Biography Cher

Birth Name Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere
Also known as Cher, Cherilyn Sarkisian, Cherilyn LaPiere
Born May 20, 1946
El Centro, California, United States
Years active 1964–pr esent
Genre(s) Pop, Disco, Rock, Dance
Biggest single “Believ e” (1998)
Biggest record “Believ e” (1998)
Label(s) Warner Bros.(2005-present), Atlantic Recording Corporation, EMI, Music Corporation of America Casablanca Records, Columbia, Geffen, Isis Productions, WEA

Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere (born May 20, 1946), better known by her stage name Cher, is an Academy Award-winning actress, singer, songwriter, director, author and all-around entertainer. Through her achievements in music, television and film, she has won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy and 3 Golden Globe Awards, among others.

She first rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as one half of the pop duo Sonny and Cher and later established herself as a solo artist. She became a successful television star in the 1970s and a serious film actress in the 1980s. In 1988, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

In a career that has now surpassed forty years, Cher has become a celebrated pop icon, and one of the most enduring entertainers of her time.Contents [hide]
Early life

Cher was born in El Centro, California, 20 May 1946 at 7:25 a.m. Her mother, Georgia Holt, an aspiring actress and occasional model, is half Cherokee and of Irish, German and English descent.[2] Her father is John Sarkisian, an Armenian refugee. Cher’s mother and father separated when she was young, and she was mostly raised by her mother. Her mother remarried a man by the name of Gilbert LaPiere, who later adopted Cher and she took his surname. She never completed high school.

Career
The 1960s: beginnings - Sonny and Cher

Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre (Cher) first met Sonny Bono in a Los Angeles coffee shop in November 1962, when she was sixteen. The much older Sonny (he was already twenty-seven) was working for record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. The two became fast friends, eventual lovers, and later married. Through Sonny, Cher (as she was called early on for short) eventually got to sing back-up on several of Spector’s classic recordings.

Her first solo recording was the unsuccessful novelty single “Ringo, I Love You”, released under the pseudonym of Bonnie Jo Mason and produced by Phil Spector. Her second attempt was the more popular single “Dream Baby”, released under the name Cherilyn, written and produced by Sonny. Both were released in 1964.

With Sonny continuing to write, arrange and produce the songs, Sonny and Cher’s first incarnation was as the duo “Caesar and Cleo”. They received little attention. They later re-emerged as “Sonny and Cher”, and released their first album Look at Us in the summer of 1965. This album contained the overnight smash and eventual number-one single “I Got You Babe” (1965). Cher was nineteen years old. Several more top forty hits would follow, most famously “Baby, Don’t Go” and “The Beat Goes On.”

Sonny & Cher, circa 1972

The two became a quick sensation, travelling and performing around the world. Following an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in the fall of 1965 in which Mr. Sullivan infamously pronounced her name ‘Chur’ during their introduction, the singer began spelling her name with an acute accent: Chér. Also in 1965, Cher released her first solo U.S. top twenty record, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All I Really Want to Do.” Periodic solo releases continued during the Sonny & Cher days, including a major success with “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).”

While initially perceived as the slightly awkward and underestimated half of the popular singing duo, Cher often covered up for her stagefright and nervousness with quick-witted barbs toward her husband. She soon rose to prominence as the more outspoken, daring and provocative half of the team. With her dark, exotic looks, she became a fashion trend-setter, quickly popularizing fashion bellbottoms, and incorporating “hippie” attire and eccentric gowns and elaborate costumes into their live shows.

In an attempt to capitalize on the duo’s success, Sonny penned their first feature film (themed similarly to The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine) Good Times in 1967, in which the duo starred. The film was a flop.

Sonny and Cher’s career had stalled by 1968, as album sales quickly dried up. Their gentle, easy-listening pop sound and drug-free life had become unpopular in an era becoming increasingly consumed with the psychedelic rock that came with the overall evolutionary change in the landscape of American pop culture during the late 1960’s.

Sonny and Cher also welcomed their first child, Chastity Bono, born on March 4, 1969. The duo made another unsuccessful foray into film later in 1969 with Bono writing and producing the film Chastity, intended as a dramatic debut for Cher as an actress. That film (directed by first and only-time director Alessio De Paulo) was also a commercial failure.

The 1970s: television and solo fame

Another highlight of Cher’s lengthy career was when she posed for the March 17, 1975 cover of Time (magazine) shot by Richard Avedon. The dress was designed by Bob Mackie, Cher’s longtime fashion designer.

In 1970, Sonny and Cher starred in their first television special, The Sonny and Cher Nitty Gritty Hour. A mixture of slapstick comedy, skits and live music, the show was a critical success, which led to numerous guest spots on other early 70’s hit television shows.

Sonny and Cher caught the eye of CBS head of programming Fred Silverman while guest-hosting on The Merv Griffin Show, and Silverman offered the duo their own variety show. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour debuted in 1971 as a summer replacement series. It returned to primetime later that year and was an immediate hit, quickly reaching the top ten in their time slot. Cher also allegedly had a “quick fling” with Pat Jones, a successful young Ohio entrepreneur, in 1971. The show received numerous Emmy Award nominations throughout its initial four seasons on CBS. The duo also revived their recording career, releasing four albums and charting two more top ten hits: “All I Ever Need Is You,” and “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done” (1972).

Cher, at twenty-five, continued to establish herself as a solo recording artist with the help of producer Snuff Garrett, and charted her first solo number-one hit with the song “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”. She scored two more number-one hits with “Half-Breed 221; and “Dark Lady” from the two albums of the same name. She released her first Greatest Hits album in 1974.

By the third season of the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour in early 1974, the marriage of Sonny and Cher began to fall apart; the duo separated later that year. The show also therefore fell apart, while still in the top 10 of the ratings. What followed was a nasty and very public divorce (finalized on June 27, 1975). Bono launched his own show, The Sonny Comedy Revue in the fall of 1974 while Cher also announced plans to host and star in a new variety TV series of her own. Bono’s show was abruptly cancelled, however, after only six weeks. The Cher show debuted as an elaborate, all-star television special on February 16, 1975 featuring Flip Wilson, Bette Midler and special guest Elton John. Cloris Leachman and Jack Albertson both won Emmy Awards for their appearances as guest-stars a few weeks later, and the series received 4 additional Emmy nominations that year. The first season ranked in the Top 25 of the year-end ratings.

A lot of press was generated throughout 1975 about Cher’s exposed bellybutton and daring ensembles created by famed designer Bob Mackie. Her show featured numerous outlandish costume changes, even more than typical variety shows. The Cher show ran for two seasons, before Cher pulled the plug herself, deciding to reunite with her ex-husband for a revamped version of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. On February 2, 1976 The Sonny and Cher Show debuted to Top 10 ratings and high expectations, but was cancelled in the following season due to decling ratings. While “Cher” and “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” ratings were marginal, it is important to note that each series was the highest rated variety program on the air, out-ranking “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Donnie and Marie”. Variety programming, in general, was no longer attracting viewers.

On June 30, 1975, three days after her divorce from Sonny was final, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. They had one son, Elijah Blue Allman in 1976. Together, they released the album, Two The Hard Way – Allman and Woman, which featured a cover of the Smokey Robinson hit “You Really Got A Hold On Me”. This project was not considered a critical or commercial success. Following their 1978 divorce, Cher was then linked to a series of high-profile men, including record executive David Geffen, Val Kilmer, Richie Sambora, Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS, and guitarist Les Dudek.

She made a brief return to prime-time starring in the television specials Cher…Special in 1978 (for which guest-star Dolly Parton was nominated for an Emmy Award) and Cher…and Other Fantasies in 1979.

Also in 1979, Cher capitalized on the disco sensation, signing with Casablanca Records, and scored yet another top ten hit with “Take Me Home.” The album’s sales may have been boosted by the image of a scantily-clad Cher in a Viking outfit on the album’s cover. For her second Casablanca release, Prisoner (1979), Cher appeared on the album’s cover virtually naked and in chains, igniting a firestorm of controversy with women’s rights groups for her “sex slave” image. The album produced no hit singles.

The 1980s: film stardom and musical comeback

In 1980, Cher, at age thirty-four, formed the rock band Black Rose with her then-partner, guitarist Les Dudek, and released the album Black Rose by year’s end. The album was a failure, despite an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and the band broke up the following year. In 1982, Cher released I Paralyze, and despite appearances on American Bandstand and The Tonight Show, critics panned the album and sales were disappointing.

Cher as her Academy Award winning role Loretta Castorini from MGM’s Moonstruck.

With album sales and hit singles again at a standstill, Cher decided to expand her career into serious film acting. Her earliest entertainment ambitions had always lain in film, as opposed to music. However, she soon found herself in an uphill battle trying to land credible roles for a woman now in her mid-thirties with little acting experience. At the time, she was also quoted as saying that she didn’t really care if she ever made another record.

In 1982, at thirty-six, Cher landed her first major role in an off-Broadway production of Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Her performance was critically praised, and she was later cast in the film version directed by acclaimed Hollywood director Robert Altman. She was next cast alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in the critically acclaimed drama Silkwood (1983) for which she received her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. For this film, she also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

Her next film was a starring role in the critically-acclaimed Mask (1985), directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The film also starred Eric Stoltz, Laura Dern and Sam Elliott, and was considered her first critical and commercial success. For her role as a mother of a severely disfigured boy, Cher won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1985, Cher was honored with Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award.

In 1987, she starred in three films: the thriller Suspect, with Dennis Quaid; the fantasy film The Witches of Eastwick, with Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer; and the romantic comedy Moonstruck with Nicolas Cage and Olympia Dukakis. For Moonstruck, directed by Norman Jewison, she won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy and the Favorite Film Actress award at the People’s Choice Awards. Dukakis also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Cher’s mother in the film.

Cher revived her recording career in 1987 at the age of forty-one, after a five-year hiatus, under the suggestion and coordination of rock producer and A&R man John Kalodner. Under a new recording contract with Geffen records, Cher released the first of three highly successful rock albums, under the executive production of Kalodner and featuring writing contributions from the likes of Diane Warren, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child, Michael Bolton and featured guest vocals by Darlene Love and Bonnie Tyler. Cher was released in 1987, featuring the top ten comeback single “I Found Someone” and the top twenty hit “We All Sleep Alone.” This album was eventually certified platinum.

In 1989, at forty-three, Cher released the album Heart of Stone, which featured three more top ten hits, “If I Could Turn Back Time” (U.S. number three, 1989); “After All” (U.S. number six, 1989), a duet with Peter Cetera; “Just Like Jesse James” (U.S. number eight, 1989); and the top twenty hit “Heart of Stone” (number twenty, 1990). This album was also eventually certified triple platinum. As well, she also launched “The Heart of Stone Tour” which played throughout 1989 and 1990 in various parts of the world. During this time, she starred in the television special Cher - Live at the Mirage, filmed during a live concert in Las Vegas.

Cher in the Alive Again music video from the Living Proof album.

The 1990s: another reinvention

In 1991, Cher completed her Geffen recording contract by releasing the album Love Hurts. This album produced the top twenty hit “Love and Understanding” and two more top forty hits: a re-working of “The Shoop Shoop Song” and “Save Up All Your Tears”. This album was also eventually certified platinum. Cher embarked on the “Love Hurts Tour” throughout 1992. Cher starred in the film Mermaids (1991) with Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, and a then 9-year-old Christina Ricci making her film debut. The film was a moderate success.

By 1992, at the age of forty-six, Cher took some time off, following what was widely reported as a case of Epstein-Barr Virus or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She made very few public appearances during this period, with the notable exception she made to help her friend Lori Davis launch a hair-care line via a series of infomercials. Many critics say this had a negative impact on her career. Cher made cameo appearances in the Robert Altman films Ready to Wear (1992) and The Player (1994).

At age fifty, she released the album It’s a Man’s World (1996). Though praised by critics as a departure from her Geffen-era style, it was mostly overlooked by her fans. She also produced and recorded an independent alternative-rock album entitled Not.Com.mercial (pronounced “not-dot-com-m ercial”). This album was written entirely by Cher after she attended a songwriting retreat in France in 1994. The album was quickly rejected by record labels for being “not commercial”, so Cher chose to sell the recording exclusively through her website. This also marked the first time that Cher wrote the material for an entire album.

She starred in the poorly-received film Faithful (1996) with Ryan O’Neal and Chazz Palminteri. Also in 1996, Cher co-executive-produce d the highly anticipated, controversial HBO abortion drama If These Walls Could Talk (1996) with actress Demi Moore. She also co-starred and directed in one of the film’s three segments, earning a Golden Globe Nomination as Best Supporting Actress in a made-for-television movie.

Cher was in London in January of 1998 when a call from her daughter Chastity brought the shocking news of Sonny Bono’s death in a skiing accident. He was 62. Photographed in tears as she fled through Heathrow Airport back to Los Angeles, the media seemingly appointed Cher his widow, though they had been apart for twenty-four years and he was long remarried, and then married again with a fourth wife and a new career as a popular congressman. Nonetheless, Cher accepted an invitation to deliver the eulogy. The funeral, unbeknownst to Cher, was also broadcast live on CNN. In front of millions, she praised the man who had been a father figure, friend, partner, husband, and foe. Despite charges of opportunism Cher continued to openly mourn, also paying tribute to Bono in the sentimental CBS special Sonny and Me: Cher Remembers (1998), calling her grief “something I never plan to get over”. Sonny and Cher also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television in 1999. Cher appeared at the event with Mary Bono, who accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.

Cher on the cover of her smash hit album Believe.

At the end of 1998, at age fifty-two, a newly energized Cher released her much-hyped album Believe, widely reported to be targeted towards her immense gay following. The album marked an extreme departure for Cher, as the record was a sparkling collection of up-tempo dance tracks, conjured up by a large and mixed team of lesser-known, mostly European producers. The first single and title track “Believe”  ; quickly became a worldwide smash, easily becoming the biggest hit of her entire career, reaching number one in twenty-three countries around the world. In the United Kingdom, “Believe”  ; stayed at number one in the charts for seven weeks and became the all-time biggest-selling single ever by a solo female artist in the UK. It also became Cher’s fourth solo number-one single in U.S. and fifth U.S. number-one overall. This achievement made Cher the oldest woman (at 52) to have a number-one hit in the rock era, and also gave her the distinction of having the longest span of number-one hits (thirty-three years) as well as the largest gap between numberones (twenty-four years). She also earned the distinction of being the only female artist to have had top ten hits in each of the past four successive decades. The Believe album was eventually certified quadruple platinum, and is believed to have sold at least another twelve million copies worldwide. Cher won her first Grammy Award in February 1999 for Best Dance Recording for the song “Believe”  ;. The album was also nominated in four other categories, including Record of the Year, as well as being nominated for numerous other music awards.

Further complementing her latest comeback, Cher published her first memoir in late 1998 titled The First Time. Rather than a Hollywood tell-all, the book was an intriguing collection of Cher’s favorite ‘first-time 217; memories from both her childhood and lengthy career.

In January 1999, Cher performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” to positive reviews in front of millions around the world for Super Bowl XXXIII. Cher performed on the highly-rated television special Divas Live 1999, and appeared onstage in a memorable performance alongside contemporaries Tina Turner and Elton John. Later in 1999, Cher co-starred in the critically-acclaimed Franco Zeffirelli film Tea With Mussolini (1999) with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Lily Tomlin before embarking on the successful worldwide “Believe Tour”, which toured throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The Emmy-nominated television special Cher: Live at the MGM Grand In Las Vegas aired by year’s end.

The 2000s: touring ends

The “Believe Tour” continued throughout 2000, becoming Cher’s most successful tour at that particular time. In May 2000, Cher was presented with the Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry Award at the World Music Awards by Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith.

In February 2002, still in a dance mode, she released the highly anticipated follow-up to Believe. Living Proof entered the Billboard album chart at number nine, making it her highest-charting album debut. While not as commercially successful as its predecessor, and having no singles reach the top forty, Living Proof still included several re-mixed songs which found their way onto the Hot Dance, Maxi-Single Sales, Club Play and Adult Contemporary charts. The album was eventually certified gold. That year she won the Dance/Club Play Artist of the Year and the special Artist Achievement Award at the Billboard Music Awards.

Cher performing a cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, for her Farewell Tour intro.

In May 2002, Cher again performed on the VH1 television special Divas 2002: Divas Las Vegas. In June 2002, Cher announced plans for the “Living Proof Farewell Tour”, which she claimed would be the final live tour of her career, though she vowed to continue recording and releasing music. The tour faced positive reviews right from the start. The show itself was a tribute to her nearly forty years in show business. It featured vintage performance and video clips from the 1960s onward, highlighting her successes in music, television, and film, all set amongst an elaborate backdrop and stage set-up, complete with backing band, singers and dancers, including aerial acrobatics. Dates were added, and the tour was extended several times, covering all of North America, several cities in Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, for a total of 325 concerts, continuing into 2005.

In April of 2003, she released The Very Best of Cher, a double CD collection of all of her greatest hits spanning her entire career. This album peaked at number four on the Billboard album chart, and again extended her album chart span to over thirty-eight years. By July, it had been certified platinum, and later, double platinum.

She found success on television once again in the spring of 2003 with Cher: The Farewell Tour Live From Miami, an NBC special taped at the AmericanAirlines Arena. It netted Cher her first Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. She released the album Live: The Farewell Tour later in 2003, a collection of live tracks taken from the tour, and could be seen playing as herself in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Stuck on You (2003) with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. Also in 2003, Cher recorded a duet with Rod Stewart, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” for his album As Time Goes By… The Great American Songbook Volume II, which reached the top twenty on the Adult AC chart.

In February 2004 she received another Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording for her song “Love One Another”.

Cher performed on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas in both 2004 and 2005. The tour became the most successful tour ever by a female artist, grossing over 250 million dollars, and playing to over three million people around the world. Cher closed the tour in April 2005 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Current projects

Cher has been a top concert draw throughout her career. Since winding down her final grand-scale concert tour– the highly successful three-year, 325-date “Living Proof Farewell Tour” in April 2005– Cher has mainly kept a low profile. She said it would be her last major outing as a performer but vowed to continue releasing new music. She has said she wants to direct and act in some films. As of early 2006, she was reportedly working on a new record, a rock-oriented album that would be produced by John Kalodner, in the styles of Heart of Stone and Love Hurts from her Geffen recording period, and has since been signed to a new recording contract with Warner Brothers in the U.S..

In May of 2006, it was announced that Cher will replace Celine Dion in a Las Vegas Stage production and residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas once Celine’s present contract expires. Cher’s show will debut in early 2008. Caesar’s Palace intends to build an exclusive concert hall to host Cher’s extravagant show.

Personal wealth

It is believed that Cher has become one of the wealthiest entertainers in the industry. According to a 2002 Rolling Stone magazine article, her personal net worth was estimated to be around $600 million. She is noted for her expansive collection of real estate and maintains a primary home in Malibu, California which is reportedly valued at $25 million. It was reported in April of 2006 that Cher had purchased a condominium in the Sierra Towers in West Hollywood, California for $4.5 million, and, in May of 2006, that she had sold her Florida mansion for $8.8 million. In addition, she owns homes in Aspen, Colorado and London, EnglandCher possesses over 20 houses, and she has claimed to own an impressive antique and art collection.

Her Living Proof - Farewell Tour grossed an estimated $192 million (world wide with Europe/Australian and Mexico $250 million) and her recent contract for a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (replacing Celine Dion in 2008) was reportedly signed for $60 million.

Gay icon

Cher as God in the hit comedy series Will & Grace.

Cher has emerged as something of a gay icon in popular culture, a status perhaps assisted by her openly lesbian daughter Chastity Bono. Although not supporting Chastity immediately after she came out, Cher eventually became one of her daughter’s greatest advocates and supporters. The NBC sitcom Will & Grace has acknowledged her status by making her the idol of gay character Jack McFarland. Cher guest-starred as herself twice on the sitcom, in 2001 and 2002 (once even playing God in a version of Heaven Jack imagined himself being part of). On October 4, 2005, the Bravo program Great Things About Being… declared Cher the number-one greatest thing about being gay. Her longevity is the inspiration for the famous quote by gay impressionist Jimmy James: “After a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left are cockroaches and Cher”.[3]

Political interests

Unlike her late ex-husband Sonny Bono, Cher has, until quite recently, always been a staunch Democrat. She has attended and performed at Democratic Party conventions and events. Today, she considers herself a Democrat by default, but more of an Independent due to the recent moderate to conservative leanings of the current Democratic Party.

In 1996, Cher appeared on C-SPAN as part of a national AIDS awareness event. She also disclosed her personal friendship with CNN host Lou Dobbs.

On October 27, 2003, Cher anonymously called C-SPAN during a phone-in. She recounted a visit she had made to maimed soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and criticized the lack of media coverage and government attention given to injured servicemen. She also remarked that she watches C-SPAN every day. Though she simply identified herself as an unnamed entertainer with the USO, she was recognized by the C-SPAN host, who subsequently questioned her about her 1992 support for independent presidential candidate Ross Perot.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2006 she called in again, endorsing Operation Helmet, an organization started by a doctor which provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to those ordered to deploy in the near future. She identified herself as a caller from Malibu, California, and proceeded to complain about the current presidential administration. She read aloud a letter from a soldier on the ground in Iraq, praising Operation Helmet’s efforts, and decrying the lack of protection afforded by the military’s provisions for troops.

On May 18, 2006, Cher was a guest on the Ed Shultz Show to discuss her work in support of U.S. troops fighting abroad, as well as returning veterans. Schultz noted her involvement with both Operation Helmet and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which is constructing an advanced training skills facility at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The center will serve military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those severely injured in other operations, as well as in the normal performance of their duties, combat and non-combat related.

Also, during the interview with Schultz, Cher said she is an independent. Her comments about the current political scene in the U.S. led him to interject, “You’re fed up with everybody,” to which she replied, “I really am. I couldn’t be a Republican ’cause I think I believe in too many services for poor people, but I’m fed up with the Democrats. I just think…you̵ 7;re gonna find all their spines where you find the elephant’s graveyard.” Towards the end of the interview, Schultz asked Cher what she thinks about today’s protest songs. She responded, “You know, I think it’s the duty of artists to say what they want, in favor or in opposition. Unfortunately, I think that, with [the Bush administration], you haven’t been able to really voice any opposition because of 9/11, if you say anything opposed to the administration, somehow they’ve been able to wrap themselves in the flag, so that if you have any opposing viewpoint, you’re unpatriotic.” She was about to offer her thoughts on this, but stopped, saying, “I don’t know what you can say on your program so I won’t talk the way I normally talk.”

Clearly suggesting her comments would be salty, she did add, though, “I don’t like it…it rubs me the wrong way. And if I could say all those seven words [that George Carlin's famous routine suggests cannot be said on TV], that’s what I’d be saying.”

Currently, Cher is involved with Operation Helmet and appeared with Dr. Bob Meaders (founder of Operation Helmet) on C-Span again on June 14, 2006. She then appeared with him on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2006. It has been reported that Cher has so far donated over $130,000 to Operation Helmet.

Humanitarian work

Cher has been involved with many humanitarian groups and charity efforts over the years. She has served as National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson of the Children’s Craniofacial Association since 1990 after appearing in the movie Mask. Over the years while touring, she frequently donated concert tickets to families and non-profit groups for children and youth with facial deformities. Such donations were alluded to in an episode of the TV series X Files entitled The Post Modern Prometheus.

In 1993, Cher participated in a humanitarian effort to Armenia, (where her father was born) bringing much needed food and medical supplies and touring the war-torn region.

In 1998, she co-hosted the annual amfar AIDS Benefit at the Cannes Film Festival with Elizabeth Taylor.

In August of 2005, it was also reported that Cher had voluntarily sent payments to help a 16-year-old Northport, Alabama boy with muscular dystrophy who required home healthcare. He was all but bedridden after his 69-year-old adoptive mother who suffered two strokes was left disabled and home health care was cut off when he lost his Medicaid coverage.

AwardsYear Award Cat egory Genre
1987,Oscar,Best Actress, Movie
1987,Kansas City Film Critics Circle,Best Actress, Movie
1987,Golden Globe Best Actress - Comedy or Musical, Movie
1985,Cannes Film Festival, Best Actress, Movie
1984,Golden Globe Best Supporting Actress, Movie
Year,Award, Category, Genre
2003,Emmy, Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special TV
1999,Hollywood Walk of Fame,TV Star TV
1974,Golden Globe Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy TV

Year Award Category Genre
2005,MTV Australia Video Music Awards Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry award Music
2002,Billboard Music Award Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry award Music
2002,Billboard Music Award Dance/Club Artist of the year Music
2000,World Music Award Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry award Music
2000,ECHO, Best International Singer Music
2000,Bambi, Best Singer in the History Music
1999,Grammy, Best Dance Recording Music
1991,ECHO, Best International Singer Music
Year,Award, Category
2004,Women’s World Award One on the best Actress/Singer in the History
2000,Blockbuster Award, Women of the Year
2000,Lucy Award Lucy Award Honorees
2000,Online Television Academy Awards, Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
1998,Vanguard Award, Women of the Year
1985,Hasty Pudding Theatricals, USA, Women of the Year

Tours and Concerts
1966-1967: “Wondrous World Tour” Sonny and Cher
1971-1972: “All I Ever Need Is You Tour” Sonny and Cher
1976-1977: “Two the Hard Way Tour” (including Europe)
1978: “Cher… Special”
1979: “Cher… and Other Fantasies”
1980: “Cher Live In Monte Carlo”
1983-1984: “Cher a Celebration At Caesar’s Palace”
1989-1991: “Heart of Stone Tour”
1992: “Love Hurts Tour”
1999-2000: “Believe Tour”
2002-2005: “The Farewell Tour”
2008-2009: “Show in Caesar’s Palace”

Discography

For a full list of albums and singles (solo and with Sonny) see Cher discography.
Despite turning 60 in 2006, Cher has maintained her young face.

Filmography
Wild on the Beach (1965)
Good Times (1967)
Chastity (1969)
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Silkwood (1983)
Mask (1985)
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Suspect (1987)
Moonstruck (1987)
Goldendoodle (1989)
Mermaids (1990)
The Player (1992) (Cameo)
Prêt-à- Porter (1994) (Cameo)
Faithful (1996)
If These Walls Could Talk (1996)
Tea with Mussolini (1999)
Mayor of the Sunset Strip (documentary)  (2003)
Stuck On You (2003)
In the Pink (2007)Preceded by:
Marlee Matlin
for Children of a Lesser God Academy Award for Best Actress
1987
for Moonstruck Succeeded by:
Jodie Foster
for The Accused

Television work
The Sonny & Cher Nitty Gritty Hour (1970)
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974)
Cher (TV series)|Cher (1975-1976)
The Sonny and Cher Show (1976-1977)
Cher… Special (1978)
Cher… and Other Fantasies (1979)
Cher… at the Mirage (1991)
VH1 Divas Live 99 (1999)
Cher: Live in Concert from Las Vegas (1999)
VH1 Divas Las Vegas (2002)

Cher: The Farewell Tour (2003) (also executive producer)