Let’s face it—Cher’s journey through the world of entertainment is nothing short of legendary. "If you can last long enough, people take you seriously," she says with a laugh, reflecting on her career that began when she was just 19 with her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “I Got You Babe.” Fast forward seven decades, and this trailblazer has racked up an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Grammy, proving she's not just a one-hit wonder. But it hasn't all been glitter and gold. At 78, Cher opens up about the ups and downs of her extraordinary life. “I wouldn’t have chosen the horrible downs,” she confesses candidly. “The fabulous ups? Yeah, I’d take those again. But the downs? Not so much.”
In her new two-part autobiography, Cher: The Memoir, the first volume of which hit shelves on November 19, the iconic singer dives deep into her world of triumphs and heartbreaks. “My life feels like it's longer than anyone else’s ever lived,” she jokes, highlighting the epic nature of her storied career.
When it comes to her early years with Sonny Bono, Cher admits it’s a chapter filled with mixed emotions. Their story began in 1962, when Sonny was working as a record producer for Phil Spector and Cher was just another hopeful searching for her big break. They recorded together as Caesar & Cleo, and Cher released singles under the name Cherilyn, but nothing really took off. “America didn’t want us. We sold everything and headed to London,” Cher recalls, crediting their ejection from the London Hilton—for wearing hippie attire—as a turning point. “By the time we were escorted out of the Hilton’s revolving doors, there were reporters waiting outside,” she remembers vividly. “We slept for 12 hours straight, and when we woke up? We were famous.”
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“I Got You Babe” soared to No. 1 in the U.K., U.S., and Canada, but fame didn't last forever. By the end of the 1960s, soft pop was out of vogue, and they were dropped by their record label. “If you can’t land a record deal, it doesn’t get much worse than that,” Cher reflects. “You work your entire life for this, and then you're told, ‘We don’t want to waste our time on you.’ That’s a heavy blow for any singer.”
From Vegas Glamour to TV Stardom
After mortgaging their home to produce their debut film, 1969’s Chastity, which unfortunately flopped, Sonny and Cher found themselves in Las Vegas, where Cher's bold costumes and witty banter with her husband captivated audiences. This led to the creation of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1971, a show that drew 30 million viewers weekly during its three-year run. It was a platform where the couple sang, performed comedy skits, and delivered sharp one-liners, becoming a cultural phenomenon. Meanwhile, Cher's solo career flourished with hits like “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves,” “Half Breed,” and “Dark Lady.”
However, her divorce from Sonny in 1975 marked a new chapter in her life. “I was with him from age 16 to 27. I lacked the skills most people need to take care of themselves,” she admits. “I had to start over from scratch, and along the way, I made plenty of mistakes.”
Cher Finds Her Voice as an Actress
In 1982, Cher ventured to New York to study acting at the Actors Studio. After a stint on Broadway, she landed the role of Meryl Streep’s roommate in 1983’s Silkwood. Cher was excited about the film but wasn’t prepared for the audience's reaction to her first serious acting role. “When the credits rolled and ‘Cher’ appeared, the entire theater erupted in laughter,” she recalls, calling it a “heartbreaking” moment. But she silenced the skeptics. Silkwood earned her a Golden Globe Award. A few years later, she even beat her friend and Silkwood co-star Meryl Streep to win the Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck. “Until I became an actress, I never felt like an artist,” Cher reveals. “I never felt truly worthwhile.”
She later returned to music and scored the biggest hit of her career with 1998’s “Believe,” which earned her the only Grammy of her illustrious career. “‘Believe’ changed the sound of music forever, and it happened by accident,” Cher admits, referring to the innovative use of a pitch machine on her vocals, now famously known as “the Cher Effect.” “Honestly, making ‘Believe’ was the most fun I’ve ever had creating a song,” she shares with a smile.
With the release of the first part of her memoir, Cher has achieved another milestone: telling her life story in her own words. “My mother told me, ‘You might not be the prettiest, you might not be the smartest, you might not be the most talented, but you’re special,’” Cher reflects. “She kept reminding me: ‘When you’re down and out, you get back up.’”
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