1946–1961: Early life Cheryl Sarkisian was born in
El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. Her father, John Sarkisian, an Armenian-American truck driver with drug and gambling problems, was rarely present during her early life. Her mother,
Georgia Holt, was a model and actress of Irish, English, German and
Cherokee descent. Cher's paternal grandparents were survivors of the
Armenian genocide. Cher's parents divorced when she was 10 months old. Before leaving, her father placed her in an orphanage for several months; Holt was allowed to visit once a week, only able to see Cher through a window. Both found the experience traumatic. In 1951, Holt married actor John Southall, with whom she had Cher's half-sister, Georganne. Holt's marriage to Southall ended when Cher was nine; Cher later described him as her "real father" and a "good-natured man who turned belligerent when he drank too much". Holt remarried and divorced several times, frequently moving the family across states, including New York, Texas and California. They often struggled financially, and Cher recalled using rubber bands to hold her shoes together. While living in Los Angeles, Holt pursued acting while working as a waitress, occasionally securing minor TV roles for her daughters in shows such as
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. By fifth grade, Cher organized a class performance of the musical
Oklahoma!, taking on male roles when boys refused to participate. At nine, her voice was unusually low for a female child. Fascinated by film stars, Cher idolized
Audrey Hepburn, particularly in ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), emulating Hepburn's character's unconventional outfits and demeanor. She also admired
Marlene Dietrich,
Bette Davis and
Katharine Hepburn, but felt discouraged by the lack of dark-haired actresses in Hollywood. She recalled, "In the
Walt Disney cartoons,
all the witches and evil queens were really dark. There was nobody I could look at and think, 'That's who I'm like.'" As a child, she dreamed of fame but struggled with feelings of inadequacy, describing herself as "unattractive" and "untalented". Reflecting on her ambitions, she later said, "I couldn't think of anything that I could do ... I just thought, 'I'll be famous'. That was my goal." In 1961, Holt married bank manager Gilbert LaPiere, who adopted Cher (under the name Cheryl LaPiere) Many radio programmers rejected the song, mistaking Cher's deep
contralto for a male voice and assuming it was a gay man singing to
the Beatles drummer
Ringo Starr. Cher and Sonny became close friends, then lovers, and held an unofficial wedding ceremony in a hotel room in
Tijuana, Mexico, on October 27, 1964. Although Sonny initially intended to launch Cher as a solo artist, she encouraged him to perform with her due to her
stage fright, and he began joining her onstage to sing backing vocals. Cher masked her nervousness by looking at Sonny; she later said she sang to the audience through him. In early 1964, Cher and Sonny recorded together for the first time, releasing "
The Letter" as Caesar & Cleo on
Vault Records. It featured inverted
harmonies—Cher sang the lower part and Sonny the higher—a reversal of the typical male–female vocal roles they continued using in later recordings. Later that year, the duo signed a one-off deal with
Reprise Records for another Caesar & Cleo single, "
Love Is Strange". A week before its release, their managers reintroduced them to Reprise as a new act—
Sonny & Cher—in an effort to secure a more lucrative contract. Unaware they were the same duo, Reprise released both singles simultaneously: "Love Is Strange" as Caesar & Cleo and "
Baby Don't Go" as Sonny & Cher. Reprise declined a long-term deal after discovering the connection. While the Caesar & Cleo singles were commercially unsuccessful, "Baby Don't Go" found success in Los Angeles, prompting
Atlantic Records to sign them to its
Atco label. Meanwhile,
the Byrds released their own version of the song. As the two versions began competing on the charts, the Byrds' label shifted focus to promoting
their single's B-side.
Roger McGuinn of the Byrds recalled, "We loved the Cher version ... We didn't want to hassle. So we just turned our record over." Cher's debut album,
All I Really Want to Do (1965), reached number 16 on the
US Billboard 200.
1965–1967: Sonny and Cher's breakthrough While launching her solo career, Cher continued recording with Sonny as a duo. Sonny & Cher's first Atco single, "
Just You", failed to chart upon its April 1965 release. After recording "
I Got You Babe", they traveled to England in July 1965 on the advice of
the Rolling Stones. Cher recalled the Stones saying, "Americans just didn't get us and that if we were going to make it big, we were going to have to go to England. According to writer
Cintra Wilson, English newspaper photographers showed up when S&C were thrown out of the
London Hilton [because of their outfits] the night they arrived—literally overnight, they were stars. London went gaga for the heretofore-unseen S&C look, which was neither
mod nor
rocker. "I Got You Babe" reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and became, according to AllMusic's Bruce Eder, "one of the biggest-selling and most beloved pop/rock hits of the mid-'60s". After returning to the US in late 1965, the duo made their film debut with a cameo in
Wild on the Beach (1965), appeared on teen-oriented TV shows such as
Hullabaloo and
Shindig! and toured major arenas across the country. Their concerts drew numerous Cher look-alikes, with girls straightening and dyeing their hair black and adopting her signature vests and bell-bottoms. Sonny & Cher's debut album,
Look at Us (1965),
Cash Box magazine described Sonny & Cher, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as "global stars" whose success in both the US and UK showed that national origin was no longer a barrier to international stardom. Despite the dominance of the
British Invasion and
Motown, the duo emerged as major chart competitors. Author Joseph Murrells called them "leading exponents of the rock-folk-message type of song", blending rock instrumentation,
folk themes and
protest lyrics, while
The Guardians
Alexis Petridis described their music as "the sound of the growing
60s counterculture". Following Sonny & Cher's breakthrough, Reprise reissued "Baby Don't Go", which became their second consecutive US top-ten single. At one point, five of their songs appeared simultaneously in the
Billboard Hot 100's top 50—a feat previously achieved only by
Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Their next studio albums were
The Wondrous World of Sonny & Chér (1966) and ''
In Case You're in Love'' (1967), the latter featuring the US top-ten single "
The Beat Goes On" and the international number-one single "
Little Man". Cher's solo career progressed in parallel. number two in the US and number three in the UK, becoming her first million-selling solo single. Her third studio album,
Chér (1966), features the international number-one single "
Sunny" and the
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David composition "
Alfie"—the first US recording of the song, which was featured in the American release of the 1966 film
Alfie. Her fourth studio album,
With Love, Chér (1967), presents songs described by biographer
Mark Bego as "little
soap-opera stories set to rock music", among them the US top-ten single "
You Better Sit Down Kids".
1967–1970: From counterculture icon to lounge act Sonny committed the duo to a feature film in 1965 during their commercial peak, and production on the
musical Good Times ran through 1966. As the press circulated
studio stills throughout that year, their public image moved away from the
bohemian look that had defined their early success. Journalists viewed their new Hollywood-oriented presentation as out of step with the
youth culture they had once symbolized. Their monogamous lifestyle during the
sexual revolution, along with their anti-drug stance amid widespread drug use, further distanced them from the counterculture. Bego later wrote that "in spite of their revolutionary
unisex clothes, Sonny and Cher were quite 'square' when it came to sex and drugs." '', 1967 Directed by
William Friedkin,
Good Times was released in May 1967 and failed commercially at a moment when their record sales were already sliding. By early 1968, the duo's singles had stopped charting. Berman observed that the "heavy, loud sound" of newer acts such as
Jefferson Airplane and
Cream made their folk rock seem "too bland". Cher later said she "loved" the electric guitar-driven style of
Led Zeppelin and
Eric Clapton and wanted to adapt, but Sonny refused. Cher's fifth studio album,
Backstage (1968), which explores a range of styles including
bossa nova and
anti-war protest songs, did not chart. In 1969, Cher was dropped by Imperial Records, and Sonny & Cher were dropped by Atco. Atco then offered Cher a solo deal. Her sixth studio album,
3614 Jackson Highway (1969), recorded at
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio without Sonny's involvement, marked a shift toward R&B and
soul. Decades later, AllMusic called it "the finest album of her career" and "still a revelation". Displeased with the album, Sonny blocked Cher from releasing further recordings for Atco. Meanwhile, Sonny dated others, and by the end of the 1960s their relationship had begun to unravel. According to
People, Sonny "tried desperately to win her back, telling her he wanted to marry and start a family." They officially married after Cher learned she was pregnant, and she gave birth to
Chaz Bono on March 4, 1969. According to writer Cintra Wilson, "Their lounge act was so depressing, people started heckling them. Then Cher started heckling back. Sonny ... reprimanded her; then she'd heckle Sonny". while her
Bob Mackie-designed outfits set
1970s fashion trends. In 1971, Sonny and Cher signed with the
Kapp Records division of
MCA Records and Cher released the single "Classified 1A", in which she sings from the point of view of a soldier who bleeds to death in Vietnam. Written by Sonny, who felt that her first solo single on the label had to be poignant and topical, the song was rejected by radio station programmers as uncommercial. Since Sonny's first attempts at reviving their recording career as a duo had also been unsuccessful, Kapp Records recruited
Snuff Garrett to work with them. He produced Cher's second US number-one single, "
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", which "proved that ... Garrett knew more about Cher's voice and her persona as a singer than Sonny did", wrote Bego. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was the first single by a solo artist to rank number one on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time as on the
Canadian singles chart. It was featured on the 1971 album
Chér (later reissued under the title
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves), which was certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its second single, "
The Way of Love", reached number seven on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and established Cher's more confident sound as a recording artist. Cher's next single, "
Dark Lady", was released in December 1973 as the lead single from her 11th studio album,
Dark Lady (1974). It became her second consecutive and fourth overall number-one on the
Billboard Hot 100, tying her with
Rosemary Clooney,
Patti Page and
Connie Francis for the most number-one singles by a female solo artist in US history at the time. Later that year, she released a
Greatest Hits album that, according to
Billboard, proved her to be "one of the most consistent hitmakers of the past five years", as well as a "proven superstar who always sells records". Between 1971 and 1973, Sonny & Cher's recording career was revived with four albums released under Kapp and MCA Records:
Sonny & Cher Live (1971),
All I Ever Need Is You (1972)—with the US top-ten singles "
All I Ever Need Is You" and "
A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done"—
Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs (1973) and
Live in Las Vegas Vol. 2 (1973). Cher later commented that her tight schedule required her to record entire albums in a few days while also touring and filming their TV show.
1974–1979: Divorce, marriage to Gregg Allman and media scrutiny Cher and Sonny ended their relationship in late 1972 but stayed legally married for two more years to protect their careers. Their relationship had been troubled for years due to Sonny's infidelity and controlling behavior. By 1973, they lived in the same house while dating other people. "The public still thinks we are married," Sonny wrote in his diary, "that's the way it has to be." Sonny filed for separation the next month, citing "
irreconcilable differences". A week later, Cher countered with a divorce suit, accusing him of "
involuntary servitude" and withholding her rightful share of their earnings. Their show was cancelled in April 1974. Later that year, Sonny launched
The Sonny Comedy Revue with the same creative team, but it was canceled after 13 weeks. (in his American TV debut) on the variety show
Cher, 1975 During divorce proceedings, Cher learned she was legally an employee of Cher Enterprises, a company 95% owned by Sonny and 5% by his lawyer. She was also required to work exclusively for Sonny's company, leaving her with no career or financial control. Record executive
David Geffen, with whom Cher had begun a relationship in 1973, helped her break free from the contract. Cher won custody of Chaz after a highly publicized legal battle, and their divorce was finalized on June 26, 1975. Geffen hoped to marry Cher, but she ended the relationship due to his possessiveness and struggles with his sexuality. Cher debuted her solo CBS show,
Cher, on February 12, 1975. The show showcased Cher's music, comedy, monologues and an extensive wardrobe—the largest for a weekly TV series. Critics praised it, with the
Los Angeles Times stating, "Sonny without Cher was a disaster. Cher without Sonny ... could be the best thing that's happened to weekly television this season." Musical guests included
David Bowie (in his American TV debut),
Ray Charles,
Elton John,
Bette Midler,
Tina Turner and
the Jackson 5, with
Billboard crediting Cher for bringing "a rock sensibility to
prime-time TV". Despite high ratings, the
Cher show ended after two seasons, replaced by a reunion show with Sonny.
The Ringers Lindsay Zoladz commented that
network censors were stricter with Cher as a single woman, viewing her as more provocative alone than as Sonny's wife. Cher later reflected, "Doing a show alone was more than I could handle." In 1975, Cher signed a $2.5 million contract with
Warner Bros. Records, aiming to establish herself as a serious rock artist rather than "just a pop singer". Influenced by the introspective style of singer-songwriters such as
Joni Mitchell,
Carly Simon and
James Taylor, she recorded her 12th studio album,
Stars (1975). Richard Seeley of the
Daily Breeze praised the album as "an important link between the
rock and roll subculture and the mass
popular music audience", noting that Cher showed "real talent" by choosing lesser-known rock songwriters over "surefire hit makers like
John [Lennon] and Paul McCartney|[Paul] McCartney". In contrast,
Janet Maslin of
The Village Voice argued that she lacked rock credibility, writing that "image, not music, is Cher Bono's main ingredient for both records and TV." Though
Stars was a commercial failure, it later developed a
cult following and has been regarded as one of her best works. in 1976 On June 30, 1975, four days after finalizing her divorce from Sonny, Cher married rock musician
Gregg Allman, co-founder of
the Allman Brothers Band, whom she had been dating since January, shortly after ending her relationship with Geffen. She filed for divorce nine days later due to his heroin and alcohol problems, but they reconciled within a month. Their son,
Elijah Blue Allman, was born on July 10, 1976. Cher's TV reunion with Sonny,
The Sonny and Cher Show, debuted on CBS in February 1976—the first show ever to star a divorced couple. Although it premiered to strong ratings, their biting onscreen banter about the divorce along with her troubled relationship with Allman sparked a public backlash that contributed to the show's cancellation in August 1977. In 1976,
Mego Toys released a line of
Sonny & Cher dolls. The Cher doll outsold
Barbie, becoming the year's best-selling doll. Under pressure from Warner Records to return to her earlier
narrative pop style, Cher recorded her 13th and 14th studio albums, ''
I'd Rather Believe in You (1976) and Cherished (1977), neither of which charted. Orange Coast writer Keith Tuber suggested that her weekly TV shows may have hurt record sales by giving audiences regular access to her music. Reviews were largely negative: Larry Rohter of the Houston Chronicle called I'd Rather Believe in You
"atrocious", citing "dreary vocals" and describing it as "one of the lamest records of the year", while Christine Brown of the Miami Herald wrote of Cherished'', "It might help to stare at the album cover as you listen ... It takes your mind off what you're hearing." In 1977, under the rubric Allman and Woman, Cher and Allman recorded the duet album
Two the Hard Way. though audience reception was mixed. With a combination of Cher fans and Allman Brothers fans in attendance, fights frequently broke out at venues, prompting Cher to cancel the tour. Their relationship ended soon after the tour's cancellation, and their divorce was finalized in 1979. In 1978, Cher began a two-year
live-in relationship with
Kiss member
Gene Simmons. She briefly returned to prime-time TV with the specials
Cher... Special (1978)—featuring a segment in which she performs all of the roles in her version of
West Side Story—and
Cher... and Other Fantasies (1979).
1979–1982: Second musical comeback—from disco diva to rock frontwoman In 1979, she
legally adopted the
mononym Cher, with no surname. Facing financial pressures as a single mother of two, she decided to steer her singing career toward greater commercial success. Temporarily setting aside her desire to be a rock singer, she signed with
Casablanca Records and launched a comeback with the single "
Take Me Home" and the
album of the same name, both of which capitalized on the
disco craze. The album and single became instant successes, remained bestsellers for more than half of 1979 and were certified gold by the RIAA. earning $300,000 weekly. Beginning in June 1979 and running until 1982, the residency evolved into Cher's first solo tour, the
Take Me Home Tour, with dates in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. Described by
The Press of Atlantic City as "the biggest
cabaret act ever seen on any stage", the concert series yielded two TV specials:
Standing Room Only: Cher in Concert (1981) and
Cher... A Celebration at Caesars (1983), the latter earning her the
CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Variety Program. In 1981, Cher collaborated with
Meat Loaf on the duet "
Dead Ringer for Love", which peaked at number five on the UK singles chart and was praised by AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco as "one of the more inspired rock duets of the 1980s". The following year, Cher released the
new wave album
I Paralyze, a commercial failure and her only album under
Columbia Records.
1982–1987: Broadway debut, acting breakthrough and musical hiatus With declining record sales and radio airplay, Cher shifted her focus to acting. Despite earlier aspirations, her only film credits,
Good Times and
Chastity, were critical and commercial failures, and Hollywood did not take her seriously as an actress. Reflecting on this period, Cher said, "I was dropped by my [label] and couldn't get a job ... [so] I went to Las Vegas", which she likened to an "
elephant's graveyard" for fading stars. Despite her success performing there, she felt unfulfilled: "I was making a fortune ... but I was dying inside." In 1982, Cher moved to New York to study acting with
Lee Strasberg at the
Actors Studio, but skipped enrollment after auditioning for and being cast in
Robert Altman's Broadway production
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Altman later cast her in the
film adaptation of the same title. Director
Mike Nichols, who had seen Cher onstage in
Jimmy Dean, offered her the part of
Dolly Pelliker, the lesbian roommate of
Karen Silkwood (played by
Meryl Streep) in the 1983 biographical film
Silkwood. Audiences initially questioned Cher's acting ability; she later recalled attending a
film screening where the crowd laughed upon seeing her name in the
opening credits. For
Silkwood, Cher was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a
Golden Globe Award in the
same category. The biopic
Mask (1985) marked Cher's first critical and commercial success as a leading actress, reaching number two at the box office. During production, Cher clashed with director
Peter Bogdanovich, refusing to support his call to boycott the film's promotion in protest of
Universal Pictures' edits to the final cut. While promoting the film, she remarked, "From working with Peter, it's no surprise to me that he would serve his own interests before those of the film." For her portrayal of
Rusty Dennis, a drug-addicted biker raising a
disfigured teenage son, Cher won the
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. Despite critical predictions, she was ultimately left off the Oscar nomination list. Bego suggested that her public feud with Bogdanovich and unconventional image may have contributed to the Academy's decision. At the
58th Academy Awards, she wore a dramatic, tarantula-like outfit, which
Vanity Fairs Esther Zuckerman later called Cher's "Oscar revenge dress". Presenting the
Best Supporting Actor nominees, Cher quipped, "As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress". The incident garnered her much publicity. Cher's May 1986 guest appearance on
Late Night with David Letterman, during which she called
David Letterman "an
asshole", attracted much media coverage. Letterman later recalled, "It did hurt my feelings. Cher was one of the few people I've really wanted to have on the show ... I felt like a total fool, especially since I say all kinds of things to people." She returned in November 1987, reuniting with Sonny for the last time before his death for an impromptu performance of "I Got You Babe". Reflecting in 2015,
Rolling Stones Andy Greene wrote, "They weren't exactly the best of friends at this point, but both of them knew it would make for unforgettable television. Had YouTube existed back then, this would have gone insanely viral the next morning." That same month, Cher released
The Ugly Duckling, an
audiobook adaptation of the
1843 fairy tale.
The Washington Post praised her as "a warm, unaffected storyteller" whose voice was "particularly suited for very young listeners".
1987–1992: Hollywood stardom and third musical comeback Cher starred in three films in 1987. In
Peter Yates'
legal thriller Suspect, she portrayed a public defender aided and romanced by a juror (
Dennis Quaid) in a homicide case. In
George Miller's
comedy horror The Witches of Eastwick, she played one of three small-town divorcees—alongside
Michelle Pfeiffer and
Susan Sarandon—seduced by a mysterious, wealthy visitor (
Jack Nicholson). In
Norman Jewison's romantic comedy
Moonstruck, she starred as an Italian widow who falls for her fiancé's younger brother (
Nicolas Cage). The latter two films ranked among 1987's top 10 highest-grossing movies.
The New York Times Janet Maslin wrote
Moonstruck "offers further proof that Cher has evolved into the kind of larger-than-life movie star who's worth watching whatever she does". For that film, Cher won the
Academy Award for Best Actress and the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. in 1989 In 1987, Cher signed with
Geffen Records and revived her musical career with what music critics Johnny Danza and Dean Ferguson described as "her most impressive string of hits to date", establishing her as a "serious rock and roller ... a crown that she'd worked long and hard to capture". the album proved to be a commercial success, certified platinum by the RIAA. her first US top-ten single in eight years. Her 19th studio album,
Heart of Stone (1989), reached number one in Australia and entered the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, the UK where it was certified triple platinum. became one of her
signature songs and drew controversy for its
sexually suggestive music video, filmed aboard the
battleship . Cher launched the
Heart of Stone Tour in 1989, which continued through 1990. Critics praised the tour for its nostalgic appeal and her
showmanship. The TV special
Cher... at the Mirage, filmed during a Las Vegas concert, aired in February 1991. In
Mermaids (1990), Cher's first film in three years, she drew inspiration from her mother to portray a woman who moves her daughters (
Winona Ryder,
Christina Ricci) from town to town after failed relationships. She clashed with the film's first two directors,
Lasse Hallström and
Frank Oz, who were replaced by
Richard Benjamin. Producers, seeing Cher as the star attraction, granted her creative control. The film was a box office success and received positive reviews. One of the two songs Cher recorded for the film's
soundtrack, a cover of
Merry Clayton's "
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", topped the UK singles chart for five weeks. Cher's final Geffen studio album,
Love Hurts (1991), spent six weeks at number one in the UK and was certified gold by the RIAA. She then launched the
Love Hurts Tour (1991–1992) and released the UK-only
compilation album Greatest Hits: 1965–1992 (1992), which topped the
UK chart for seven weeks. Critics saw it as a sellout and speculated her film career was over, with
Entertainment Weekly stating she had eroded her "hard-won
A-list actress status". Cher later reflected, "Suddenly I became the Infomercial Queen ... people stripped me of all my other things." In 1993, Cher re-recorded "I Got You Babe" with
MTV's animated duo
Beavis and Butt-Head,
mocking her own image as they introduce her as "a chick that's got tattoos on her butt ... who's older ... done it a lot of times [and] used to be married to some dork" (referring to Sonny Bono). She topped the UK singles chart in 1995 with the charity single "
Love Can Build a Bridge", alongside
Chrissie Hynde,
Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton. After signing with Warner Music UK's
WEA label, Cher released ''
It's a Man's World'' (1995), an album of songs originally performed by men. The album features "
Walking in Memphis", certified
silver by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and the UK top-ten single "
One by One". and the UK. In 1996, Cher appeared alongside
Demi Moore and
Sissy Spacek in
If These Walls Could Talk, a three-part
anthology TV film about abortion. The project marked Cher's directorial debut, as she both directed and starred in the film's final segment, playing a doctor targeted by an
anti-abortion group.
Walls became
HBO's highest-rated original movie to date, drawing 6.9 million viewers. Cher's first leading role in a
theatrical release in six years came with
Paul Mazursky's
dark comedy Faithful (1996), in which she played a suicidal woman whose husband hires a hitman (
Chazz Palminteri) to kill her. Although praised for her performance, with
The New York Times noting she "does her game best to find comic potential in a victim's role", Cher refused to promote the film, calling it "horrible". Following Sonny Bono's death in a skiing accident in 1998, Cher delivered a tearful eulogy at his funeral, calling him "the most unforgettable character" she had met. She paid tribute to him by hosting the CBS special
Sonny & Me: Cher Remembers, which aired on May 20, 1998. That month, Sonny and Cher received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work on television. Later that year, Cher published
The First Time, a collection of autobiographical essays of "first-time" events in her life. Critics praised the book as sincere and relatable. The
manuscript was nearly complete when Sonny died, and Cher was initially reluctant to include his death, concerned it might appear exploitative. She told
Rolling Stone, "I might have [ignored it] if I cared more about what people think than what I know is right for me."
1998–2002: Fourth musical comeback and songwriting debut " during
WKTU's Miracle on 34th Street concert in 1998 Cher's 22nd studio album,
Believe (1998), marked a shift from her previous rock sound to 1970s disco-inspired
dance-pop. earning quadruple platinum certification in the US and gold, platinum or multi-platinum status in 39 countries. The album's
title track reached number one in 23 countries and sold over 10 million copies globally. It was the best-selling single of 1998 in the UK and of 1999 in the US. "Believe" debuted at number one in the UK, held the position for seven weeks and became
the country's best-selling single by a female artist. In the US, it led the
Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, making Cher, at 52, the oldest woman to top the chart.
Pitchfork wrote that "coming from Cher—a confident, charismatic, and massively talented woman who'd been subjected to frequent
public ridicule over her personal life—'Believe' took on an extra survivalist edge". "Believe" won the
Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording and the 1999
Billboard Music Award for
Hot 100 Single of the Year. The album's second single, "
Strong Enough", reached number one in Hungary and entered the top five in Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Poland, Scotland, playing a flamboyant American socialite unwelcome among Englishwomen (
Judi Dench,
Maggie Smith) in Italy.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of
Entertainment Weekly described her performance as "always likable, always soft-focus, always strange", while
Film Comment wrote that she proved "how sorely she's been missed from movie screens". in 1999 On January 31, 1999, Cher sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner", the US
national anthem, at the
Super Bowl XXXIII. She co-headlined the TV special ''
VH1 Divas Live '99'', which drew 19.4 million viewers and became the highest-rated program in VH1's history at the time. Her
Do You Believe? Tour (1999–2000) sold out in every American city it visited, drawing a global audience of over 1.5 million. The tour's TV special,
Cher: Live in Concert – From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (1999), became HBO's top-rated original program of 1998–1999.
Billboard named Cher the top dance artist of 1999. certified gold by the RIAA. In 2000, Cher released
Not Commercial, an album she wrote after attending a songwriting conference in 1994. She chose the title after her label's chief dismissed the project as "nice, but not commercial" and rejected it for its
explicit language and unsparing themes, including the
suicide of Kurt Cobain, homelessness,
veteran neglect and personal trauma. She sold it independently on her website, an unusual move for an artist under contract with a major label. The song "Sisters of Mercy", which describes the nuns who prevented her mother from retrieving her from a Catholic orphanage as "daughters of hell", drew condemnation from the Catholic Church. Cher's dance-focused follow-up to
Believe,
Living Proof (2001), reached number one in Greece and number nine in the US, where it was certified gold. and "
Song for the Lonely", a tribute to "the courageous people of New York" after the
September 11 attacks. That year, her wealth was estimated at $600 million.
2002–2015: Farewell tours, musical film comeback and return to dance-pop (2002–2005), then the highest-grossing tour by a female artist In June 2002, Cher launched
Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, promoted as her
final concert tour, though she planned to keep recording and acting.
Jon Pareles of
The New York Times praised it as a celebration of Cher's resilience, highlighting her ability to "triumph over restraint, aging and gravity" and calling her "a hit machine immune to sagging flesh". Initially set for 49 shows, the tour was repeatedly extended. By October 2003, it had become the most successful tour by a female artist, grossing $145 million from 200 shows with 2.2 million attendees. The
NBC special
Cher: The Farewell Tour drew 17 million viewers, becoming the highest-rated network concert special of 2003 and earning Cher the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. After leaving Warner UK in 2002, Cher signed a global deal with Warner Bros. Records in September 2003.
Forbes named her the
highest-paid female musician of 2003, earning $33.1 million. The compilation album
The Very Best of Cher (2003) peaked at number four on the
Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Cher's Farewell Tour concluded in April 2005 after 325 shows, drawing over 3.5 million attendees and grossing $250 million, ranking among
the top-ten highest-grossing tours of the 2000s. After three years of retirement, she signed a $60 million deal for a 200-show residency at
the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Titled
Cher (2008–2011), the production featured advanced stage effects and over 20 costume changes. Cher returned to film in
Burlesque (2010)—her first musical since
Good Times (1967)—playing an intimidating nightclub owner who mentors an aspiring performer (
Christina Aguilera). Initially met with mixed reviews and modest box office results, the film was later reassessed;
Entertainment Weekly called it "a
campy,
niche classic [that] inspired everything, from drag queen revues to viral internet moments". Her ballad "
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", from the
soundtrack, topped the
Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in January 2011, making her the only artist with
Billboard number-one singles in six consecutive decades (1960s–2010s). (2014) After
voicing Janet the Lioness in
Zookeeper (2011), she produced the documentary
Dear Mom, Love Cher (2013). It follows her efforts to support her mother Georgia Holt's dream of becoming a singer, culminating in the release of
Holt's debut album at age 87.
Closer to the Truth (2013), Cher's first studio album since 2001's
Living Proof, debuted at number three on the
Billboard 200—her highest position on that chart to date She premiered the lead single "
Woman's World" during the
season four finale of
The Voice—her first live TV performance in over a decade—and returned in
season five as team adviser to judge
Blake Shelton. In June 2013, Cher headlined the annual
Dance on the Pier benefit, celebrating LGBTQ
Pride Day, achieving the event's first full-capacity crowd in five years. She embarked on the
Dressed to Kill Tour in March 2014, over a decade after announcing her "farewell tour", joking during shows that this would be her last farewell tour while
crossing fingers. The tour's first leg, comprising 49 sold-out shows in North America, grossed $54.9 million. Cher collaborated with American
hip hop group
Wu-Tang Clan on their 2015 album
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, credited under her 1964 alias, Bonnie Jo Mason. The album, produced as a single copy and sold via online auction, became the most expensive album ever sold.
2015–2022: ABBA-inspired projects and fashion ventures residency in 2017
Classic Cher, a three-year concert residency at the
Park Theater in Las Vegas and
The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Washington, D.C., began in February 2017. At the
2017 Billboard Music Awards, Cher performed "Believe" and "If I Could Turn Back Time", her first awards show performance in over 15 years.
Gwen Stefani presented Cher with the
Billboard Icon Award, calling her the "definition of the word Icon" and a role model of strength and authenticity. In March 2018, Cher headlined the 40th
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, with tickets selling out in three hours after she hinted at her involvement on Twitter. Cher returned to film after nearly a decade in
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), a
jukebox musical romantic comedy based on the songs of
ABBA. Serving as both a prequel and a sequel to the 2008 film
Mamma Mia!, it features Cher as Ruby Sheridan, the grandmother of Sophie (
Amanda Seyfried) and mother of Donna (Meryl Streep). Director
Ol Parker addressed casting Cher as Streep's mother despite their three-year age difference by stating, "Cher exists outside of time." Critics highlighted her performance as a standout, with
Vulture remarking, "Every single movie ... would be infinitely better if it included Cher." For the
soundtrack, she recorded two ABBA songs, "
Fernando" and "
Super Trouper".
Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA commented, "She makes 'Fernando' her own. It's her song now." While promoting
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Cher announced that she was recording an album of ABBA covers. Her 26th studio album,
Dancing Queen (2018), debuted at number three on the
Billboard 200, tying with 2013's
Closer to the Truth as her highest-charting solo album in the US. With first-week sales of 153,000 units, it achieved the year's largest sales week for a pop album by a female artist. and
Entertainment Weekly called it her "most significant release since 1998's
Believe". in 2019 Cher's
Here We Go Again Tour ran from 2018 until its indefinite postponement in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 lockdowns.
Rolling Stone deemed the tour proof that Cher "can wipe the floor with any pop star from any generation".
The Cher Show, a jukebox musical with three actresses playing Cher at different stages of her life, premiered in Chicago in June 2018 and ran on
Broadway from December 2018 to August 2019, later touring the UK, Ireland and the US. On December 2, 2018,
Whoopi Goldberg presented Cher with the
Kennedy Center Honors for her "extraordinary contributions to culture", with tribute performances by
Adam Lambert,
Cyndi Lauper and
Little Big Town. In 2019, she launched Cher Eau de Couture, a "
genderless" follow-up to her 1988 fragrance Uninhibited. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Cher focused on projects that could be completed from home. In May, she released her first Spanish-language song, a cover of ABBA's "
Chiquitita", with proceeds donated to
UNICEF. Later that year, she voiced a
bobblehead version of herself in
Bobbleheads: The Movie and joined the
charity supergroup BBC Radio 2 Allstars for a cover of
Oasis' "
Stop Crying Your Heart Out". The recording, made in support of the
Children in Need charity, became a UK top-ten single. Cher was featured in
The New York Times Magazines annual "Best Actors" list for 2020, becoming the first actor included without appearing in a theatrical release that year; her performance in
Moonstruck (1987) was praised as "radiant" and a source of comfort during
quarantine. She then starred alongside rapper
Future in
Gap's Fall 2017 campaign, followed by
Dsquared2's Spring/Summer 2020 campaign,
MAC Cosmetics' "Challenge Accepted" campaign in January 2022 and
UGG's "Feel" campaign the same month. For
Pride Month in June 2022, Cher partnered with
Versace to launch the "Chersace"
capsule collection, with proceeds benefiting the LGBTQIA+ charity Gender Spectrum. In September 2022, she walked the runway at
Paris Fashion Week, closing
Balmain's Spring/Summer 2023 show, and in November, she starred in the brand's "Balmain Blaze" campaign. That month, Cher confirmed she was dating music executive Alexander Edwards, 40 years her junior. Their age gap sparked criticism online, which she addressed by tweeting, "Love doesn't know math." Cher's mother, Georgia Holt, died in December 2022 at the age of 96.
2023–present: Christmas album, Rock Hall induction and memoirs Cher's first holiday album,
Christmas (2023), features duets with Cyndi Lauper,
Stevie Wonder,
Michael Bublé,
Darlene Love and rapper
Tyga. It reached number one on the
Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart, Germany, extending Cher's record as the only solo artist with
Billboard number-one singles in seven consecutive decades (1960s–2020s). In December 2023, Cher criticized the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for excluding her since becoming eligible in 1990, saying, "I wouldn't be in it now if they gave me a million dollars", and suggesting the institution "can just you-know-what themselves". She received her first nomination two months later and was
inducted on October 19, 2024, becoming the first performer to have won an Academy Award for acting and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cher decided to accept the honor out of admiration for her fellow inductees. In September, Cher withdrew a
conservatorship petition over her son Elijah, originally filed in December 2023 due to concerns about his ongoing substance abuse. The court had earlier denied her requests for temporary control, citing Elijah's demonstrated ability to manage his affairs. The matter was resolved privately. To celebrate 60 years in music, Cher released the compilation album
Forever (2024), available as a 21-track standard edition and a 40-track digital edition,
Forever Fan, featuring Sonny & Cher songs and lesser-known tracks curated by Cher.
Rolling Stone noted the absence of "Half-Breed", her third
Billboard Hot 100 number-one, linking it to a trend of artists
reevaluating their catalogs in light of changing
cultural sensitivities. Written over seven years, == Artistry ==