Cherylin Sarkisian (known today as Cher) was born in 1946 in a town of California. At seventeen, Cher moved to Los Angeles in hopes to pursue her dreams of becoming a star. There was when Cher first met Salvatore "Sony" Bono, a songwriter, who introduced her to producer Phil Spector. Spector used her as a backup singer for up-and-comers like, the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, and Glen Campbell.
Bono recognized Cher's talent, and hoped to record her as a solo singer. When he took her to audition in front of spector, Cher was so nervous that she insisted Bono sing with her.
Much to everyone's surprise, they sounded favorable together and soon, a duo was born.
Cher and Bono emerged as Cleo and Caesar initially, and played at skating rinks and bowling alleys with no success. But their luck turned in 1965, when Sonny and Cher released, "I Got You Babe", and they hit gold. Within a couple of weeks, they set out to re-release their original flops from "Cleo and Caesar", and their wild look with colorful pants, shaggy hair and fur vests helped their popularity set in. By the fall of 1965, Cher and Bono came out with six singles in the Top 40.
That success however, was short lived with time changing and Cher experiencing problems with her solo career at Imperial Records, who ended her contract in 1967.
Self-assured Sonny, introduced Cher into films, spending his own money to make them, but unfortunately they lost all their wealth, when the movies flopped. After some time of struggling in debt and trying to support their daughter Chastity, CBS called wanting to tape them for a replacement series for the summer of 1971. Sonny and Cher accepted and their comedy hour was an instant success. The charm that Sonny and Cher had on stage together, pulled fans in from the start, and the new exposure landed Cher back on top. But backstage was a different story, wearing under Sonny's fatherly dictatorship for years, Cher had finally had enough, and wanted out.
Cher and Sonny's split in 1974 also brought the end of their hit show. That is the time Cher embarked on her acting career full time. She proved to be a much better actress than singer as she appeared in Mike Nichols' Silkwood in (1983), then in Peter Bogdanovich's Mask in (1985) and also George Miller's The Witches of Eastwick in (1987). Also in 1987, Cher won an Academy Award for her role in Norman Jewison's 1987 romantic comedy "Moonstruck".
In 1975, all the popularity that Cher had obtained, won her own variety show, which included guests like Elton John and Bette Midler. But the responsibilities overcame her and she turned to her old companion, Sonny yet again. They merged professionally and premiered the new Sonny and Cher show. The single drawback was that now, Cher was pregnant with her estranged second husband's (Gregg Allman) child. Supreme curiosity ignited mega ratings on the show, but that would not last.
In August of 1977, after just two seasons, the Sonny and Cher show, ended for good. Cher continued to perform a couple of more concerts with Sonny as part of their legal settlement, meanwhile Cher endured Allman's addictions to heroin and alcohol, trying desperately to salvage their marriage, which finally ended by the end of 1979.
Between then and 1982 Cher drifted from project to project and romance to romance, until finally in 82', she earned respect on the New York stage. Which led her into famed director Mike Nichols' "Silkwood" (which won her an Oscar nomination), and eventually re-launching her music career. Back on David Geffen's label, Cher got to team up with Bon Jovi, Michael Bolton, and Diane Warren. Along with that came a new image, containing fishnets and leather straps, and suddenly, she was everywhere.
Hosting Saturday Night Live, and most memorably, sharing a nostalgic reunion with Sonny Bono on Late Night With David Letterman. Playing the humbled roles on screen, and outspoken vixen on stage, Cher was now domineering two separate lives as nobody in Hollywood ever had before. Her gratification came in April of 88' when she won a best actress Oscar for her role in "Moonstruck". Cher was at last on top. A couple of smash hits followed that, including "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "Heart of Stone". The excitement took its toll when at the end of her tour in 1991, she decided to take it slow and for the next couple of years, was a spokesperson for fitness centers and infomercials. The short hours suited her and the money was great. The downfall was her dissipating the elite A-list status, which she worked so hard to achieve.
Cher went back to work full time in 1996, releasing a new album, "It's A Man's World", and acting in HBO's "If These Walls Could Talk'. She had also become active in supporting gay rights, and participating in fundraising for AIDS charities.
In January of 1998, while Cher was in London, she received a call from her daughter Chastity, with the distressing news that Sonny Bono had died in a skiing accident. Filled with tears while delivering his eulogy, Cher talked of the man who had been a partner, friend, foe, and father. Even tough the media accused her of opportunism; Cher paid tribute to Bono in a touching CBS special stating that her grief is "something I never plan to get over".
Freshly collected, and more matured, Cher released a new album in the fall of 1998 titled, "Believe", with an illuminated collection of dance tracks, which quickly shot to the number one spot in Europe, and by March of 1999, Cher held the number one spot on the top 40 in the US as well. The album became Cher's top selling record to date.
Cher released a new movie in May of 1999. Franco Zeffirelli's "Tea with Mussolini", in which she co-starred with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Joan Plowright. While at the same time going out on a global concert tour, putting Cher once again in film and music at the same time.
Cher has been a person who has been debated over time and again through her music, films, and wardrobe decisions. A professional at reinventing herself, long before anyone had made it fashionable. And Cher continues to survive all of what life dishes out, even if they are the failures that would overcome the toughest character in the entertainment business.
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