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BORN: May 20, 1946, El Centro, CA
As I look upon Cherylin Sarkisian LaPiere, I see a
woman who has led a spectacular life and behind her
celebrity status and flawless complexion lies a
woman who has experienced a rather eventful past.
Better known as Cher, her success in music, movies,
television, and on stage has brought her nearly four
decades of world recognition. In a career defined as
much by dramatic missteps as spectacular recoveries,
the chief constant is her seemingly limitless
determination.
Born in El Centro, California in 1946, Cher was a
poor, fatherless child whose eight times-married
Mother struggled by on occasional singing gigs and
brief movie roles. To Cher this was life and she
delighted in watching her mother on stage and living
a peaceful life in her family apartment. At sixteen
Cher's dyslexia proved too gruelling and she left
school and home to take acting lessons in Los
Angeles. To Cher this was a new beginning and the
start of a whole new life, she didn't expect what
was to come. At the age of seventeen, Cher will
never forget the time she met a man named Sonny.
They met at the renowned Aldo's Coffee Shop, the
place where celebrities used to hang out. At that
stage Cher was a nobody, unemployed and desperate
for work, on the other hand Sonny had established
himself as a celebrity and had many previous
appearances on Television.
Cher soon became attached to Sonny and she moved in
with him. The two lived platonically at first,
sharing an apartment but sleeping in twin beds.
While Sonny progressed as a star, Cher was kept
house bound and it wasn't until Cher's mother
discovered the arrangement and tried to separate
them, that the pair rebelled and proclaimed their
love. Cher claims in her current Biography "The
First Time", that Sonny Bono was the ultimate
love of her life and that the two remained amicable
in personal st ruggles and hardships. Cher said,
"What you saw on TV with Sonny and Cher was a
good representation of our personal life, always
laughing and having fun". Sonny and Cher hit
gold with their single, "I've got you
babe" and furthered their world-wide success
with "The Beat Goes On" and "Baby
Don' t Go". It was Sonny and Cher's far-out
look, with wide colourful pants, skimpy tops, shaggy
hair and fur vests, which attracted fans.
Cher was deemed as a fashion innovator, a role she
has continued with, for better or worse, throughout
her career. The happy family portrait presented to
America and the world was soon breaking down for
Cher. She tells how her daughter Chastity, born in
1969 was affected by intense spotlight and that
family life was becoming hectic and unstable . On
stage Cher was calm, but backstage was turbulent and
Cher felt trapped. Cher states in her biography,
"The only way I could continue life happily was
to split with Sonny and bring our show to a
premature end." She continues, "This
devastated our fans, as well as CBS executives, but
it had to be done, I was simply, unhappy with my
life." In the end stardom pulled Cher's
marriage down and the media attention on Cher sky
rocketed as she dated new men.
Cher now knows that she has made many mistakes in
her life. "I was stupid" she said in her
biography, "Dumb and stupid!". Cher had
agreed to a second season of Sonny and Cher. Sonny
Bono rang Cher constantly to set up a reunion and
Cher agreed eventually. Although something was
different this time, Cher was married and pregnant
to, southern rock great Greg Allman. Intense
curiosity sparked huge initial ratings for the new
Sonny and Cher Comedy hour, but Cher knew that the
show wouldn't last as ratings dropped every week.
Finally in August 1977, after two seasons the show
got the ax for good.
Cher was still unhappy with her life, she felt tired
of what she was doing and wanted more out of life.
Her marriage to Allman was a mess as his addictions
to booze and heroin ruined their short marriage. By
1979, their marriage was over and Cher was an
unemployed 33-year old single mother, yearning for
the impossible. A shot in serious films. Her damaged
TV image and tabloid troubles were so ingrained, no
one in Hollywood wanted her. Cher's persistence is
evident when she talks about her troubles, "You
know, I had to go on, not only for my sake, but for
my two children and the well-being of my
career." Cher was not over yet; in fact this
would be the start of yet another career swap for
the almighty star. She was casted in a movie called
'Silkwood' and acted opposite Meryl Streep.
Cher tells, "I will never forget the time
Silkwood premiered in New York and as soon as my
name was mentioned, the audience just laughed. I
felt so bad, but you know, you can't argue with
these things, it's just a natural, organic response
from the audience." The people who down graded
Cher would soon regret their viscous attacks, as
Cher was soon faced with an Oscar for her
performance in "Silkwood" . By 1987 Cher
was in such demand that she found herself in three
films at once, "The witches of Eastwick",
"Suspect" and "Moonstruck". She
became a prime target for the paparazzi and her name
was spread over every magazine and newspaper. At 41,
after twenty-five years in show biz, Cher was at
last on top and with a little help from the
surgeon's knife she remained one of the most
beautiful stars in Hollywood.
Cher continued to raise eyebrows throughout her
career. Who will ever forget Cher's rip roaring
video clip in the late 80's? "If I could turn
back time" was a huge hit for Cher, dressed in
a risque outfit and prancing around on a ship full
of young soldiers she made headlines once again.
This was the start of a whole new decade for Cher.
The nineties. With number one hits flowing from her
vein's Cher was a rock-pop genius. While Cher
remained a star, her personal life remained
stagnant. Her daughter Chastity announced that she
was gay and began campaigning for gay rights. Cher
tells "My response to Chastity being Gay was
very un-Cher like. I didn't know what to do and who
to turn to, I was devastated! The funny thing is I
knew all along that she was gay, I just didn't want
to admit it." Cher's current relationship with
her daughter is extremely strong and Cher admits she
has learned to except her daughter for who she is.
The news of Sonny's tragic death was one, which
sparked much emotion in Cher's life. "I was in
London in January 1998 when I heard the dreaded
news. Chastity rang me and brought the news of
Sonny's death. I dropped everything and fled to
Heathrow Airport and the media watched my every
move. Even though we had been apart for over 24
years I couldn't ignore the fact that I spent a
quarter of my life with this guy." Cher tells
of the day that she learnt of Sonny's death as if it
were only days ago in her biography. Full of remorse
during her reconciliatory eulogy at his funeral,
Cher praised the man who had been father, partner,
friend, and foe , displaying a side of herself the
world had never seen. Though hurt by endless
criticism that her eulogy was an attention seeking
devise to gain attention, Cher continued to mourn
openly, paying tribute to Sonny Bono in a
sentimental CBS documentary.
It had been a period of over 5 years that the world
had last heard Cher's unique voice in an album. Just
as she was written off by many in the criticising
world of Hollywood, Cher hit back with a slick new
disco album called Believe. This marked yet another
upswing in her bumpy career. Although this time Cher
had finally found gold. At the age of 53, looking
more like a glamorous 20-year-old Cher's new album
is the best selling album of her 35-year recording
career. By March 99 she was ruling the American Top
40 and holding the number one spot for a consecutive
four weeks. She was now the oldest female ever to
hit the top spot and owned the longest Billboard
chart span between No. 1's (65-99) of any pop
recording artist.
"What can I say about Cher's life that hasn't
already been said? A chart topping singer,
Television star, Academy award winner, a disco diva,
rock'n'roller and a fashion icon. Simultaneously
down to earth, an index to everything that is hot
and current as well as to what is lasting and
timeless. She's been written off countless times,
but she springs back and conquers a new. Science
will probably never be able to tell us who the first
person on earth was, but I believe that the last
person standing will be Cher."
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