity at the beginning of her career, but her image eventually changed due to her refusal of dependence on a man and her determination to forge a career.
Her acting career has not only brought her critical acclaim but also commercial success.
Cher’s roles in films such as Mask and Moonstruck have been commercial and critical successes, earning her awards and recognition for her performances.
Her ability to portray determined and dominant women on screen has made her a favorite among audiences and critics alike.
Awards and accolades
Cher has won four Grammy Awards, including for Best Dance Recording for Believe and Love One Another.
She holds several Guinness World Records, including for the highest grossing music tour by a female artist and the oldest female singer to reach No.1 on the US chart.
Cher has won several American Music Awards, including for Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
In film, she has won one Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Moonstruck.
Cher has won three Golden Globe Awards, including for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for Moonstruck and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.
She has been nominated for two BAFTA Awards, including for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Moonstruck.
In television, Cher has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for Cher: The Farewell Tour and Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for Cher: The Farewell Tour.
She has won three People’s Choice Awards, including for Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer and Favorite Motion Picture Actress.
Cher has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for her television work, including for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.
In addition to these awards, she has also been recognized for her contributions to the entertainment industry in various other ways, including being named one of the 100 Greatest Entertainers of All Time by Entertainment Weekly and being ranked as one of the most influential female singers of the 1970s by HubPages.
Cher is also known for her philanthropic efforts, including supporting various charities and causes related to HIV/AIDS, LGBT rights and animal welfare.
She has also won one Fragrance Foundation Award for her fragrance, Cher Eau de Couture, and has been honored once by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for her contributions to the LGBT community.
Cher has been honored once by Glamour magazine for her contributions to entertainment and women’s empowerment and has been nominated once for the Girls’ Choice Music Icon award.
Philanthropic efforts
Cher’s philanthropic efforts are extensive and diverse, focusing on a range of causes including HIV/AIDS, children’s health, animal rights and environmental issues.
She has been involved with amfAR, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS and has supported DoSomething.org, which mobilizes young people for social change.
Cher has also been a long-time supporter of children with facial anomalies, serving as the national chairperson and honorary spokesperson for the Children’s Craniofacial Association since 1990.
She has also been involved in humanitarian efforts in Armenia and has contributed to organizations supporting soldiers and veterans, such as Operation Helmet and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
In addition to these efforts, Cher has been involved in poverty alleviation through her work with Habitat for Humanity and has supported efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic, including providing antiretroviral medicine to children and their families with HIV/AIDS.
She has also been involved in environmental issues, such as the lead contamination in Flint, Michigan, where she donated more than 180,000 bottles of water to the city.
In 2020, Cher launched the CherCares Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative alongside Dr. Irwin Redlener, the head of Columbia University’s Pandemic Resource and Response Center, to distribute $1 million to ‘chronically neglected and forgotten people’ during the pandemic.
Her philanthropic efforts have also extended to animal rights, particularly in the case of Kaavan, the world’s loneliest elephant, whom she helped rescue from a zoo in Pakistan and resettle in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.
Cher has also founded the charity Free the Wild with Mark Cowne to stop the suffering of wild animals in captivity and ultimately find a way to release them into sanctuaries or better-equipped zoos.
Personal life
Cher is a proud mother of two children, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.
Chaz was born in March 1969, and he is a transgender man who began transitioning in the late 2000s.
He has appeared in various films and television shows, including Dirty, Reborn and American Horror Story.
Chaz has also been an activist for various causes and has written several books, including the NY Times Best Sellers Family Outing 1998 and Transition.
Elijah Blue Allman was born in July 1976, and he is a singer and musician like his parents.
He was part of the band Deadsy and has worked with artists like 30 Seconds to Mars, Orgy, Coal Chamber and Sugar Ray.
Elijah Blue Allman has also made an appearance as a guitarist in Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time music video.
Cher has been open about her complicated relationships with both of her children over the years.
She has said that she struggled with Chaz’s transition at first but has since become a strong advocate for him and the transgender community.
Cher has also addressed reports of being estranged from Elijah Blue Allman, stating that parents and their children often have disagreements but that she loves him and he lives with her now.
In 2023, Cher filed for a conservatorship to control access to Elijah Blue Allman’s finances, claiming that he is ‘currently unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues.’
Cher added that she is concerned about how her son is handling his finances and that she is in the best position to protect his interests as his mother.
Divorce
Sonny and Cher met in 1962 when Cher was a 16-year-old high-school dropout who wanted to be a star and Sonny was 28 and an assistant to record producer Phil Spector.
They married in 1965 and had a daughter, Chastity (now Chaz), in 1969.
In the early 1970s, they became a prime time TV staple with The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, but by 1974, the cracks in their relationship were evident.
Cher cited Sonny’s controlling and domineering behavior as one of the reasons for their marital issues.
She also discovered that Cher Enterprises, the corporation formed by Sonny, was 95 percent owned by her husband, with the remaining five percent held by their lawyer.
Trusting her husband, Cher had also signed a restrictive contract that meant she couldn’t take jobs without Sonny.
In 1974, Cher told Sonny she was involved with a guitarist in their band.
Instead of ending their marriage, they stayed married but found different new partners, with some joining the couple at their mansion.
Sonny filed for separation in February 1974, and Cher demanded a divorce, calling their marriage “involuntary servitude.”
Cher eventually discovered that she had no control over her career, finances or personal life due to Sonny’s controlling nature and the legal agreements they had in place.
The divorce was finalized on June 26, 1975, and Cher married Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band a few days later, though that marriage almost immediately had its own issues.
After separate TV shows failed for both Cher and Sonny, they again worked together on The Sonny and Cher Show, but the magic was gone and the show didn’t last.
Cher struggled to find her footing after divorcing Sonny, but she remained a star and added an impressive career in acting to her resumé.
Sonny decided to become a restaurateur before turning to politics.
Despite sharing a child, Cher and Sonny often sniped at each other in public after splitting up.
Cher was devastated when she learned Sonny had died in a skiing accident on January 5, 1998.
She spent days drafting a eulogy she hoped would ‘repair all the damage and misconceptions about Sonny.’
Cher ended her eulogy by saying, “When I was a young there was this section in Reader’s Digest called The Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met. No matter how old I get, no matter how many people I meet, that person will always be Son for me.”
Since then, Cher has admitted that Sonny’s death was a shock. “I never expected him not to be there.”
She’s also contacted a medium who assured her of Sonny’s love, and stated, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s up there taking care of me. He did a good job of looking after me in the sixties and I’m quite happy for him to do it again.”
Real estate
Cher’s real estate portfolio is quite extensive and varied, with properties in various locations and styles.
She and then-husband Sonny Bono purchased the Owlwood Estate in Holmby Hills, California, for $750,000 in the 1970s.
This Italian Renaissance-style home was built by architect Robert D. Farquhar in 1936 and features a historic main house with nine bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, an elevator and a dramatic spiral staircase.
Marilyn Monroe is believed to have spent considerable time at the property when her rumored boyfriend, 20th Century Fox founder Joseph Schenck, lived there.
Cher also owned a Beverly Hills pad in the 1970s, known as her Egyptian fortress for its decor.
The 20,000-square-foot main house had stone flooring, brick accent walls, and wood-beamed ceilings, while a 7,000-square-foot Moroccan-style guesthouse featured hand-carved wood doors and arched windows.
In the 2010s, Cher purchased a relatively modest home in Venice Beach, California, for a little over $1.5 million.
This two-story and three-bedroom residence featured a double-height living room, a chef’s kitchen and a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen and a bamboo-lined outdoor shower.
In 2013, Cher made her way back to Beverly Hills with the purchase of a 3,089-square-foot English Tudor-style bungalow.
She shelled out $2.145 million for the unique home, which was situated at the end of a brick-paved driveway and featured a white exterior with dark wood framing.
A large wraparound porch in the back of the home overlooked a koi pond, a waterfall, and a meditation area.
Cher’s Italian Renaissance-style estate in Malibu, which she bought for $2.95 million in 1989, has been relisted for $75 million.
The 1.7-acre property overlooking the Pacific Ocean features 13,126 square feet of living space with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
The estate also includes a tennis court and a gate house at the entrance.
Cher’s real estate portfolio also includes properties in London and Miami.