Biography

Cher (born Cheryl Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the “Goddess of Pop”, she is known for her androgynous contralto voice, multifaceted career and bold visual presentation, while cultivating a screen persona that mirrors her public image by often portraying strong-willed, independent and outspoken women. Her adaptability has fueled multiple comebacks, cementing her status as a cultural icon. She is the only solo artist with Billboard number-one singles in seven consecutive decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, the Billboard Icon Award, the Kennedy Center Honor and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cher is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 100 million records worldwide. Cher gained fame in 1965 as part of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher, while also achieving solo success with top-ten singles including “All I Really Want to Do” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”. In the 1970s, she divorced from Sonny Bono and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”, “Half-Breed” and “Dark Lady”, becoming the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in US history at the time. Following a hiatus to focus on acting, she returned to music with the rock-inflected albums Cher (1987), Heart of Stone (1989) and Love Hurts (1991), earning international number-one singles with “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)”. Cher reached a commercial peak with the dance-pop album Believe (1998), which introduced the “Cher effect”, an extreme, stylistic use of Auto-Tune to distort vocals. The title track became 1999’s number-one song in the US and the UK’s best-selling single by a female artist. 21st-century releases include Closer to the Truth (2013) and Dancing Queen (2018), both debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and becoming her highest-charting solo albums in the US. Her 2002–2005 Living Proof: The Farewell Tour was the highest-grossing concert tour by a female artist at the time, earning $250 million (about $390 million in 2025). Cher became a television star in the 1970s with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and her solo show Cher, both on CBS, attracting over 30 million weekly viewers. She earned critical acclaim after debuting on Broadway and starring in the film adaptation of Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Transitioning to film, Cher received two Academy Award nominations for Silkwood (1983) and Moonstruck (1987), winning Best Actress for the latter, and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Mask (1985). Her other starring roles include The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Mermaids (1990), If These Walls Could Talk (1996, her directorial debut), Tea with Mussolini (1999), Burlesque (2010) and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). Her life and career inspired the 2018 jukebox musical The Cher Show. Cher is vocal about her progressive political views, and has advocated and fundraised for causes including LGBTQ rights and HIV/AIDS prevention.