BEAUTY ICON OF THE WEEK: CHER

BEAUTY ICON OF THE WEEK: CHER

Cher  (born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. With a career spanning over six decades and referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won anAcademy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in film, music and television. She is the only person in history to have received all of these awards. Cher began her career as a backup singer and later came to prominence as one half of the pop rock duo Sonny & Cher with the success of their song "I Got You Babe" in 1965. She subsequently established herself as a solo recording artist, and became a television star in 1971 with The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, avariety show for which she won a Golden Globe. A well received performance in the film Silkwood earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1984. In the following years, Cher starred in a string of hit films including Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1988.

Cher, throughout her long career, has broken many records. She is the only artist to reach the number one on the Billboard charts in each of the previous six decades, and also holds this record for four and five decades. Her hit dance single "Believe" is her biggest-selling recording and was the best-selling single of 1999, having sold over 10 million copies worldwide. She holds the Hot 100 record for the longest hit-making career span, with 33 years between the release of her first and most recent Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles, in 1965 and 1999 and 45 years between her first and most recent #1 ranking on any Billboard chart Cher ended her 3-year-long "Farewell Tour" in 2005 as the most successful tour by a female solo artist of all time. With a career lasting over 45 years, Cher has sold over 100 million records worldwide.^[13] After a three-year hiatus and retirement from touring, Cher returned to the stage in February 2008 at Caesars Palace inLas Vegas where she performed her show Cher at the Colosseum until February 2011. Cher has a deep contralto vocal range.

1962–1964: Early career

Sonny Bono, 11 years her senior, was working for record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. Sonny and Cher became inseparable friends, eventual lovers, and later married. Through Sonny, Cher started as a session singer in 1963, and sang backup on several of Spector’s classic recordings, including The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", Darlene Love's "A Fine, Fine Boy," The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and The Ronettes’ "Be My Baby". In the composition by Darlene Love, the listener can clearly hear Cher and Sonny close to the microphone (along with Love, who recorded her own backing vocals). Her first solo recording was the unsuccessful single "Ringo, I Love You",released under the pseudonym of Bonnie Jo Mason and produced by Phil Spector. Her second attempt was "Dream Baby," released under the name "Cherilyn" and written and produced by Sonny Bono. 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, despite releasing the single "The Letter" in late 1964 which featured the B-side "Baby Don't Go".

1965–1969: Career development

The duo became a sensation, traveling and performing around the world. Following an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in the fall of 1965 in which Sullivan had infamously mispronounced her name 'Chur' during their introduction, the singer began spelling her name with an acute accent mark: Chér—a typographical feature she maintained through 1974. The couple soon appeared on other hit television shows of the era including American Bandstand, Top of the Pops, Hollywood A Go-Go, Podunk, Hollywood Palace, Hullabaloo, Beat Club, Ready Steady Go! and Shindig!!.  While initially perceived as the slightly awkward and less important half of the popular singing duo, Cher disguised her stage fright and nervousness with quick-witted barbs directed at her partner. 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 trendsetter, helping to popularize fashions such as bellbottoms  and incorporating eccentric gowns, "hippie" attire and elaborate costumes into live shows.Before being known as Sonny and Cher, the duo released an album under the name of "Caesar and Cleo." The first "Sonny and Cher" album,Look At Us, was released in the summer of 1965.  This album contained the overnight smash single "I Got You Babe" which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1965. Cher was 19 years old, Sonny 30. A re-released "Baby Don't Go" peaked at #8. Several more mid-level hits followed, notably "Just You," "But You're Mine", "What Now My Love" and "Little Man", before "The Beat Goes On" returned the duo to the Top 10. Sonny and Cher charted eleven Billboard Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1972, including six Top 10 hits.

Later in 1965, Cher released her debut solo album, All I Really Want to Do, which reached #16 on the Billboard 200 album chart.  The album's cover of the Bob Dylan song "All I Really Want to Do" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1966, Cher released her second solo album on the Imperial Records label, The Sonny Side of Chér. It peaked at #26 in the U.S. charts, and #11 in the UK chart. The album contained the singles "Where Do You Go (#25 on the Billboard Hot 100), as well as "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (#2 on the Billboard Hot 100); both hits written and produced by Sonny Bono. In the United States, the latter was Cher's biggest solo hit of the 1960s. Her third solo album Chér, also released in 1966, was not as successful as its predecessors, but did include the European Top 10 hit "Sunny".

Cher in Good Times (1967)

In an attempt to capitalize on the duo’s initial success, Sonny speedily arranged a film project for the duo to star in. But the 1967 feature,Good Times, was a major bomb, despite the efforts of fledgling director William Friedkin and co-star George Sanders. Cher continued to establish herself as a solo artist and released the album Backstage. The album was a flop. Sonny and Cher's career had stalled by 1968 as album sales dried up. Their gentle, easy-listening rock folk sound and drug-free life had become "unhip" in an era becoming increasingly consumed with psychedelic rock, and the overall evolutionary change in the American pop culture landscape during the late 1960s. Sonny and Cher's only child together, Chaz Bono, was born Chastity Bono 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. Sonny decided to forge ahead, carving a new career for the duo in Las Vegas resorts, where they sharpened their public persona with Cher as the wise-cracking singer, and Sonny as the good-natured recipient of her insults. In reality, Sonny controlled every aspect of their act, from the musical arrangements to the joke-writing. While success was slow to come, their luck improved when network TV talent scouts attended a show, noting their potential appeal for a variety series.

1976–1981: Solo career and misses

From 1975 to 1978, Cher released a series of unsuccessful albums: Stars, I'd Rather Believe in You and Cherished. On February 2, 1976, The Sonny and Cher Show debuted with a Top 10 rating and high expectations.^[ Some of the guests who appeared on The Sonny and Cher Show included Frankie Avalon, Muhammed Ali, Raymond Burr, Ruth Buzzi, Charo,Barbara Eden, Farrah Fawcett, Terri Garr, Bob Hope, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis, Tony Orlando, The Osmonds, Debbie Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers, Tina Turner, Twiggy, and Betty White. However, ratings soon fell, and the show was cancelled after its second season. In 1976, Mego Toys released a line of toys and dolls in the likeness of Sonny & Cher. The release of these fashion dolls coincided with the popularity of The Sonny & Cher Show. Their overall television success, though brief, was unique because variety programming in general, other than The Carol Burnett Show, was no longer attracting viewers.

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.One highlight for her fans was a song and dance number based on the classic musical West Side Story in which Cher portrayed each of the main characters. In 1979, she legally changed her name to Cher, with no surname or middle name. Sonny and Cher performed together for the last time on The Mike Douglas Show in the spring of 1979 (until their much-discussed 1987 Letterman appearance), singing a medley of "United We Stand" and "Without You".

Later in 1979, Cher would capitalize on the disco craze, signing with Casablanca Records, and racking up another Top-10 single with "Take Me Home". Sales of the album Take Me Home may have been boosted by the image of a scantily-clad Cher in a Viking outfit on the album’s cover. The album was RIAA-certified Gold. For her second Casablanca release,Prisoner, Cher appeared on the album's cover virtually naked and wrapped in chains, spurring controversy among some women's rights groups for her perceived "sex slave" image.This album produced the minor hit single "Hell on Wheels" and the tune was also featured in the film Roller Boogie. In 1980, Cher penned her last disco song for the film Foxes, called "Bad Love." Later in the same year, Cher formed the rock band Black Rose with her then-partner, guitarist Les Dudek, and released the album Black Rose. The album failed to sell, despite an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and the band broke up the following year. In 1981, Cher released her first Top 5 hit in UK in ten years: "Dead Ringer for Love", a duet with Meat Loaf for his album Dead Ringer. In 1982, Cher released I Paralyze, promoting it on American Bandstand and The Tonight Show, but critics panned the album and sales were disappointing.

1982–1987: Film stardom and musical breakout

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. Her earlier films, like Good Times and Chastity, had been poorly received. She soon found herself in an uphill battle trying to land credible roles for a woman now in her mid-30s with little acting experience. At the time, she was quoted as saying that she did not really care if she ever made another record. In 1982, Cher landed her first major role in a Broadway production of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. That same year, she was cast in the film version, which was directed by Robert Altman and earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She was next cast alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in the drama Silkwood (1983) in which she played Streep’s blue-collar lesbianroommate. She received her first Academy Award nomination, as Best Supporting Actress. She also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for her performance.

Cher's next film was a starring role in Mask in 1985, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The film also starred Eric Stoltz, Laura Dern, Estelle Getty and Sam Elliott. It opened at #3 at the box office and was considered her first critical and commercial success as a leading actress. For her role as a mother of a severely disfigured boy, Cher won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. In 1985, Cher was honored with Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award.

On May 22, 1986, Cher made her first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In her pre-interview with the show's producers, Cher had referred to host David Letterman with a derogatory term when asked why she had previously declined to appear on his program. He later confronted her about this on air during their interview, asking why she had refused so many earlier invitations. As she thought of an appropriate answer, he pushed her further saying, "Because you thought..." to which she replied "You were an asshole . She received a mixture of boos and laughter from the audience for the remark; however, Letterman quickly played off the incident as just fun. Cher returned to Late Night With David Letterman in an appearance on November 13, 1987,this time with ex-husband Sonny Bono, reuniting to sing "I Got You, Babe" for what would be the last time. She has since made multiple appearances on Letterman's CBS show. In 1987, Cher starred in three films. She was cast as Alexandra, the female lead in the dark comedy/fantasy film The Witches of Eastwick with Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. She played a lawyer in the thriller Suspect opposite Dennis Quaid, and starred in the romantic comedy Moonstruck, which co-starred Nicolas Cage and Olympia Dukakis and was directed by Norman Jewison. For her performance as a frumpy bookkeeper in Moonstruck, she won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, and the People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Star.

1987–1989: Return to musical success

In 1987, Cher revived her recording career after a five-year hiatus, under the coordination of rock producer and A&R man John Kalodner. Now with Geffen Records, Cher released the first of three highly successful rock albums, featuring songwriting contributions from the likes ofDiane Warren, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child, Mark Mangold and Michael Bolton. Darlene Love and Bonnie Tyler provided guest vocals. Cher was released in 1987, and featured the comeback single "I Found Someone" written by Michael Bolton and Mark Mangold (previously a minor hit for Laura Branigan), as well as "We All Sleep Alone" (#14, 1988). The album was a big hit, being certified Platinum in the U.S. and selling seven million copies worldwide. In 1987, she also released her first fragrance, Uninhibited.

In 1989, Cher released the album Heart of Stone. As on her previous album, Michael Bolton, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Warren and Desmond Child handled songwriting and/or producing duties.The album was originally released with cover artwork featuring Cher sitting in front of a heart made of stone, creating the illusion of a skull. Heart of Stone would prove to be very successful, having sold 11,000,000 copies worldwide,^[71] and certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA.The album's biggest hit came with the rock hymn "If I Could Turn Back Time", which topped the charts in Australia for seven non-consecutive weeks,peaked at #3 in the U.S., reached #6 in the UK and charted in various other countries around the globe. Further hits from the album were "Just Like Jesse James", "Heart of Stone", and it also contained the hit duet with Peter Cetera, "After All", #6 in U.S.

The video for "If I Could Turn Back Time" caused controversy, because in it Cher wore a skimpy, see-through net outfit, which revealed a "butterfly" tattoo on her buttocks. Many networks on television, including MTV, initially refused to air the video because of the "partial nudity". MTV network eventually played the video, but only after 9 p.m. Cher launched the Heart of Stone Tour, which played throughout 1989 and 1990 in various parts of the world. She also starred in the television special Cher – Live at the Mirage, which was filmed during a live concert in Las Vegas. In the late 1980s, Cher was considered for the role of the Grand High Witch in a movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel The Witches, but the role was eventually given to Anjelica Huston.

1990–1992: Artistic development and commercial hits

In 1990, Cher starred in the modest box office success Mermaids with Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci. The film received many positive reviews from critics. Cher contributed two songs to its soundtrack. "Baby I'm Yours" and the album's second single, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", charted low on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (at #33), but became a smash hit elsewhere, reaching #1 in the UK, #3 in Germany and France, and #5 in Australia. Around the globe, it became her most successful single to date, selling more than six million copies worldwide. In 1991, Cher completed her Geffen recording contract by releasing the album Love Hurts. This album had a big impact in Europe and in the rest of the world, particularly in the UK where it debuted at #1 and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. Unlike her previous two records, Love Hurts received less attention in the United States where it was certified gold; in European countries, the album was certified multi-platinum. The European cover of the album was different from the American release, featuring Cher lying on a white background wearing a red wig. The European release also included the worldwide hit "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". The album also sparked another hit single, "Love and Understanding", a number 10 hit in UK as well as the album's only major hit in her native U.S., entering the Top 20. The follow-ups "Save Up All Your Tears", "Love Hurts", and "Could've Been You" were minor hits in Europe. The album Love Hurts has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide becoming her 2nd biggest-selling album of her career. In Germany, Cher received the prestigious ECHO award for the most successful female singer of the year. Cher embarked on the Love Hurts Tour throughout 1992. In the same period Cher released two VHS fitness programs, Cherfitness: A New Attitude and Cherfitness: A Body Confidence. In 1992, the European compilation Greatest Hits: 1965-1992 became a huge success, again peaking at #1 in the United Kingdom for seven non-consecutive weeks, and charting in the Top 10 in several other countries. The album, which contained three newly-recorded tracks ("Oh No Not My Baby", "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Whenever You're Near") was available in the United States only as an import. The album has sold 4.9 million copies world-wide.

1992–1997: Commercial ups-and-downs, controversy and death of Sonny Bono In 1992, Cher took some time off, following what wasc fatigue syndrome. She made few public appearances during this period with the exception of appearing in a series of infomercialslaunching hair-care products for her friend Lori Davis,^] and for the sweetener Equal. Cher made cameo appearances in the Robert Altman films The Player (1992) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994). In 1994, she collaborated with MTV's cartoons Beavis and Butt-head for a rock version of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe". The next year she and Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton topped the UK Singles Chart for one week with the charity single "Love Can Build a Bridge". In 1995, she recorded an album, mainly of covers, titled It's a Man's World. The album was released in Europe at the end of 1995 and in North America in the summer of 1996. The album sparked two European hits: "Walking in Memphis" and "One by One". It's a Man's World was a moderate success, with six million copies worldwide; however, sales in the United States were limited. Cher starred in Faithful (1996) with Ryan O'Neal and Chazz Palminteri, and scored a minor comeback when she co-executive-producedand appeared in the highly anticipated, controversial HBO abortion drama If These Walls Could Talk, with Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek and Anne Heche. Nancy Savoca co-wrote all three segments and directed the first two sections starring Moore and Spacek, but Cher directed and co-starred in the third segment, earning a Golden Globe Nomination as Best Supporting Actress in a made-for-television movie.

Cher was in London in January 1998 when a call from daughter Chastity brought news of Sonny Bono's death in a skiing accident. He was 62. At the time of his death, Bono, by then a popular California Congressman, was married to his fourth wife, Mary Bono.Sonny and Cher had been divorced for nearly 23 years and he was remarried with two more children. However, the two had remained friendly over the years, and she was chosen to deliver Sonny's eulogy at his funeral. In front of a worldwide television audience, she tearfully and effusively praised Bono, calling him "the most unforgettable character I've ever met." Cher paid tribute to Bono in the CBS special Sonny and Me: Cher Remembers (1998), calling her grief "something I never plan to get over."^[ In 1998, Sonny & Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television. Cher appeared at the event with Mary Bono, who accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.

1998–2000: Popularity of Believe

Cher's 23rd studio album, 1998's Grammy Award-winning Believe marked an extreme departure for Cher, as the record was a collection of up-tempo dance tracks. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching the top spot in nearly every country where it was released, including the United States, Germany, Australia and France. Believe has been certified 4x Platinum in the United States and has sold 20 million copies worldwide.^[The Grammy Award-winning first single and title track was a worldwide smash, easily becoming the biggest hit of Cher's entire career. By March 1999, the song reached #1 in 23 countries around the world including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia. It was the best-selling recording of the year."Believe" made Cher the oldest woman (at age 52) to have a number one hit in the Hot 100 rock era. It also gave her the distinction of having the longest span of #1 hits (more than 33 years) and the largest gap between number ones (10 days short of 25 years). Cher is also the only female artist to have solo Top 10 hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. On the UK Singles Chart, "Believe" claimed the number one slot for seven consecutive weeks, and also became the biggest-selling single ever by a female artist in the United Kingdom. It sold over 10 million copies worldwide. From the album, three other singles were released, with "Strong Enough" becoming a perfect follow-up hit in Europe, peaking at #3 in Germany and France as well as the U.K. Top Five, but failing to gain equally huge success in North America. "All or Nothing" and "Dov'è l'amore" were also solid hits in Europe, but did not get much attention in her native country.

Cher published her first memoir in late 1998, titled The First Time. Rather than a tell-all, the book was a collection of Cher's most significant "first-time" memories from her childhood, life and Hollywood career. In January 1999, Cher performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of the Super Bowl XXXIII television audience. Cher also performed on the highly rated television special VH1 Divas Live 2, performing alongside contemporaries Tina Turner, Elton John, Chaka Khan, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, LeAnn Rimes, Diana Ross, Brandy andWhitney Houston. Later in 1999, Cher co-starred in the well-received Franco Zeffirelli film Tea With Mussolini (1999) with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Lily Tomlin.Her successful worldwide Do You Believe? Tour travelled throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, with the Emmy-nominated television special Cher: Live at the MGM Grand In Las Vegas airing by year's end. On November 30, 1999, she released a compilation album The Greatest Hits that continued to build upon her huge popularity in Europe. The album entered the German Charts at #1 (her second consecutive German No. 1 album) and peaked at #7 on the official UK Albums Chart. This compilation was only released outside the United States, due to the release of the North American only compilation, If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits which was released that same year. In Germany she again became best selling female artist of the year and was receiving her second ECHO Award (she and Madonna are the only female artists to do so).The Do You Believe? Tour continued throughout 2000 and became her most successful tour to that time.

2000–2002: Legacy of achievement

In May 2000, Cher was presented with the Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry Award, at the World Music Awards. She released an independent alternative-rock album titledNot.com.mercial (pronounced "not-dot-com-mercial").^[103] This album was written mostly by Cher after attending a songwriting retreat in France in 1994. The album was quickly rejected by record labels for being "not commercial." Cher chose instead to sell the recording exclusively through her website.^[103][104] This marked the first time that Cher had written a majority of the material for one of her albums. In an online review, Rolling Stone described "Fit To Fly", a Cher-penned track from the album, as "the best Cher song ever." The tune was Cher's tribute to American veterans of war. On November 16, 2000, Cher also made a guest star appearance in the hit NBC TV series Will & Grace in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" (Named after Cher's hit Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves).

In February 2002, still in a dance mode, Cher released the highly anticipated follow-up to Believe: Living Proof, which entered the Billboard 200 at number nine, making it her highest-charting album debut and extending her album-chart span to an excess of 37 years. It did not repeat the success of Believe, showing no longevity in the charts. Outside the United States, things were little better: in the United Kingdom, France and Australia, Living Proof failed to reach the Top 40, while charting best in Germany by entering at #13. The album included several re-mixed songs that found their way onto the Hot Dance, Maxi-Single Sales, Club Play and Adult Contemporary charts. The album was eventually certified gold in the United States and Germany, and earned her two Grammy nominations. That year, Cher won the Dance/Club Play Artist of the Year and was presented with a special Artist Achievement Award at the Billboard Music Awards. In May 2002, Cher performed on the VH1 television special VH1 Divas Las Vegas, with Shakira, Celine Dion, The Dixie Chicks, Anastacia, Cyndi Lauper and Mary J. Blige. In June, she announced plans for Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, which she claimed would be the final live concert tour of her career, though she vowed to continue recording and releasing music.

2008–present: Las Vegas residency, 'Burlesque', and album comeback

Cher began performing again in February 2009. She had to delay the last of her 2008 shows due to illness; she claimed to have "Vegas throat". Cher combined her acting and singing skills in the 2010 film Burlesque, a contemporary musical in which she starred alongside Christina Aguilera. She will also provide the voice of a lion (formerly a giraffe) in Kevin James' 2011 film Zookeeper. On April 18, 2010, Cher made a surprise appearance on The 45th Annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards. She was introduced by 12-time host Reba McEntire. She said the very first song she learned was "Hey Good Lookin'".On February 7, 2008, Cher, at 61, announced that she had reached a deal to perform 200 shows over three years live at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Her new show, titled Cher at the Colosseum, debuted on May 6, 2008. She is being paid $60 million for her return.The elaborate show includes eighteen dancers, four aerialists and multiple costumes designed by Bob Mackie. Choreography is directed by Doriana Sanchez who also worked with Cher on her past three major tours. On February 10, 2008, Cher made a brief appearance at the Grammy Awards, introducing a performance by Tina Turner and Beyonce Knowles. In May 2008, Cher appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss her new show and performed her hit "Take Me Home". Cher also performed "Proud Mary" with Tina Turner, which they had previously performed on theDivas Live '99 concert in 1999. On November 3, 2008, Cher appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and confirmed that she will star in a movie titled The Drop-out with Johnny Knoxville. She claimed that this movie will start filming during the summer of 2009 and will be released in 2010. However, the production had not started as of December 2010, but she recently said at the premiere of "Burlesque" that it may still happen.

In addition to her return to the big screen in 'Burlesque', Cher also recorded two new songs for the film, 'Welcome to Burlesque' and 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me'. The latter of the two has had success in the Club scene, peaking at the #1 spot on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs chart. This fact gives Cher the title of only singer with #1 in every decade since the 60's on at least one Billboard chart. 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' went on to win the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Cher has also announced that she is currently recording a new country/rock album to be released in 2011, she has stated that she is working with a couple of men down in Nashville on the album. Cher has decided to follow Def Leppard and Bon Jovi to name just a few past rock acts to record in Nashville or duet with a nu-country singer. Cher has also claimed that it is very likely that a world tour will be hitting major arenas around September 2011. Cher has also stated in "Glamour Magazine" that she will possibly be directing a movie within the next 2 to 3 years. Cher attended the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010 presenting the Video of the Year award to Lady Gaga. On November 8, 2010 she was honored with Glamour's Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement award.On November 18, 2010 Cher was immortalized by placing her handprints and footprints in cement in the courtyard in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

On 5 February 2011 after 192 shows, Cher ended her three year residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Personal life

Relationships

Cher had a relationship with actor Warren Beatty in the early 1960s. Sonny Bono and Cher first met in 1962. They claimed to have been married as early as 1963, and had a wedding ceremony in Tijuana, Mexico on October 27, 1964. Their only child is Chaz Bono, previously named Chastity Bono,^[117] born on March 4, 1969. After 13 years together, Sonny and Cher divorced on June 27, 1975. The divorce resulted in the cancellation of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

Later that year Cher married rock and blues musician Gregg Allman. Their son Elijah Blue Allman (of the band Deadsy) was born on July 10, 1976. They separated after two years and finalized their divorce in 1979. Between Bono and Allman, Cher revealed that she had a fling with Elvis Presley while they were performing in Las Vegas, but rejected him when he asked her up to his room because she was nervous about spending the night with him. In February 2008, Cher stated on Good Morning America that she deeply regrets turning him down. In the interview, she also claimed to have been asked out by Marlon Brando during a plane ride. Cher was also involved^[ with record executive David Geffen, KISS bassist Gene Simmons, and senior account manager Garreth Crawford. Throughout the 1980s, Cher dated several younger men including actors Tom Cruise  and Val Kilmer, Josh Donen, as well as Rob Camilletti, the 22-year-old bagel baker whom she met on her 40th birthday and lived with for three years.

“	My relationships usually last a few years. When I'm involved with a man, other men are fascinated with me, but the minute I'm single again, half of those men disappear because they don't have the balls to really want me.	”
—Cher – NME – April 1984,

Cher was involved with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for two years in the early 1990s, and was also linked to musicians Eric Clapton and Mark Hudson.In 2009, Cher dated 38 year-old biker Tim Medvetz. As of 2010, Cher is dating the American comedy writer, Ron Zimmerman. They were first seen together in public in August 2010, having been dating for around six months.

As a gay icon

Her child, Chaz Bono, who was born female, first came out as a lesbian at the age of seventeen, which caused Cher feelings of "guilt, fear and pain".However, Cher soon came to accept Chaz's sexual orientation, and came to the conclusion that LGBT people "didn't have the same rights as everyone else, [and she] thought that was unfair". She was the keynote speaker for the 1997 national Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) convention.Cher has since become one of the gay community's most vocal advocates. As of June 11, 2009, Chaz Bono came out as a transgender individual, and his transition to male was legally finalized on May 7, 2010.The reverence held for Cher by members of the gay community has been attributed to her accomplishments in her career, her sense of style and her longevity.Alec Mapa of The Advocate elaborates: "While the rest of us were sleeping, Cher's been out there for the last four decades living out every single one of our childhood fantasies...Cher embodies an unapologetic freedom and fearlessness that some of us can only aspire to." Cher has often been imitated by drag queens.Thomas Rogers of Salon magazine commented that "[d]rag queens imitate women like Judy Garland,Dolly Parton and Cher because they overcame insult and hardship on their path to success, and because their narratives mirror the pain that many gay men suffer on their way out of the closet.  Cher's performance as a lesbian in the film Silkwood as well as her transition to dance music and social activism in recent years has further contributed to her becoming a gay icon.

In 1998, Cher was honored with a GLAAD Media Award (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and in November 1999, The Advocate named Cher as one of the '25 Coolest Women'. In October 2005 the Bravo program Great Things About Being... declared Cher "the number one greatest thing about being gay." William J. Mann, author of Gay Pride: A Celebration of All Things Gay and Lesbian, comments "[w]e'll be dancing to a ninety-year-old Cher when we're sixty. Just watch", and in a 2007 'Top Ten Gay Icons', formed by Digital Spy, it was stated that: "US comedian Jimmy James was spot-on when he quipped: "After a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left are cockroaches and Cher"." The NBC sitcom Will & Grace acknowledged her status by making her the idol of gay character Jack McFarland. Cher guest-starred as herself twice on the sitcom, in 2000 and 2002.^[142] In 2000, Cher made a cameo on the show, in which Jack believed her to be a drag queen, and said he could "do" a better Cher himself. In 2002, she portrayed God in Jack's imagined version ofHeaven.

Trivia

Daughter with Sonny Bono is Chaz Bono (b. 4 March 1969). Son with Gregg Allman is Elijah Allman (b. 10 July 1976).

Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 30.

Had started dating producer David Geffen after she and estranged husband Sonny Bono split up.

Was living with rock musician Gene Simmons of KISS for several years.

Her half-sister, Georganne LaPiere, was the first wife of Michael Madsen.

Offered the part of Thelma in Thelma & Louise (1991).

Her father was Armenian, her mother was reputedly part Cherokee, since one of Cher's great-great-grandparents is said to be Cherokee, but none of her currently-known ancestors are described as anything other than White.

Legally changed her name from "Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre Bono" to simply "Cher.".

Beat out Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" for the best selling single of 1998 with "Believe."

Wanted to play Morticia in the The Addams Family (1991), but the part went to Anjelica Huston.

Her favourite makeup artist, Kevyn Aucoin, died in 2002 of a brain tumor.

Mostly lived in London, UK, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She now lives in Malibu.

Holds the record for oldest female artist with a #1 hit ("Believe").

Son, Elijah Allman, fronts the band Deadsy.Suffers from fear of flying.

Cher's very first recording was novelty record "I Love You Ringo," under the name of Bonnie Jo Mason in 1963.

Her parents married and divorced 3 times.

Wore braces as an adult.

Is a big Katharine Hepburn fan.

Is the only certified female performer in music history to have had a U.S #1 single in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

She and Barbra Streisand are the only two female performers in the U.S. to have had a #1 hit and won an Oscar.

She was the subject of an episode of "The X-Files" (1993) called "The Post-Modern Prometheus" (5X06; first aired November 3, 1997). This episode concerned a deformed man who adored Cher because of her role in Mask (1985), in which her character cared for her deformed son. Several Cher songs appeared on the soundtrack of this episode, including "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". At the end of the episode, Mulder and Scully take the Cher fan to a Cher concert, where they hear her sing her cover of "Walkin' in Memphis". Cher, an "X-Files" fan, was asked to play herself in this scene but declined the producers' offer. However, she revealed on The X-Files Movie Special (1998) (TV) that once the episode aired, she regretted not having appeared in it.

Was called to be offered the role in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) on the morning of her 40th birthday.

Her Oscar-winning part in Moonstruck (1987) was originally offered to Sally Field, who turned it down.

Good friends with Meryl Streep.

Auditioned for the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Sonny & Cher's film Good Times (1967) was such a flop, that Columbia pictures immediately sold rights to their intended follow-up film,Speedway (1968) to MGM as a vehicle for Elvis Presley.

Was in consideration for the part of Lilly Dillon in The Grifters (1990) but Anjelica Huston, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Personal Quotes

I don't like my voice that much. I think I'm a much better actress than singer. Singing is like going to a party at someone else's house. Acting is like having the party at your own house. When you go to someone else's house for a party, it's not your responsibility at all, but when you have the party at your own house, there's a lot of responsibility. Everyone has to have a good time. So for me, acting is deeper.

In this business you have to be tough, and if someone pushes me really far I can certainly be impossible. I've always said, "If you're nice they walk over you and if you stand up for yourself they call you a bitch."

I'm not a role model, nor have I ever tried to be a role model. The only thing about me as a role model is I've managed to stay here and be working and survive. For 40 years.

I'm like a bumper car. When I did an infomercial I was fodder for every TV comedy show. I couldn't get a job. People said I was a huge joke. I've been a joke so many times. I've been on my way out since I started, but I'm strong-willed. My mother is so much tougher than I am and my grandmother is so much tougher than my mother.

I haven't a clue why I've lasted so long. There's no reason. There are many people more talented than me. I think it's luck.

[People magazine, 9/1/85] I was a shy ugly kid who led a big fantasy life. I thought I was an angel sent from heaven, to cure polio. When Dr. Salk [Jonas Salk] did that I was really pissed off.

The trouble with some women, they get all excited about nothing - and then they marry him.

The only grounds for divorce in California are marriage.

On friendship: I can trust my friends...these people force me to examine myself, encourage me to grow.

On truth: Honesty makes me feel powerful in a difficult world.

On spirit: Women, unlike most men, are able to accept mystery, accept whatever comes to them -- even if it's not logical.

[On Meryl Streep] She's an acting machine in the same sense that a shark is a killing machine. That's what she was born to be.

I think men are fun and nice, but I don't think they're necessary to live. Chastity has a nice father, I think Sonny is a decent father. Elijah's father is absolutely useless. He's not worthwhile at all. He hasn't called Elijah in two years.

Mykie's Note:
CHER. Just Cher, that's really all you need. one simple, direct, strong, unnerving, loving, lasting name.  Cher Is a power house in this world, I think above anyone else, Cher is know to everyone on the globe. As a young gay boy growing up, I would watch the SONY & CHER show like it was  Sunday Mass at my church.  I would spend hours flipping my hair and trying to do that little flick of here tongue that to this day I can't do it, but I can do a mean ape of her trade mark vibrato. Cher, has a huge impact on my work, she has worked with the best of the best and studying these images helps he create my own. I mean really what hasn't been done to her face.  A career highlight if not the highest would to be able to do her makeup, I would make Kevin Aucaion proud ,I would have too.  I think one of the biggest impacts Cher as made on me is  the Robert Altman film, COME BACK TO THE FIVE & DIME, JIMMY DEAN,JIMMY DEAN, It's pretty amazing and It's not on DVD as of yet, but I think it's sad cause I know personally that alot of people have no Idea that's it exist, also starring Karen Black, Sandy Denis & Kathy Bates and its about James Dean and very heavy on gay themes, this is a must see for any Gay man, in fact it's a rite of passage.  I think it's the finest acting she has done, check it out for your self.
As I do, I will include a filmography of my favorite Cher Works, Musically and film wise. check it out and  learn a little more about this Icon!
Have fun!
mykie xoxo

Selected Films Of CHER

1967- Good Time (great Campy fun)
1969- Chasity (actually pretty good)
1982- Come Back To The Five & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean 
(Nominated Golden Globe best Supporting Actress)

1983- Silkwood ( Won Golden Globe-Best Supporting Actress)
(Nominated Acadamy Award For Best Supporting Actress)

1985- MASK
(Won Cannes Film Festival Best Actress)
(Nominated Best Actress Golden Globes)

1987- Suspect
1987-The Witches Of Eastwick
1987- Moonstruck
(won Academy Award Best Actress)
(won Golden Globe Best Actress)

1996- Faithful ( I love this underrated film)
1999- Tea With Mussolini
2003- STUCK ON YOU  (amazing)
2010- Burlesque

Studio albums All I Really Want to Do (1965) The Sonny Side of Chér (1966) Chér (1966) With Love, Chér (1967) Backstage (1968) 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (1971) Foxy Lady (1972) Bittersweet White Light (1973) Half-Breed (1973) Dark Lady (1974) Stars (1975) I'd Rather Believe in You (1976) Cherished (1977) Take Me Home (1979) Prisoner (1979) Black Rose (1980) I Paralyze (1982) Cher (1987) Heart of Stone (1989) Love Hurts (1991) It's a Man's World (1995) Believe (1998) Not.com.mercial (2000) Living Proof (2001) Burlesque 2010