Cher

/shair/; Fr. /sherdd/, n.

1. a river in central France, flowing NW to the Loire River. 220 mi. (355 km) long.

2. a department in central France. 316,350; 2820 sq. mi. (7305 sq. km). Cap.: Bourges.

3. a female given name.

* * *

▪ 2001

      During a career that spanned well over three decades, Cher had made so many comebacks that, barring her “infomercial years,” one might argue that the American singer and actress was never really gone. In 2000 she staged yet another return, this time taking home her first Grammy Award for the hit dance single “Believe.” By early 2000 the song had become a number one hit in over 20 countries, and in the United Kingdom it became the top-selling single of all time by a female artist. This came on the heels of her first well-received film performance in years in Tea with Mussolini (1999), and it seemed that in 2000 Cher was once again back on top.

      Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, Calif. At age 16 she moved to Los Angeles, where she met Sonny Bono, whom she married in 1964. The couple began singing together, and their first big pop hit came in 1965 with “I Got You Babe,” which sold over three million copies. The duo went on to score a number of hits, but by the late 1960s their popularity had begun to fade. A jump start came in 1971 with a television show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which ran until 1974 and at its peak drew more than 30 million viewers weekly. During this time Cher's solo career flourished with hits such as “Half Breed” and “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves.” Cher and Sonny divorced in 1974, and her later television efforts, both with and without Sonny, never matched their earlier success.

      The 1980s were boom years for both her film and her music careers. Cher left the successful nightclub act she had cultivated in the late 1970s and early '80s to revisit an earlier interest in acting. She appeared in the Broadway and film versions of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) and, on the basis of her solid performance, was cast in a supporting role in Silkwood (1983), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. She made a number of other film appearances and was recognized for her outstanding performance as the mother of a disfigured teen in Mask (1985). In 1988 she won an Academy Award for her starring role as an Italian-American widow in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). In the late 1980s she also had two successful albums—Cher (1987), featuring the hit single “I Found Someone,” and Heart of Stone (1989), whose “If I Could Turn Back Time” also topped the charts. Cher's music career, which had waned by the mid-1990s, made a sharp turnaround with the late 1998 release of Believe. In 1998 Cher published the autobiographical The First Time.

Sandra Langeneckert

* * *

▪ American actress and singer

byname of  Cherilyn Sarkisian 

born May 20, 1946, El Centro, California, U.S.

 

 American entertainer who parlayed her status as a teenage pop singer into a recording, concert, and acting career.

      At age 16 Cher moved to Los Angeles, where she met entertainer and songwriter Salvatore (“Sonny”) Bono, whom she married in 1964. The couple began singing together, and their first big pop hit came in 1965 with "I Got You Babe," which sold more than three million copies. The duo went on to score a number of hits, but by the late 1960s their popularity had begun to fade. A jump start came in 1971 with the television variety show The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which ran until 1974. During this time Cher's solo singing career flourished. Cher and Sonny divorced in 1974, though they appeared as cohosts of another television show in 1976–77.

      After Sonny left show business, Cher cultivated a successful nightclub act and revisited an earlier interest in acting. She appeared in the Broadway and film versions of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) and received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Silkwood (1983). In 1988 she won an Academy Award for her starring role as an Italian American widow in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Her others films included Mask (1985), Suspect (1987), and Tea with Mussolini (1999). After two successful albums—Cher (1987) and Heart of Stone (1989)—Cher's music career waned, but she made a comeback with Believe (1998) and Living Proof (2002). In 2000 she won a Grammy Award for the dance single "Believe."

* * *