Cher: The Memoir: Part One

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California. In her memoir, Cher details her tumultuous childhood growing up as the eldest child of actress Georgia Holt. Throughout her childhood, Cher moved homes and schools constantly as her mother pursued acting and married and divorced many times. Throughout this upheaval, she dreamed of being a performer one day. When she met a young music producer and amateur singer named Sonny Bono, they began a romantic and then professional relationship, becoming the singing duo Sonny and Cher.

Cher soon became a household name across the US, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show and touring for her enthusiastic young fans, who loved both her music and her fashion. By the early 1970s, she had become a weekly fixture in many Americans’ lives with her role in The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a variety show that she co-hosted with Sonny. Cher earned her first major award for her work on the show, a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy series. When her relationship with Sonny broke down, Cher rebuilt her career as a solo artist, releasing records such as Stars, Cherished, and Take Me Home.

The first part of Cher’s memoir ends in 1977, when she enjoyed continued success as a musical artist but felt an unfulfilled yearning to pursue an acting career. She later realized this dream alongside her ongoing music career. In the 1980s, Cher had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film Silkwood, co-starring Meryl Streep. She was praised by film critics for her first leading role, playing the mother of a boy with a disability in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1985 film Mask, and the Cannes Film Festival awarded her the Best Actress prize for her performance. Cher starred in several more films, including the successful romantic comedy Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for best leading actress.

Even after her film career took off, Cher remained dedicated to her music, releasing albums such as Love Hurts and It’s A Man’s World. She dedicated her 1998 album Believe to Sonny, who had died earlier that year. This album, her 22nd, pioneered the use of auto-tune in music production. This effect had been in use for some time as a way to correct off-key recordings, but Cher was the first to use it as a deliberate, creative choice, giving her song a unique sound that became known as “the Cher effect” and influenced many artists in the coming years. This groundbreaking album was also Cher’s most successful, selling 11 million copies. The 2000s saw Cher repackage her best singles for fans and new audiences, releasing albums of her greatest hits. 

Now in her late seventies, Cher reflects on her personal and professional highs and lows in her memoir, providing fans with new anecdotes and details from her colorful life. With a career now spanning seven decades, Cher is a legend in the entertainment industry for being a multi-talented and enduring artist who managed to conquer television, film, and pop music.