Cher: Timeless Celebrity

In the ever-changing world of entertainment, it is standard for a celebrity to fizzle and fade to black, happens all the time. Unless, of course, you are immortal like Cher. At 64-years-old, Cher still radiates with the wow factor of an archetypical female celebrity. Still going strong, Cher teams up with Christina Aguilera in a movie musical "Burlesque," due out in theatres in November.

Cher's Early Background

Few would recognize her birth name of Cherilyn Sarkisian, but ask anyone who Cher is and you can bet they will know. According to biography.com, Cher was born May 20, 1946 in Southern California and apparently not into the best of circumstance on that spring day.

The (unofficial) biography claims Cher's dad was an immigrant from Armenia. Also noted, is a snippet that her father's life was overshadowed by a gambling addiction. Ditching his wife, Georgia and baby daughter, the biography hints that Cher's upbringing was less than desirable and may have been due in part to her mother's numerous marriages.

In researching, the numbers are not concrete, but it appears Georgia may have been married at least six times. Tagged an introvert as a child, Cher's creative talent may be inherent. Her mother aspired to be an actress and perhaps that is why Georgia relocated from Arkansas to California. Was Cher's mom Hollywood bound, but never made it to celebrity status?

Georgia Holt co-authored a book "Star Mothers: The Moms Behind the Celebrities," which was published in 1989 and is available at Amazon.

Even if Mom did not meet her aspirations, her daughter hit the mark eventually, after taking off from home and going straight to Hollywood. Cher was a sixteen-year-old girl on her own. She wound up being taken in by the 26-year-old Salvatore Bono, who of course, is Sonny of the famous duo.

Sonny and Cher

While Sonny and Cher were definitely not Romeo and Juliet-Sonny appeared to be more a father figure than a sizzling lover-they were just as famous and quite humorous, too. There was something about Sonny's scruffy, but endearing style that made Cher's sultry aura, complete with thick, black false eyelashes, even more prominent. From her earliest years, Cher made a fashion statement with her eccentric sexy outfits and bedazzling celebrity makeup.

Married in 1964 and after some starts and stops along the way, the couple released a 1965 single recording, "I Got You Babe," which soared to the number one spot on the Billboard charts. Undoubtedly, most associate this song with Sonny and Cher, who eventually split in 1974, but not before several successful undertakings as a couple including; a CBS weekly variety show called "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," which ran between 1971 and 1974, according to tvparty.com.

Sonny and Cher had a daughter together. Chastity Bono, however, underwent gender reassignment surgery (formerly referred to as a sex change) this year and is now legally, Chaz Bono, according to a TMZ article. It should not surprise anyone to know that Cher lovingly supported her child's life-altering decision. Cher also has a son, Elijah Blue, with musician Gregg Allman. Sonny Bono, unfortunately, died in 1998 in a tragic skiing accident.

Favorite Cher Movies

Cher is certainly no stranger to acting and is in fact, an amazing actress, though underrated. Who could forget her outstanding emotional performance in Peter Bogdanovich's "Mask." The story was based on the life and death of Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis, who suffered from a rare disorder in which his bones and skull continued to grow abnormally until he died in his sleep at the age of 16. It is an extremely emotional movie and Cher brilliantly carried the movie from beginning to end.

"The Witches of Eastwick" is another movie Cher starred in with the fabulous celebrity team of Susan Sarandon, Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer. For the role of Meryl Streep's lesbian friend, in "Silkwood," Cher received her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Cher also won an Academy Award in 1987 for her acting role in "Moonstruck," in which she starred as Loretta Castorini, who is a loveable but listless bookkeeper. These are just some of the lady's extraordinary accomplishments.

Cher is 64 and despite all her major endeavors in music and acting, she may not appeal to a younger crowd these days. However, there are still plenty of people who appreciate and are inspired by, the talent of this truly amazing woman. Even now, she may be heading out on tour again in the near future. Age does not seem to be getting in her way! Cher is indeed a celebrity and one who has more than earned her way to the top.

Sources:

*CNN

*EXTRA

*Movies Unlimited

*TMZ

*http://www.biography.com/articles/Cher-9246148

*http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800023318/bio

*Warnerbros.com
*Amazon.com