Cherilyn Sarkisian was born on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California. She is a well known recording artist, TV personality, actress and director. She is also known for her marriage to Sonny Bono.
In 1965, she and Sonny appeared on the
Ed Sullivan Show, and they sang. They also appeared on
Ready, Steady, Go!, which for all who are from England would know this show. This was the English equivalent to the Ed Sullivan Show. A lot of English bands and artists may have performed on this show during the 1960s. She ws known for her dark, exotic looks, and then became a fashion designer, starting the trend of bellbottoms and unique gowns and hippie attire.
In 1974, she had a show called called
The Cher Show, which had famous people on in, such as David Bowie,Ray Charles, Pat Boone, Cheryl Ladd, Linda Ronstadt, Lily Tomlin. Alot of the suggestive outfits she wore then were made by fashion design legend Bob Mackie. This show ran for 2 and a half seasons before Cher, who was pregnant at the time, decided to cancel it. 3 days after her divore from Sonny Bono was finalized, she married rock musician Gregg Allman on June 30, 1975. They had 1 son named Elijah and divorced after 2 years.
She has also done acting. She appeared in the 1985 movie
Mask, in which Eric Stoltz plays a teen with a disfigured face and she plays his loving mother. She also has appeared in movies like
Witches of Eastwick, where she played a witch,
Suspect where she played a lawyer,
Moonstruck in 1987, where she played a frumpy Italian bookeeper.
In 1989, she wrote the song If I Could Turn Back Time, in the video it shows her wearing black leather and a fishnet suit, performing on a Navy battle cruiser. This video caused a lot of controversy because it showed her in a see-through outfit and you could see a butterfly tattoo on her lower back
In 1990, she starred in the movie
Mermaids, and in 1998, she was in London when then daughter Chastity Bono called and informed her of Sonny Bono's death from a skiing accident. He was a popular California congressman married to 4th wife Mary Bono, he was 62. She chose to give the eulogy at his funeral and she teared up while giving it. Later that year, Sonny and Cher got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2010, she starred in the movie Burlesque along side Christina Aguilera.
She is also a supporter of gay rights, because her now son Chaz Bono was born a female and came out as a lesbian at 17, and that's when she noticed that not everyone gets the same rights because of sexuality.
