Cher - Topic

American pop singer/actress Cherilyn Sarkisian, better known as Cher, was born in El Centro, California on May 20, 1946. Her first taste of success came as part of the husband/wife duo of Sonny & Cher in the late 1960s. The duo had a hit single entitled "I Got You Babe" and had a successful run with a nationally televised variety show called The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Internal strife in the family led to a divorce, which set Cher out on her own to pursue a solo career with her golden voice in tow. After a series of hit singles that included "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" (1971), "Half-Breed" (1973) and "Dark Lady" (1974), Cher would spend some time touring and looking at possible movie offers. In 1982, She would make her first appearance in a major Hollywood film with the release of "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean". In 1983, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the highly acclaimed "Silkwood", starring opposite Hollywood legends Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. Other major roles came in the films "Mask" (1985), "Suspect" (1987), "The Witches of Eastwick" with Jack Nicholson (1987) and "Moonstruck" (1987) opposite Nicholas Cage, for which Cher won an Academy Award for Best Actress. In the early 1990s, Cher again changed her focus back to recording and touring. With the use of provocative lyrics and costumes, she began to get a reputation for controversy and became a true diva. In 1998, she resurrected her singing career with the album Believe, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart with the titled single hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100. Her career continues strong based the 2013 release of Closer to the Truth (2013), which peaked at No. 3.