Today (May 20) Hollywood star Cher celebrates her 75th birthday, so here’s some trivia on the stunning Oscar-winning actress and singer.
Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, the daughter of a lorry driver who had drink and drug problems. She was named after actress Lana Turner’s daughter, Cheryl, who in 1958 stabbed her mum’s gangster boyfriend to death.
Both Cher’s parents, father John Sarkisian and mother Georgia Holt, were married five times – twice to each other.
Cher lost her virginity when she was 14 to an older Italian boy who lived next door but she was not impressed and, after they had done the deed, told him to never speak to her again.
(Image: Mondadori via Getty Images)
Sonny Bono met Cher in November 1962 while in a café on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
I Got You Babe was written by Sonny Bono late one night in 1965 while Cher was in bed. He woke her to sing the lyrics but she hated the song and went back to sleep. I Got You Babe sold more than a million copies.
(Image: Getty Images)
Sonny and Cher told the press they had married on October 27, 1964 but in fact they did not tie the knot until 1969 when she was pregnant with their daughter, Chastity.
In 1978, Cher was so fed up with being identified by the surnames of her father, stepfather and husbands, that she legally changed her name to just Cher.
(Image: Getty Images)
In February 1982, Cher took a $345,000-a-week pay cut to go from a Las Vegas residency to appear in the play Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean on Broadway.
Cher has sold more than 100million records as a solo artist and as part of a duo.
To date, Cher is the only singer to have a No1 single on a Billboard chart in six consecutive decades – 1960s to the 2010s.
Sonny and Cher have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1983, Cher was also awarded a solo star but lost the honour because she didn’t arrange the required personal appearance.
More recently, Cher hit the headlines after she fought tirelessly to free an elephant in Pakistan through adoption.
In a rescue bid, she sent her own representative Mark Cowne overseas to help the animal who was dubbed “the world’s loneliest elephant”.
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Cher first became aware of 29-year-old Kaavan’s plight after pictures of the chained elephant in poor living conditions surfaced online.
During the visit, Cher tweeted: “Mark got Kaavan water, shade and unchained.
“Mark is trying everything to free him.”
Thanks to Cher’s assistance the elephant named Kaavan was freed and taken to a sanctuary in Cambodia.
A documentary – Cher & The Loneliest Elephant – was released earlier this year which followed her mission.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
