Crossword Dictionary

Cher

Cher, byname of Cherilyn Sarkisian, (born May 20, 1946, El Centro, California, U.S.) is an 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 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.” Cher’s enduring popularity was evident with a successful (and elaborate) Las Vegas residency from 2008 to 2011. In 2017 she began another concert residency, in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Her later albums included Closer to the Truth (2013). In 2018 Cher was named a Kennedy Center honoree.