Cultural phenomenon and one of the best-selling artists in music history, Cher, turned 80 years old on May 20th, 2026. The only solo artist to have number one hits in seven decades, Cher has been awarded two Grammys, an Emmy, three Golden Globes, the Billboard Icon Award, and an Academy Award. She is the only performer to have an Oscar for acting, and be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Born Cheryl Sarkisian, Cher was raised by a poor mother, Georgia Holt, in El Centro, California. Her father, an Armenian-American, struggled with drug and gambling addictions and was not in her life after her parents divorced when she was 10 months old. Cher's mother remarried several times, frequently moving them across different states.
Cher grew up idolizing actresses and performers like Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. She dreamed of fame and later said of her ambition growing up, "I couldn't think of anything that I could do. I just thought, 'I'll be famous'. That was my goal."
Cher dropped out of school at 16 and moved out, dancing in nightclubs on Hollywood's Sunset Strip to support herself while she took acting classes and networked with managers, other performers, and agents. In November of 1962, she met Sonny Bono and agreed to work as his housekeeper. Bono introduced her to producer Phil Spector, who began using her as a backing vocalist and eventually produced her first single under the pseudonym "Bonnie Jo Mason."
Sonny Bono and Cher became very close friends and eventually fell in love, marrying in Tijuana in October of 1964. While Bono encouraged her to pursue a solo career, Cher's nerves and stage fright made it difficult for her and she preferred to perform alongside Bono.
Sonny and Cher rose to fame in the mid-1960s, becoming one of the decade's most recognizable acts. Singles like "Baby Don't Go", "I Got You Babe", "But You're Mine", and "The Beat Goes On" made them a household name in the folk-rock and pop scenes. In the 1970s, the pair moved into television, with the variety programs The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show, making them utter household names. The couple had one child together, Chaz Bono, in 1969.
Sonny and Cher had a highly publicized divorce in 1975, where Cher sought full custody of Chaz and also to break free of an incredibly exploitative contract Bono held over her. She began her own solo show the same year. Unlike Bono's solo show, which ended after just 13 weeks, critics adored Cher's stating, "Sonny without Cher was a disaster. Cher without Sonny could be the best thing that's happened to weekly television this season."
In 1979 Cher adopted her singular name as a monolith, the name she's most known for legally, and pivoted her solo singing career to capitalize on the disco craze of the era. Her album and single of the same name, Take Me Home, were both massively successful, being bestsellers for over half of 1979 and being certified gold by the RIAA.
Facing struggling album sales in the '80s, Cher shifted towards acting, desperate to prove herself in an area where she felt she previously had not been taken seriously. After several roles here and there and some stints on Broadway, finally in 1987, she was cast in Norman Jewison's romantic comedyMoonstruck opposite Nicolas Cage. This role would land her an Academy Award, and help solidify her as a bankable actress.
With multiple decades of a career, essentially every Lifetime Achievement one could aim for, and being known as an icon across several mediums, it's safe to say the name Cher is one anyone can recognize. It's what she always wanted, and it's what she absolutely deserves.
Related: '60s Music Icon's Naked Dress at Met Gala Stays Relevant 52 Years Later
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