As pop icon Cher celebrates her 80th birthday, how much do you know about her and her long and varied career that stretches over six decades?
Cher is one of the most iconic names in pop music, with a career that has spanned more than 60 years. Cher first found fame in 1965, when she and then-husband Sonny Bono scored an international hit with ‘I Got You Babe’.
While that duo soon foundered, Cher went onto greater success as a solo artist, and has scored hits in various decades. She has become known for her ability to reinvent herself and her sound to stay relevant.
Like many singers, she also harboured ambitions of being an actor, and had no little success – including winning an Oscar.
But as Cher turns 80, how much do you know about her? Here are some facts you might not know.
Her legal name is Cher
You need to be a star of a certain magnitude to be known by just one name – like Madonna, for example – and Cher has been known as Cher really since the 1960s when she first found fame alongside then-husband Sonny Bono as the duo Sonny & Cher.
But while she was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, she later became Cheryl LaPiere – when her stepfather legally adopted her – and then was Cher Bono, when married to Sonny Bono, and Cher Allman when married to Greg Allman. But when the latter marriage ended in 1979, she legally changed her name to just Cher, with no surname.
She is the only solo artists to have a number one in seven decades
In her long career, Cher has sold more than 100 million records and holds a Billboard record as the only solo artist who has had number one singles on the Billboard chart in seven consecutive decades – 1960s to 2020s.
She has also charted in the UK in seven consecutive decades, and is the only artist to do that by releasing new material.
Cher was a huge Tv star in the 1970s
After Sonny & Cher found fame in the 1960s, this turned to TV fame in the early 1970s. After a slot guest hosting The Merv Griffin Show, they were given their own show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, in summer 1971.
The initial six episodes were a hit, and it was turned into a full-time show. The show ran for three years and at its peak was watched by 30 million viewers a week. It was in this show that Cher demonstrated her comedy timing, but also honed her acting skills in various sketches – which would help in her later transition into movies.
In 1975, Cher had a solo show, imaginatively titled Cher, which ran for two seasons.
cher is part of an exclusive singer/actor club
Cher is one of only six actors/actresses to have had both a number one single and won an acting Oscar. Cher has had multiple number ones, and also won a best actress Oscar for her role in Moonstruck (1987).
The other five to achieve this feat are Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland (although it was an honorary Oscar), Bing Crosby and Jamie Foxx.
she was in two of the top 10 grossing movies of 1987
The peak of Cher’s acting career came in 1987, when she starred in two of the top 10 grossing movies of the year, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck – she won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance in the latter.
At the time, she was one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood, commanding $1 million per movie.
cher has had four barbie dolls made in her likeness
There have been plenty of female stars to have been immortalised in the form of a Barbie doll over the years, but not many have had four different dolls made like Cher has.
The first, Timeless Treasures Cher, was released in 2001. Then, in 2007, Native American Cher, Blonde Ringmaster Cher and 80’s Cher were released. All four were designed by Bob Mackie.
