Born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946, Cher, whose real name is Cherilyn Sarkisian, is an American artist. She used her popularity as a teenage pop singer to begin her career in acting, concerts, and recording.

Cher relocated to Los Angeles when she was sixteen years old, and in 1964 she married singer-songwriter Salvatore (“Sonny”) Bono. Their first significant pop hit, “I Got You Babe,” which went on to sell over three million copies, was released in 1965, following the duo’s performance debut.

By the late 1960s, the two were still quite popular, but their celebrity was starting to wane. Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a television variety show that ran from 1971 to 1974, provided an early version. During this time, Cher’s solo singing career took off. Cher and Sonny cohosted a different television show in 1976–1977, despite their separation in 1974.

After Sonny left the entertainment business, Cher went back to her performing roots and created a successful nightclub show. She portrayed Jimmy Dean in the film and on Broadway in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean (1982). For her supporting role in Silkwood (1983), she received an Academy Award nomination. She won an Academy Award in 1988 for her performance as an Italian-American widow in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987).

Cher parents: Meet Georgia Holt, John Paul Sarkisian, Gilbert Hartmann LaPierre

Cher’s father, John Sarkisian, was an Armenian-American truck driver who struggled with drugs and gambling; her mother, Georgia Holt, was a former model and retired actress who claimed Irish, English, German, and Cherokee ancestry and was born on June 9, 1926, Kensett, Arkansas, United States. Cher’s father was absent from her childhood, and her parents divorced when she was 10 months old. Cher’s mother then married actor John Southall and had another daughter, Georganne.

Gilbert Hartmann LaPierre, superstar Cher’s adopted father, passed away in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Born on June 29, 1923, Gilbert would eventually become the husband of Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt. Cher was adopted by him at a very young age, and he took on his name.