Cher Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

Cher is an American singer, actress, television personality who has a net worth of $360 million. She is widely regarded as a cultural icon, with a career spanning multiple decades. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the world’s best-selling musical artists. Her notable achievements include winning a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival award.

Early Life and Career Beginnings: Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. Her parents John Sarkisian and Georgia Holt (born Jackie Jean Crouch) divorced when she was ten months old. Cher moved around with her mother, living in California, New York and Texas. She dropped out of school when she was sixteen and moved to Los Angeles, where she took acting classes and danced in clubs to support herself.

She met performer Sonny Bono in 1962, and began working as his housekeeper. He introduced her to record producer Phil Spector, and she began to work as a backup singer. Sonny and Cher developed a close relationship as friends and eventual lovers, and began performing together. They released their first single “I Got You Babe”  as the musical duo Sonny & Cher in July 1965, and it’s success propelled Cher into stardom.

Music Career: Sonny & Cher’s first studio album “Look at Us” (1965) helped them land five songs in the Billboard Top 50 at the same time, a feat that had only been accomplished by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. While enjoying success with Sonny & Cher, she also had a successful solo career. Cher had signed with Liberty Records’ Imperial imprint in 1964, releasing albums “All I Really Want to Do” (1965), “The Sonny Side of Cher” (1966) and “Chér” (1966). Her single “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down” (1966) was her first solo single to sell a million copies.

As Sonny & Cher declined in popularity, Cher’s solo career thrived. She recorded the album “3614 Jackson Highway” in 1969, and it was her first musical project that was made without Sonny’s guidance and input. Sonny & Cher were offered their own television program, and thus began “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” which premiered in 1971. Following the couple’s contentious divorce, which was finalized in 1975, Cher embarked on a truly solo career. She signed a $2.5 million deal with Warner Bros. Records, releasing the critically and commercially unsuccessful album “Stars” (1975), which has since become a cult classic.

Cher returned to television with her own show “Cher” in 1975, and then eventually reunited with ex-husband Sonny professionally on “The Sonny and Cher Show” (1976-1977). She continued to produce music, and has released over twenty studio albums. She had a residency in Las Vegas from 1980 to 1982 which earned her $300 thousand per week. She headlined for three years at the Colosseum at Caesars starting in 2008 and reportedly grossed $180 million from the series.

Acting Career: Cher’s earliest ventures into acting were “Good Times” (1967), produced together with Sonny, and the film “Chastity” (1969), which was written and directed by Sonny and funded by the couple. Both were unsuccessful. She was cast by director Robert Altman in the Broadway production “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean” in 1976, playing the same role again in the 1982 film adaptation with the same title. Cher credits Altman and this opportunity with launching her career. She formed her own film production company Isis in 1985, and continued on to star in films such as “Mask” (1985), “The Witches of Eastwick” (1987), “Moonstruck” (1987), “Mermaids” (1990), “Tea with Mussolini” (1999) and “Burlesque” (2010).

Other Projects: Well-known for her own personal style, Cher has also starred in many fashion campaigns, including the Dsquared2 spring/summer advertising campaign in February 2020. Additionally, she has launched two fragrances, “Cher Eau de Couture” (2019) and “Uninhibited” (1987). During a period of poor health in the early 1990s, she starred in a string of informercials because she was unable to work on other projects. Her various infomercials selling health, beauty and diet products are estimated to have earned her almost $10 million.

Personal Life: Cher married Sonny Bono officially in 1969, shortly after she gave birth to their child Chaz Bono (born Chastity Bono) in March that year. Sonny filed for separation in February 1974 citing “irreconcilable differences,” and Cher countered with a divorce suit claiming that he withheld money from her and deprived her of some of their shared earnings. The resulting court battle over finances and the custody of their child was finalized in June 1975.

During her divorce from Sonny, Cher dated record executive David Geffen. Four days after finalizing her divorce from Sonny, Cher married musician Gregg Allman, filing for divorce a mere 9 days later. However, they reconciled and had a son, Elijah Blue, together in July 1976. Cher and Allman divorced in 1979. Other notable figures Cher has dated include Gene Simmons, Eric Stoltz, Tom Cruise and Richie Sambora. Cher owns properties around the world that have an estimated value of $100 million. Her Italian villa on the coast of Malibu alone is worth $50-70 million. She is often considered a gay icon, but it is clear that her fan base stretches far beyond one specific group. Cher is a timeless celebrity, and continues to participate actively in philanthropic and entertainment work.

Real Estate: Cher has owned a number of lavish and not-so-lavish homes around the world, but especially in the Los Angeles area. For example, the Beverly Hills estate she once shared we Sonny Bono was sold in September 2016 for $90 million. For most of the last three decades, Cher’s primary’s residence has been an absolutely incredible Italian Renaissance-style mansion on the cliffs of Malibu overlooking the ocean. The 1.7-acre bluff-top property has a three-story 14,000 square-foot main house, tennis court, pool and guest house. Cher bought the undeveloped plot of land in 1992 and built the home, which was featured in Architecture Digest in 2002. She listed the property for sale in August 2008, shortly before the real estate crisis, for $45 million. She never found a buyer and still owns the home today.

She previously owned a bay-front home in Key Biscayne, Florida which sold for $8.8 million in 2006. In 2019 took a slight loss on a Beverly Hills home when she sold it for $2.073 million.