Biography
Cher is an American singer and film actress of Armenian origin, winner of Grammy and Billboard Music Awards, four prestigious Golden Globe and Oscar film awards.
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Singer Cher
In addition, Cher is the only performer whose songs have occupied the top lines of the Billboard top 100 list for 5 decades in a row. Cher is known not only as a pop singer, but also as a songwriter and music producer. In the film business, she also worked behind the scenes and tried her hand as a director.
Bride of Frankenstein
The age of a person corresponds to the amount of porn he has watched, said the wisdom of the last years of Soviet power. Cher, whom no one actually buried, was resurrected in a timely manner. Journalists from chintz publications started talking about her - as if their childhood had passed under Cher’s discs, released on all seven labels, the latest of which was “Casablanca”.
The further history of her plastic surgery, her attitude towards minorities and the response of minorities is described before us. Forbearance and tolerance are different qualities of the human soul. Let's not abuse them.
No matter what successes the diaspora achieves in the field of self-justification, the miracle of nature under the name Cher is a classic example of purely American quality. That is why the eternal “nakhapetov” danced and dances to it in the film “Lovers”, and not vice versa.
Cher's discovery is an unusual incident, safely lost in the past. Such girls were seated at the bachelor's table by alchemist waiters when the restaurant was no longer officially open.
Lou Reed, who was little in this essay, reached out to her in ninety-one, when Cher sang a song from the album Music from The Elder - the most commercially unsuccessful Kiss record.
While I was finishing this text, the living and the dead crowded behind me, eager to support or refute everything said above. But if I look back, I see nothing but the door leading to the hallway.
My hand spins Sonny Bono's skull, a transparent globe of smoked glass that mixes Art Deco and Egypt, fans and palm trees. You can start mastering this souvenir from anywhere, repeating unsuccessful takes until the last “cracker” - to the grave.
Cher's mission is a visit from an old lady who, catering to the secret wishes of the inviting party, knows how to confuse the street, the city and the century.
That's almost all. The rest is in the previous essays “Sonny, Cher, USSR” and “Cher’s Four Sniper Misses.”
Childhood and youth
Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre Bono Allman, whom the whole world knows as Cher, was born in California in May 1946 under the zodiac sign of Taurus. She was born into a poor family of a native of Armenia, truck driver Karapet Sargsyan, and a little-known actress with Indian roots, Georgia Holt. At the time of the birth of their daughter, the parents' marriage collapsed. Cher was able to meet her father for the first time when she was 11 years old.
Embed from Getty Images Cher in her youth
Sherilyn was not a very diligent student - science attracted her little. In addition, the girl suffered from excessive shyness. But the example of her mother-actress, albeit not very successful, instilled in her the dream of growing up and certainly becoming a star. Moreover, Sherilyn was equally attracted to both the career of a singer and an actress.
As a teenager, Cher, who lived in one of the largest metropolises in California, El Centro, constantly disappeared into movie theaters and rock concerts. She got used to the image of the star so much that she spent a long time practicing signing an autograph, choosing the best signature option. At the age of 16, Cher left school and, together with her friend, went to Los Angeles to study acting.
Youth: Los Angeles
Sixteen-year-old Sherilyn decided that she had nothing more to do at school; learning was not interesting. Having encouraged her friend to leave school with her, the young girl went to look for a better life for herself and moved to Los Angeles, where she enrolled in acting school.
Cher in her youth
According to the singer herself, a lucky chance brought her together with Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, a musician who at that time was working as an assistant to producer Phil Spector. In a small cafe they talked, drank a cup of coffee, and Sonny invited the girl to stay with him, making her promise that she would tidy up his home and make sure there was food in the refrigerator. He also arranged for Sherilyn to work in Spector’s studio as a backing vocalist. The young people quickly found a common language and became friends, since both Sonny and Cher loved rock music.
Cher and Sonny in their youth
While composing songs for a living, 28-year-old Bono was able to discern in the still shy girl ambition, bright personality, and most importantly, undeniable talent. Two years of chaste friendships were very unusual at a time when liberated youth urged everyone to engage not in war, but in love.
Music
Cher's career began with a happy accident. In 1962, the girl met the assistant of the famous music producer Phil Spector in a Los Angeles cafe. His name was Sonny (Salvatore) Bono. Sonny invited Sherilyn to live in his house as a housewife. At first she prepared food for him and cleaned. Soon, Sonny Bono noticed that the girl had a keen interest in music, especially rock. At the same time, a beautiful deep voice was revealed. On this basis, the couple began a different relationship: first working, then personal.
Embed from Getty Images Cher and Sonny Bono
Cher got a job as a backing vocalist in Phil Spector's studio. She took part in the recording of classic songs, some of which turned out to be hits. But Cher's first solo recording appeared in 1964. The song was "Ringo, I Love You". True, she went under a pseudonym, since the producer considered the performer’s name “un-American.”
The debut was successful. Sonny and Cher decided to try to go out on their own. The man wrote and produced songs, the duo performed these compositions. Soon the bright couple - a long-haired hippie and an exotic beauty with a sensual and deep timbre of her voice - turned into a real sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.
Sonny and Cher - I Got You Babe
In early 1965, the duo released their debut album, Look at Us. His single, at Sonny's insistence, was the song "I Got You Babe". In the summer of 1965, Sonny and Cher released their second joint album, entitled “All I Really Want to Do.” It included Cher's composition of the same name, which can be called the singer's first hit.
The first and second were followed by 7 more collections by Cher and Sonny, including the disc “In Case You're in Love”, which included the hit “Little Man”, which was subsequently created several cover versions by performers Dalida, James Last and others . The duo's last albums were no longer popular.
Sonny and Cher - Little Man
It turned out that due to unsuccessful works and loans taken out for their production, the spouses acquired huge debts. Then they decided to reorient themselves in their creative activities and, taking advantage of their fame, to host their own program on one of the TV channels. The project was called “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour,” but soon changed the name to a more capacious one – “The Sonny and Cher Show.”
The program was aired for 7 years. It was a mix of humorous and comedy sketches, interspersed with musical numbers. A-list stars visited Sonny and Cher. In the early 1970s, Cher songs written by Sonny continued to receive airplay. Three of them - "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady" - entered the American charts and became hits.
Cher – Dark Lady
In 1974, Sonny and Cher's marriage collapsed. Along with this union, the popular show also disappeared. The former spouses tried to produce their programs separately from each other, but nothing came of this idea. Therefore, under the pressure of the audience, Sonny and Cher were forced to team up again. But this association did not affect their personal lives.
In 1987, she signed a contract with Geffen Records and recorded a new album. Diane Warren, Michael Bolton and Bon Jovi took part in its recording.
Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time
In 1989, a video for Cher's hit "If I Could Turn Back Time" appeared. But the video was banned because the singer's outfit was too revealing. Despite the ban, the artist did not give up provocative outfits, which became an integral part of both videos and stage performances. And the next year, Cher again topped all the charts with the hit “Song Shoop Shoop.”
In 1994, fans of the star welcomed her new disc, “The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience.” A year later, this album was overshadowed by the resounding success that followed the release of It's a Man's World. It included the hits “Walking in Memphis” and “One by one.”
Cher — Believe
1998 brought the star to new heights. This is due to the release of Cher's new album entitled "Believe". It included the hit of the same name, which was later recognized worldwide and brought the performer a Grammy. It also included two songs (“Strong enough” and “Living proof”) that made Cher a gay icon.
The singer did not stop performing in the new millennium. In 2001, Cher recorded a joint song “Più che puoi” with Italian musician Eros Ramazzotti. The composition was performed simultaneously in Italian and English. Subsequently, fans recognized it as one of Ramazzotti's most famous and famous songs. Cher drew a peculiar line under her creative activity with a book in which she spoke about all the hardships and pitfalls of star life.
Cher and Eros Ramazzotti - Piu Che Puoi
And from 2002 to 2005, the singer toured most countries of the world with farewell concerts. But after that her musical career did not end. Over the next 14 years, Cher gave her fans 5 more concert tours. As the artist herself stated, she discovered that she had nowhere else to go except the stage, so she returned to the stage again and again.
From the end of 2008, for 3 years, she performed only in Las Vegas, which made this already famous place even more popular. Often people went to Las Vegas not so much for the casino, but to hear Cher live.
Cher - Strong Enough
In February 2022, the singer began a new tour called “Classic Cher”. It began on February 7, and the last concert took place on November 25, 2017. The tour took place only in the United States, the concert schedule consisted of performances at venues in Las Vegas and Washington (DC).
In May 2022, the singer performed at the Billboard Music Awards. This event has already become the subject of conversation in the press - the performer sang at a music award ceremony for the first time in 15 years. But the main topic of the day was Cher's extravagant look.
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Cher, at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards,
the 71-year-old singer shocked the audience with revealing outfits and forced both American and foreign media to discuss her performances. First, the singer appeared in an outfit made of white threads of shiny beads - a half-swimsuit-half-loincloth barely covered her naked body. Then the artist changed into a translucent black leotard with a leather jacket and black boots. Fans admitted that the shocking images were in the usual spirit of Cher and suited her, despite her age.
Farewell tour and eternal youth
The beginning of the new millennium marked the beginning of Cher's farewell to her performing career. Although the singer's famous farewell tour, Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, is now called the most successful commercial tour by a female singer in history, Cher seriously announced that she was going to leave the stage. From 2002 to 2005, she toured around the world, visited more than twenty countries, gave 325 concerts, grossing more than a quarter of a billion dollars. From 2008 to 2011, Cher honestly fulfilled the terms of the contract she signed in Las Vegas to perform with her show Cher at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and starred in the film “Burlesque,” where she also performed her composition. In the summer of 2012, the actress fell in love again and married the brutal biker Tom Bear. It must be said that the older the pop diva became, the younger she chose her boyfriends.
Cher in the movie "Burlesque"
The youngest of them turned out to be baker Rob Camiletti, who was eighteen years younger than his beloved. Cher said with admiration that the guy had the most handsome face she had ever seen, and her chosen one was covered in perspiration from publicity and in the end chose escape over a relationship with the goddess of the stage.
Cher and Rob Camiletti
The singer's temperament and her extraordinary appearance, which she worked tirelessly on, supported by her talent and charm, were beyond the strength of the men she chose. But the way this great woman deals with her own age is admirable. Cher herself believes that she was simply lucky with her genes:
My mother, God bless her, looks luxurious at 83 years old - many young women would dream of having a figure like hers. And my grandmother - she, by the way, gave birth to my mother at the age of 14 - also looked great, living to be 96 years old. Until I broke my hip, I went to the gym four times a week. So I pray and hope for the best. In addition, perhaps contrary to someone's ideas, I am quite disciplined. I don't drink, don't smoke, don't take drugs. When I perform, I live like a nun. I get up at 10 o’clock in the morning, do physical exercise for an hour and a half, then go to a dance class, to the pool, I love windsurfing. Everything except Pilates - in my opinion, it's terribly boring. I have been physically active all my life, as long as I can remember. My sister read books, and I ran and climbed trees.
Even her passion for tattoos (a butterfly, a lily, a split diamond and a bracelet of crosses and hearts) suited her unusually, although Cher soon paid fabulous sums to remove all the tattoos. The singer herself says:
I was once forty years old, now much more. I know for sure that it’s better to be forty. I'm scared that the day will come when I wake up as an old grump and... I don't want to go to Disneyland. I have a dream - to never grow old. That's why I torment myself with exercise.
Movies
In 1982, Cher moved to New York, where she was offered to play in a Broadway play. Her debut as an actress was successful. Cher's cinematic biography began with him. The singer’s acting talent was appreciated by director Mike Nichols, who invited her to star in his film “Silkwood.”
Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher (still from the movie "Silkwood")
Having learned that Meryl Streep would play in it, the aspiring actress agreed without hesitation, without even reading the script. She played the role of a lesbian who is in love with the main character of the film. Moreover, she played so convincingly and brightly that she was nominated for an Oscar.
After 3 years, Cher appears on screens again in the drama “Mask.” This is a film about a teenager with a rare disease that disfigures his face. Cher played the boy's mother. Then the actress participated in the films “The Suspect,” “The Witches of Eastwick” and “At the Power of the Moon.” For her work in the last film, Cher received an Oscar.
Cher and Nicolas Cage (still from the movie "Moonstruck")
She played the heroine Loretta Castorini, an initially cold and rational woman who unexpectedly falls passionately in love. Her partner in the film was Nicolas Cage. This comedy melodrama received 3 Oscars, one of which – for Best Actress – went to Cher.
A series of films followed in the 90s in which Cher appeared as a cameo. These are the films “The Player”, “High Fashion”, and later the project “Stuck on You” was released. The actress recreated artistic images in the melodrama “If Walls Could Talk,” where she played together with Demi Moore and Anne Heche, and the comedy “Tea with Mussolini,” in which the singer’s partners were Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
Cher and Christina Aguilera (still from the movie "Burlesque")
After a long break, in 2010 the actress starred in the musical film Burlesque, for which she received a Golden Raspberry nomination. However, the Golden Globe Award for the performance of the song “You Haven't Seen the Last of Me” for the film's soundtrack compensated for this disappointment.
The next appearance on the big screen took place in 2022. The singer played in the next musical “Mamma Mia!” 2”, where she appeared on the screen with Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper and Meryl Streep.
Cher (still from the movie “Mamma Mia! 2”)
At the beginning of 2018, the premiere of a musical about the work and personal life of Cher took place, which was called The Cher Show. The performance took place on the stage of a Broadway theater. The artist arrived on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show to talk about her new project. She looked impressive as always: her outfit was a jacket decorated in a hussar style, leggings to match the dark top and stylish ankle boots. The look was completed with a voluminous red hair wig and thick makeup.
Dracula's Daughter
What should it be like? Anemic and repentant or flourishing in the mode of positive vampirism? With all due respect to old Hollywood, I see a second aspect. This is how Komsomol member Varley appears to Comrade Saakhov, who a year later will fly in a coffin around Kuravlev.
““She’s already old,” he thought, looking at her porous chalky face, thickly covered with powder, at the terrible plastered eyelashes, at the wide gray parting among the flat black-colored hair...” states a gentleman with the beautiful surname Meladze in Bunin’s story.
In the black and white photo from the sleeve of the new record, Cher looked like a completely different person, but a vampiric hunger was visible in her gaze. Richard Avedon knew how to stylize the anomalous stars of rock music - Janis Joplin, the gifted albino brothers Winter.
On the airwaves, at least on short wave, He Ain't Heavy and Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves reigned - gypsies, sluts and thieves.
Parallel to “Gypsies” in the West, “Train of My Life” performed by Vladimir Stepanov was released on floppy disk in the USSR. “Train” came out late because he performed it much earlier at concerts. But who remembers the program of these concerts, who will now confirm that this was so?..
Little Man with Russian lyrics returned to the record departments, showing for the nth time that “Time and the Bonos” is a musical of clockworks with an empty dial.
In parallel to “The Train of My Life,” a Soviet figure skater was writhing on the ice to the new hit of the reunited couple. We called the song with an overly long title “Tired Cowboy.”
The past and the future winked in Cher’s work in the seventies like traffic lights or the bulbs of a homemade color music system. What at first glance seemed doomed eventually became part of the golden fund of the discography of this incredibly viable singer.
Her duet with Donna Summer put an end to the pre-AIDS era like a signature on a same-sex marriage certificate. Joke. Barbra Strisand sang a duet with Donna Summer. Cher preferred Tina Turner.
Personal life
Cher has two children. In 1969, his daughter Chastity was born in his marriage to Sonny Bono. The girl got her name thanks to a painting of the same name, during the work on which Cher became pregnant. In her second marriage to musician Greg Allman in 1976, she gave birth to a son, Elijah.
Embed from Getty Images Cher and Greg Allman
After her divorce from Allman, the star had several short affairs. Cher's personal life in the 1980s included romantic relationships with Val Kilmer, Eric Clapton, Richie Sambora and Mark Hudson.
During a reception at the White House, 40-year-old Cher, already a star of the first magnitude at that time, met 23-year-old Tom Cruise, who had just begun his ascent to Olympus. Their romance lasted only a few months, after which Cruise got married. But not Cher, but Mimi Rogers.
At the very beginning of 1998, Cher suffered a blow: her first husband, Sonny Bono, with whom she maintained a warm relationship, died at a ski resort. As the celebrity admits, she continues to communicate with Sonny today through the medium James van Praag.
Embed from Getty Images Cher and Sonny Bono with daughter Chastity
In 2009, Cher's daughter Chastity San Bono changed her gender. This event was discussed in the press, magazines massively published photo collections dedicated to the operation, before and after which Chastity changed dramatically. Over the course of a year, the now man sought a change of documents and in 2010 officially confirmed his gender change, taking the name Chez Salvatore. Cher came to terms with this decision of her daughter, who became a son, with difficulty.
In the summer of 2012, the star met biker Tim Medvetz, with whom she soon began a whirlwind romance. The lovers were not embarrassed by the age difference of almost a quarter of a century; they even talked about marriage. But after 2 years their relationship ended.
At the beginning of June 2017, a tragedy occurred in the singer’s life. The artist's longtime friend and ex-husband, rock musician Greg Allman, died due to liver cancer. Cher could not hold back her tears at the farewell ceremony.
Embed from Getty Images Chaz Bono, Cher's daughter after sex change
Cher is known for her love of plastic surgery. As the artist herself admitted, in her youth she had complexes about the shape of her nose, which she was later the first to change. Rhinoplasty was successful. Inspired by her success, the singer began regularly turning to plastic surgeons.
She is credited with more than 100 surgeries and cosmetic procedures. The performer also subjected her own body to changes: she had liposuction, buttock surgery, and removal of ribs. Even today, Cher pays special attention to her appearance: she practically never appears in public without makeup and high-quality hair styling.
Creative and family union with Sonny
The duet of Sonny and Cher existed not only on stage. Three years after their first meeting they got married. According to Bono, although Sherilyn began living in his apartment immediately after they met, there was no close relationship between them. Of course, the young man was in love with her, and she doted on him. But for moral reasons, there was no talk of any intimacy, since the girl was only sixteen years old. In 1965, their hippie-style wedding took place - it was fun, and in the morning no one remembered anything.
Cher truly fell in love with Sonny. He was a very temperamental and unpredictable husband. Their marriage was not cloudless. There were periods filled with endless passion and happiness, but there were days that the singer later preferred not to remember.
The husband often drank, trying to use alcohol to escape at least for a while from life and creative troubles. He took to heart the failures that accompanied their duet at first. The young wife tried in every possible way to support her husband both in everyday life and in creativity. She not only worked with him in a duet, but also simultaneously recorded solo albums.
Their creative restlessness was crowned with success. They became famous and rich, they wanted to be seen at all concert venues, and were invited to appear on television. But fame did not strengthen their relationship. Sonny began to show dictatorial habits. He forbade her to sign contracts without his permission. The entire musical repertoire was completely dependent on the husband, and the singer had no right to sing anything without his knowledge. She did not argue, because she loved him dearly and forgave him everything, even his infidelity.
In 1969, their daughter Chastity Bono was born. This time was very difficult for their family. Popularity began to decline and financial problems arose. The duo had to perform in nightclubs to earn money. Cher tried to escape from her problems by completely immersing herself in raising her child. The husband was often absorbed in himself and his experiences. The woman felt lonely, but, thinking about divorce, she understood that she could not leave her husband during a difficult period for him.
Since 1970, the couple began hosting their own television program, “The Sonny and Cher Show,” which consisted of musical numbers and humorous sketches. Many celebrities took part in the show. In 1974, when all financial problems were resolved, the couple filed for divorce. Sonny did not want to get a divorce, realizing how much he would lose with Cher's departure. But, unfortunately, in 1975 their family union ceased to exist.
For a long time they practically did not communicate. But in 1986, at one of the shows where they were both invited, they reconciled, moving the audience, who missed their duet, to tears. And although they were no longer together, gratitude to each other and pleasant memories of their life and work together remained in their hearts.
After breaking up with Sherilyn, Bono plunged into the world of cinema, starring in films and TV series. In the eighties, he tried to open a restaurant business, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Then he got involved in politics - he was the mayor of Palm Springs and ran for the US Senate.
In 1998, Sonny died while skiing. The death of her ex-husband shocked the singer so deeply that she fell into depression for a long time. She suddenly realized that it was he, her first man, who would remain in her heart not only the first, but, perhaps, the only love. The story of Sonny and Cher's young lives still touches the hearts of fans.
Cher now
In 2022, the singer's 26th album, Dancing Queen, was released, the idea of which was born while Cher was working on the musical Mamma Mia! 2". The track list of the new disc includes only cover versions of songs by the Swedish group ABBA. On the cover of the new album, the artist placed her own photo, taken in the form of photographs of the female half of the Swedish duo: in the frame she appeared simultaneously in a dark and light wig.
Cher in 2022 / The Indianapolis Star
The application turned out to be successful - the album started at third position on the Billboard 200 chart and at second position in the UK national chart. Now the artist’s discography consists of studio albums, concert discs, collections and soundtracks.
In 2022, Cher continued to perform on her seventh tour, the Here We Go Again Tour. Its program included songs from the performer’s latest album, as well as world-famous hits. The concerts began in the winter of 2018, and subsequently new performance dates were added, during which Cher was joined by musician Nile Gregory Rodgers and his band Chic.
Carier start
She recorded her first solo song in 1964 under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason. After a successful debut, Sonny became her producer, as well as the author of the songs they performed together. They called their duet “Sonny and Cher.” Their first album was released in 1965. The composition “I Got You Babe” from this album was their first song, which gained immense popularity among listeners. She even topped the charts in many countries.
I must say that popularity did not come to them immediately. They were different from other American performers. They did not immediately get used to them, since at that time there were completely different canons of musical performance, their songs were not taken seriously. In addition, their appearance was very provocative for those years. But soon the long-haired guy and the tall, slender beauty with an exotic appearance and sensual voice still fell in love with the audience. They gained fans, their songs became hits. They became a real discovery of those years.
Their duet existed until 1977. This time was very fruitful. They released several albums, appeared on television, hosting a music show, toured, and acted in films.
Joint albums of the duo:
- Look at Us;
- The Wondrous World of Sonny & Cher;
- In Case You're In Love;
- All I Ever Need Is You.
