Cher was born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946, at 7:25 a.m. Her mother, Georgia Holt (née Jackie Jean Crouch), an aspiring actress and occasional model, is of Cherokee, Irish, German, and English descent. Her father was John Sarkisian, an Armenian refugee. Cher's mother and father separated when she was young and she was raised primarily by her mother. The early days for Cher and her mother were often difficult financially and led to Georgia placing Cher in foster care for a brief time as a child. However, Cher was enamored of seeing her mother on stage and dreamed of one day becoming famous. Later, Georgia was able to provide her daughter with acting lessons to help guide her career. In those years Cher had a relationship with the actor Warren Beatty. Due to severe, undiagnosed dyslexia, she left Fresno High School at the age of sixteen.

Cheryl Sarkisian LaPierre  is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author and entertainer. Among her many accomplishments in music, television, and film, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.

Cher first rose to prominence in 1965 as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher. She also established herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 25 albums, numerous compilations and tallying 22 Billboard Top 40 entries over her career. These include twelve Top 10 singles and five number one singles. According to the Guiness Book of British Hit Singles, in the UK Cher had 12 top ten hits, including three number one singles between 1965 and 2003.

She became a successful television star in the 1970s, and a well-regarded film actress in the 1980s. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

In a career that has now surpassed 40 years, Cher has established herself as a legendary pop culture icon and one of the most popular female artists in music history. Since her debut in 1964 Cher has sold over 180 million records. She has been estimated at selling over 70 million singles worldwide solo. Cher is considered one of the biggest-selling artists of all time.