Cher

Cher born Cheryl Sarkisian May 20 1946 is an American singer actress and television personality Dubbed the Goddess of Pop she is known for her androgynous contralto voice multifaceted career bold visual presentation and continuous reinvention of her image and sound Her adaptability has fueled multiple comebacks cementing her status as a cultural icon over a career spanning seven decades Cher gained fame in 1965 as part of the folk rock husbandwife duo Sonny Cher while also achieving solo success with topten singles including All I Really Want to Do and Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down In the 1970s she divorced from Sonny Bono and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with Gypsys Tramps Thieves HalfBreed and Dark Lady becoming the female solo artist with the most numberone singles in US history at the time Following a hiatus to focus on acting Cher returned to music with the rockinflected albums Cher 1987 Heart of Stone 1989 and Love Hurts 1991 earning international numberone singles with If I Could Turn Back Time and The Shoop Shoop Song Its in His Kiss She reached a commercial peak with the dancepop album Believe 1998 which introduced the Cher effect an extreme stylistic use of AutoTune to distort vocals The title track became 1999s numberone song in the US and the UKs bestselling single by a female artist 21stcentury releases include Closer to the Truth 2013 and Dancing Queen 2018 both debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and becoming her highestcharting solo albums in the US Cher rose to television stardom in the 1970s with her CBS shows The Sonny Cher Comedy Hour attracting over 30 million weekly viewers and the namesake Cher She made her Broadway debut in 1982 with Come Back to the 5 Dime Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean and starred in its film adaptation She earned critical acclaim for roles in Silkwood 1983 Mask 1985 and Moonstruck 1987 winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for the latter Cher went on to star in Mermaids 1990 If These Walls Could Talk 1996 where she made her directorial debut Tea with Mussolini 1999 Burlesque 2010 and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again 2018 Her life and career inspired the 2018 jukebox musical The Cher Show With 100 million records sold Cher is among the worlds bestselling music artists Her accolades include an Academy Award an Emmy a Grammy three Golden Globes the Billboard Icon Award a Cannes Film Festival Award honors from the Kennedy Center and the Council of Fashion Designers of America and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Cher is the only solo artist with a numberone single on a Billboard chart in seven consecutive decades from the 1960s to the 2020s Her 20022005 Living Proof The Farewell Tour was the highestgrossing concert tour by a female artist at the time earning US250 million about 390 million in 2023 Cher is also known for her fashion political views social media presence philanthropy and activism including LGBTQ rights and HIVAIDS prevention