She Proved Us All Wrong
Cher has spent a lifetime trying to prove people wrong. To some, she's just the larger-than-life celebrity in outrageous costumes, improbable hairstyles, with attitude to spare. Not helping is her legendary dating history. This collection of Hollywood heartthrobs includes two hotties from the same movie. And who can forget the infamous “Bagel Boy”?
It would be easy to dismiss Cher as no more than an over-the-top pop culture icon. Except for one thing: she’s one of the most talented entertainers of the past half-century.
HarryLangdon, Wikimedia Commons
1. Her Childhood Was Rough
Cher entered the world as Cheryl Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California. Later she would famously sing that she was “born in the wagon of a travelin’ show”. While that wasn't true, her real-life childhood wasn’t much better. Dad was a truck driver with both gambling and drug problems, and when she was just 10 months old, her parents got a divorce.
But Dad had one final cruel act before he left the family for good.
Casablanca Records, Wikimedia Commons
2. They Separated From Her Mother
When Cher’s dad left his wife, he didn’t actually leave empty-handed. He took baby Cher and cruelly left her in an orphanage. For several months, Cher and her mom could only communicate once a week, and then it was through a window. Mom eventually got the green light to bring Cher home, and her rollercoaster childhood continued.
HarryLangdon, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Moved Up In The World
Cher’s mother was a model and had multiple husbands, but number five was a game changer for Cher. He worked as a banker and introduced her to an upper-class lifestyle. She attended private school, where one classmate remembered thinking that she looked “like a movie star”. It would take a while, but this classmate’s prediction would turn out to be spot on.
But first, she’d have to get away from her family.
Joop van Bilsen / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons
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4. She Was Brazen
Even though Cher lived happily with daddy number five, she left home when she turned 16. She moved to LA where she lived with a friend and made money dancing in nightclubs. And she wasn’t just doing it for fun. She didn’t shy away from starting conversations with anyone who could help her get a career going in show business.
Sometimes, she didn't even know who she was talking to.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
5. She Dated A Heartthrob
Around this time, Cher came close to being hit by a car. When she accused the driver of being nuts, she realized she recognized his face. It was none other than heartthrob movie star Warren Beatty. Instead of exchanging drivers’ licenses, they started dating. This fling, like many of Beatty’s, didn’t last long.
In November 1962, Cher met a man who would take her to the next level.
Globe. Photographer not credited [1], Wikimedia Commons
6. She Cleaned His House
When Cher met musician Sonny Bono, it wasn't romantic at all. In fact, he hired her to clean his house and cook for him. Through Bono, she met Phil Spector, who found her gigs as a backup vocalist. Eventually, Spector offered to produce a single for her which had the name “Ringo, I Love You”.
This song faced a bizarre obstacle that kept it off the radio.
Joop van Bilsen / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons
7. She Sang Too Low
For her first single, Cher went by the name Bonnie Jo Mason, but radio programmers had a problem. Because of of her low voice, they thought she was a guy. Back in those days, most radio stations didn’t want to play a song about a dude who sang about his love for Ringo Starr.
Cher went back to square one.
Next, Cher would face a new problem—and Bono was the solution.
8. She Needed Him
The only thing standing between Cher and a career as a solo artist was her severe stage fright. Sonny Bono soon realized that if he went on stage with her, She could perform. Cher agreed, and she later commented that “she sang to the audience through him”. Awww.
This unconventional relationship had a great chance at success.
9. They Were Thrown To The Curb
Sonny & Cher decided to give London a try. When they showed up at the London Hilton in their bell-bottoms and fur vests, the management at the London Hilton took one look at them and threw them right out of the hotel. Soon, photographers were having a field day with the wildly-dressed Americans looking for their next hotel.
When the photos hit the papers, a phenomenon began.
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10. They Took Off
Londoners went bananas for Sonny & Cher, and their music started to climb the charts. Their songs even started to push the Beatles off the UK charts. Things soon caught on back in America, and she and Bono started appearing on TV shows and performing concerts. They were clearly headed to international stardom.
And then something strange happened.
11. They Weren’t That Cool
Sonny & Cher were at the cutting edge of youth culture…but not when you looked closely. These were the 1960s, and love was free, and substance use was gaining traction with the youth. Suddenly, Cher and Bono’s monogamous relationship seemed outdated. They were also anti-substance use. Sure, their clothes were cool, but some thought they were just plain square.
Their first attempt to become “cool” failed in an unforgettable way.
Caroline Gillies, Getty Images
12. Her Reputation Took A Hit
If young people were viewing Sonny & Cher as passé, their film Good Times did not help at all. The Exorcist director William Friedkin had a devil of a time trying to put together a good film consisting of short skits where Cher and Bono played Sonny & Cher. The film lost money and, worse still, it damaged the duo’s reputation. Soon, their albums stopped charting altogether.
Their relationship, like their careers, seemed destined for failure.
Peter Denton, Wikimedia Commons
13. He Cheated
During this time, Bono started to secretly date other women. And according to Cher, there were a lot of other women. This caused her to consider ending their relationship. Soon, Bono begged her to take him back. He promised a real marriage and a family. When Cher found herself pregnant, she decided to give Bono one more try.
But they still had their tanking careers to think about.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
14. They Put All Their Money In
To reignite their career, Cher and Bono put most of their money into a film called Chastity, which Bono wrote and produced. Sadly, this film tanked at the box office. Cher and Bono lost their own investment and ended up in debt to Uncle Sam for $270,000 in taxes. On March 4, 1969, they brought a child, Chaz Bono, into the world. They’d now have one more mouth to feed.
Times were about to get very tough.
Pictorial Parade, Getty Images
15. They Sunk A Little Bit Lower
To make some much-needed cash, Cher and Bono decided to forget about youth culture and focus on an adult market. They decided to create a lounge act. The act was apparently so sad that audiences started heckling them. When Cher started to heckle back at the audience, the comedy act of Sonny & Cher was born.
Just when they thought their career had ended, a new chapter began.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
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16. They Created A Phenomenon
In the summer of 1971, CBS launched The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Cher, clad in stunning Bob Mackie dresses, took the stage with Bono. Audiences loved their playful banter, especially when Cher flatly insulted her height-challenged husband. The show had comedic skits and musical numbers and ran for three years. Over this time, they welcomed 30 million viewers to the TV.
In short, they’d created a phenomenon. There was only one thing that could end it.
17. They Were A Happy Little Family
A lot of the appeal of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was that the two leads were an actual married couple. Audiences also loved it when they brought their child out onto the stage. When they got ready to make the fourth season, they faced a problem. Cher and Bono were no longer in a happy marriage.
But if their marriage had ended—so would their hit TV show.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
18. They Battled On The Air Waves
Because there could be no show without a happily married couple, they decided to cancel the show when their marriage ended. ABC decided to throw their money at a show for Bono, and CBS put their money behind Cher. TV Guide predicted that Bono’s show would be more successful.
And then they decided to try one more time.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
19. She Had A New Husband
Cher was willing to work on a show with Bono again, but she was not going back to being his wife. Besides, by this time she’d already remarried. In 1975, Cher and Bono finally called it quits, and Cher didn't waste any time and married her boyfriend Gregg Allman from the Allman Brothers Band.
In February 1976, Cher would find out if TV audiences would accept Sonny & Cher as a divorced couple.
20. It Ended
The Sonny and Cher Show got respectable ratings—but some of the witty banter between the two took on a dark tone, due to the divorce. But the eventual cancellation was not because of any of that. Audiences had simply lost their appetite for variety shows anymore. This time it was really over. Sonny & Cher were no longer a duo.
But they still had a child to worry about.
Associated Press, Wikimedia Commons
21. He Called Her Unfit
Cher and Bono had to consider how to co-parent their child Chaz. While they were working through it, Bono discovered that Cher had taken Chaz to a less-than-family-friendly place. This was Hugh Hefner’s notorious mansion, where all kinds of scandalous parties took place. Bono brought this to court to prove that Cher was an unfit mother.
Cher suddenly faced losing custody—just like her own mother had.
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22. They Fought It Out In Court
With stories of visits to Hefner’s mansions, Bono decided to go for full custody of their child. Cher had no idea why it was inappropriate to take a five-year-old child to a mansion known for swinging parties. The thing was, Chaz had no contact with the parties and only went to swim in the pool and play with Hefner’s pet monkeys. The judge saw it the same way, and Cher walked away with more custody than she had before.
Meanwhile, things with her new husband were also in jeopardy.
23. They Had Dueling Fans
To reignite her singing career, Cher decided to record with her new husband. Not only did the album do poorly, they also had a problem while they were touring. It seemed that Cher fans and Allman fans did not see eye-to-eye on how a concert should go. When fights broke out between the rival sides, Cher canceled the tour.
And that wasn’t the only source of disagreements between Cher and Allman.
24. They Had Different Ideas
Cher and Bono had followed a strict no substance use policy, but Allman had different ideas. He wasn’t one to shy away from boozing and some rather serious recreational substance use. The difference between these two stars grew too large, and they called it quits in 1979. But it didn’t take Cher long to bounce right back.
25. She Got Kissed
After breaking up with Allman, Cher turned to another musician. This was KISS singer Gene Simmons, who maybe wore more makeup than she did. During the relationship, both admitted that they were not monogamous. Apparently, they had very different views of a non-monogamous relationship.
26. She Handed Him Over
Cher and Simmons saw their open relationship differently. Simmons wanted his other women to leave before the morning, while Cher just wanted other guys to hang out with. When it came time to break up, Cher did Simmons a solid by handing him over to his next girlfriend, superstar Diana Ross.
Cher soon found a way to put all this drama to good use.
Rob Bogaerts / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons
27. She Showed Another Side
In 1982, Cher hit the stage with the play “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.” She certainly held her own, but some people still didn't think she could actually act. When celebrated director Mike Nichols cast her in the drama Silkwood opposite Meryl Streep, all eyes were on her. Luckily, Nichols had an idea for her character that would make sure audiences took her acting seriously.
Screenshot from Silkwood, The Walt Disney Company (1983), enhanced
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28. She Dressed Down
In Silkwood, Cher plays Streep’s rather unglamorous best friend, Dolly. To boost her credibility as an actor, Nichols got her to wash her make up off her face and let her hair dry naturally. The icing on the cake was her wardrobe of boring men's clothes. Cher took one look at herself in the mirror and cried.
Audiences were about to see a Cher they thought they'd never encounter.
Screenshot from Silkwood, The Walt Disney Company (1983), enhanced
29. They Laughed At Her
Cher sat in on one of the early screenings of Silkwood and had a shocking experience. When her name came on at the beginning of the screening, audience members laughed. Well, she showed them. In only her second film, Cher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Sadly, her relationship with the Academy was about to take a hit.
30. She Took Her Revenge
Cher got another chance for drama in Mask, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Cher received numerous nominations, and some wins for her performance that one critic called, "one of the most interesting movie characters in a long time”. Strangely, the Academy ignored her completely. Cher showed up for the ceremony in a spectacular Bob Mackie dress that Vanity Fair called a “revenge dress”.
But the Academy had not seen the last of Cher.
Screenshot from Mask, NBCUniversal (1985)
31. She Was The Greatest
In 1987, the Academy could not ignore Cher’s performance in Moonstruck. Even though there aren’t usually many nominations for rom-coms, Cher clinched a nod, and on awards night she took home the trophy. Later, Billboard would rank Cher’s work on Moonstruck as “the all-time greatest acting performance by a musician”.
It seemed like Cher had forgotten all about her music career. Keyword: “seemed”.
Screenshot from Moonstruck, Amazon MGM Studios (1987)
32. They Put Her On Late
After a huge success with her 1987 album Cher, a single from her next album would cause serious problems. Cher's video for her hit song “If I Could Turn Back Time” didn't just ruffle feathers. It got her in trouble with MTV. The video shows Cher with about 200 sailors on a battleship. Because her outfit left little to the imagination, MTV, after many complaints, had to put the video on late-night screening only.
And speaking of late-night, there was that problem with David Letterman.
33. She Was Not A Fan Of This Host
David Letterman was a fan of Cher’s and really wanted her on his show. To his chagrin, she kept refusing. When she finally agreed to appear, she shocked the usually chill host with a terrible insult. When asked why, Cher told Letterman it was because he often became “frightening” when he had guests that he wasn’t a fan of.
The two managed to continue the interview, but soon they came to another awkward moment.
![Title: David Letterman [CBS talkshow host, New York]
Creator(s): Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer
Date Created/Published: 1982.
Medium: 1 photograph : color transparency ; 35mm (slide format)
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-gtfy-02267 (digital file from origina](https://www.factinate.com/storage/app/media/factinate/2026/7/28/1785227458e6a178e91ab6c430d719059e344a49d726a4ae05.jpg)
Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer, Wikimedia Commons
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34. He Told Her No
On the same episode of Late Night with David Letterman, Cher said that she went on the show because someone at NBC had promised to pay her hotel bill of $28,000. Letterman came back with an apology: NBC would not be paying the bill. Letterman was doing little to win Cher over. In the end, they did pay the bill, and Cher made more appearances with Letterman.
Next on Cher’s agenda was a fling with the Iceman.
Laura Patterson, Wikimedia Commons
35. She Was Too Much Of A Guy
In the early 1980s, Cher began dating Top Gun star Val Kilmer. They started seeing each other after meeting at a birthday party. As with most of Cher’s boyfriends, they eventually parted as friends. Cher later gave a surprising answer to the reason for their breakup. She said they were both “alpha males”.
Cher wasn't through with the cast of this film yet.
36. He Was Her Ace
When the White House threw a party for famous dyslexics, Cher’s name stood near the top of the list. At the party, she met Kilmer’s costar Tom Cruise and the two hit it off. They dated for a while but then called it quits over their crazy schedules. But Cher later put Cruise in the top five of her best lovers of all time.
Her next beau would go under another category: “What was she thinking?”
Michael Caulfield Archive, Getty Images
37. She Dated Bagel Boy
When Cher first saw Rob Camilletti, his movie star eyes attracted her. Then she noticed that he wasn’t a movie star at all. That didn't matter, and Cher started a relationship with 22-year-old baker Camilletti. The press called him “Bagel Boy”, and the relationship lasted a surprisingly decent three years.
Fun-loving Cher would next come face-to-face with a health scare.
38. She Got A Diagnosis
Around the beginning of the 1990s, Cher got a devastating diagnosis. She had chronic fatigue syndrome. With this diagnosis, she had to put her film and music career on hold. The one thing she could do to make money was sell products on infomercials. When she came on TV selling diet, beauty, and health products, the haters came out of the woodwork.
Renan Katayama, Wikimedia Commons
39. They Made Fun Of Her
Critics were quick to announce the end of Cher’s film career. Then NBC’s Saturday Night Live came out with parodies of her infomercials. She even received a slight in the movie Clueless. The main character’s name is Cher, and she says that she got her name from a great singer from the past “who now does infomercials".
Cher’s health was sabotaging her career, and another loss was coming her way.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
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40. She Lost Her Sonny
In 1998, Sonny Bono hit a tree while skiing and died. This man had been very instrumental in Cher’s life and career. They’d had their moments, both bad and good, but had mostly remained friends and amicable co-parents after all the hubbub about the mansion. At his funeral, Cher’s heartfelt eulogy concluded with her saying Sonny would always be the most unforgettable person to her.
She took time to mourn her loss and then came back fighting.
User Raul654 on en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
41. She Came Back With A Vengeance
The same year as she lost Bono, Cher came back swinging with another musical comeback. For 1998’s Believe, Cher switched from rock and roll to a disco-inspired sound. No one could have predicted the success of this album. Among the almost uncountable accolades was this fact: it was the best-selling album in both the US and the UK.
Eventually it would be time to say goodbye to fans.
Screenshot from Believe, Warner Music Group (1998)
42. She Said Goodbye…Sort Of
In 2002, Cher went on a tour she called “Living Proof: The Farewell Tour”. When this became hugely popular, she delayed her farewell for three more years. In 2014, she again ignored her farewell and went on tour again. In 2018, she did a tour appropriately called the “Here We Go Again Tour”.
It seemed that Cher would just never retire—or even get old.
Emettmcginty, Wikimedia Commons
43. She’s Ageless
In 2018, Cher met up with her Silkwood costar Meryl Streep in the musical Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! Strangely, Cher would be playing Streep’s mother—even though they are about the same age. The director explained this away by saying that “Cher exists outside time”.
This may be true. You can even ask her next boyfriend.
Screenshot from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, NBCUniversal (2018)
44. She Found A Young Love
In November 2022, the media went wild snapping photos of Cher holding hands with music executive Alexander Edwards. What everyone noticed first was the 40 years that sat between them. Cher apparently wasn't bothered by the age difference and simply said that “love doesn't know math”. However, she remains characteristically non-committal. In December of 2025, Cher confessed she had “no plans for a wedding in her future”.
Cher had more pressing matters with her immediate family.
45. She Was A Great Support
Remember, Cher and Bono had a child they named Chastity. At the age of 17, Chastity came out as gay. Cher took on the cause and became an advocate for the LGBTQ community. In 2009, Chastity came out as a transgender man named Chaz Bono. Cher supported Chaz all the way through this complex process.
But things with her other child did not go as well.
Lisa Maree Williams, Getty Images
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46. She Wanted To Help
Cher’s child with her second husband, Gregg Allman, is named Elijah Blue Allman, and he has suffered with addiction issues since he was 11 years old. Cher tried to help—but in a strange way. Elijah Blue’s wife, Marieangela King, said that four strangers came into the hotel room they were sharing and took Allman away. King believed that Cher had set up the unlawful intervention.
This failed attempt to save Allman didn't stop there.
47. She Went Too Far
Even though Elijah Blue Allman has claimed to be sober since 2008, Cher went to court to get conservatorship over her son in 2023. The judge denied her in 2024 and then again in 2026. King then had to work to get Cher to stop interfering with her husband’s health records. King also said that her own car and some artwork she owned somehow ended up at Cher’s home in Malibu.
A shocking discovery sent this feud into overdrive.
48. She Found Someone New
Elijah Blue Allman had previously been in a relationship with a woman named Kayti Edwards, and she delivered some shocking news. She said that she and Allman had a child back in 2010. Cher heard the rumors and asked Allman if it was true. Allman fessed up, and Cher suddenly had a 15-year-old granddaughter. Cher got right on board and started sending gifts and invites for sleepovers.
Generosity and sharing have always been in this star’s wheelhouse.
49. She Gives Back
In addition to her support of her son and the LGBTQ community, Cher works for Keep a Child Alive, Habitat for Humanity, and Malaria No More. She appeared next to Elizabeth Taylor as a host of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, which also awarded her with their Award of Inspiration.
Cher has had an incredible life, and it seems she would be the type to have no regrets. But there are a couple.
50. She Had A Change Of Heart
Cher got her first tattoo back in 1972. This created quite a stir because back then, according to Cher, only “bad girls” like her and Janis Joplin got tattoos. Once tattoos became pretty mainstream, Cher had to do something drastic. In the late 1990s, she started getting them lasered off, with one painful appointment after another.
Ian Smith from London, Wikimedia Commons
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
