GabyFifty-five years ago, a young Cher rode her first wave of fame. In 1967, 40 million copies of her recordings were sold worldwide. Since then, Cherilyn Sarkisian’s hits have regularly topped charts for six decades.
No other artist in history holds such records. Yet this singer, actress, director, and poet has countless standout achievements.
Everyone seems to age—except her. Cher has an otherworldly presence, like the witch she played in The Witches of Eastwick, a role that caused a sensation. Even at 76, nothing stops her from pulling off another extravagant stunt.
People often call her “the greatest.” And though gossipers speculate about cosmetic surgery, the queen of screen and stage has every right to strive for and pursue perfection.
Sonny Bono and Cher in Amsterdam, 1966
It really does feel like magic—to reinvent and transform with uncanny ease, even though that ease masks immense unseen effort. Growing up in a time of extremes awakened Cher’s rebellious talent. On her 16th birthday, unable to endure the school routine, Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pierre quit school. She dreamed of the stage. With her friend Sonny Bono—soon to be her husband—she formed the duo Sonny and Cher. Their songs made such a splash that they were compared in success to The Beatles and Elvis Presley. For a time, their popularity seemed unstoppable. When the dizziness of early success passed and emotional exhaustion set in, Cher sent Sonny packing and cleared space for her solo artistic experiments.
Cher with second husband Gregg Allman, 1975
Comfortable in every decade, Cher reinvented herself from a 1970s hippie into a refined punk. In the 1990s she swung between glamorous looks and daring, minimalist outfits that left little but thigh-high boots and a few scraps of fabric. Forever in love and drawn to romantic adventure, she seemed to grow more striking with each year.
During the Heart of Stone tour, 1990
Her unmistakable voice can sound like a jet engine or molten lava about to erupt. It’s one of the hallmarks of her multifaceted talent. Cher also has a melancholic gaze and a smile that reads like a sorrowful goddess. Naturally, filmmakers noticed her, as did those who appreciated her acting.
Forty years ago, in 1982, Francis Ford Coppola saw her on Broadway. The famed director encouraged Cher to pursue film, although she had already completed several movie roles by then.
Three films in 1987 cemented Cher’s reputation as a top-tier actress: The Witches of Eastwick by George Miller, Suspect by Peter Yates, and Moonstruck by Norman Jewison.
Her role in Moonstruck earned her an Oscar. Overall, her filmography includes many standout performances, and she has won numerous prestigious film awards.
At the premiere of “Burlesque,” London, 2010
Perhaps this endless engine draws energy from a genetic cocktail: Cher has Armenian, Anglo-Saxon, French, Native American, Turkish, and Romani roots.
Most of her contemporaries have long passed away or faded into obscurity. But the timeless Cherilyn Sarkisian outlasts the flood of ephemeral stage clones. Against their pale backdrop, Cher’s expressiveness shines even brighter.
Every time she announces a farewell, it reads as provocation and invites doubt. After all, where else will she pour out the concentrated essence of tirelessness, love, and perennial youth that seems to run through her?
Singer during the Dressed to Kill tour, 2014
And some more facts about Cher
- 1965 — Her duet with Sonny Bono, “I Got You Babe,” became Cher’s first number-one hit at age 19, topping the Billboard charts.
- 1967 — The duo sold over 40 million copies of their recordings. Thanks to the hit “Bang Bang,” Cher was already known as a solo artist.
- 1996 — Cher tried her hand as director of the film If These Walls Could Talk.
- 2002–2005 — She performed 325 solo concerts during her world farewell tour The Farewell Tour, which became one of the most successful tours, earning over $250 million.
- 2018 — She made a spectacular return to the big screen with a cameo in Mamma Mia! 2.
