Category:
Richest Celebrities › Singers
Net Worth:
$360 Million
Birthdate:
May 20, 1946 (78 years old)
Birthplace:
El Centro
Gender:
Female
Height:
5 ft 8 in (1.74 m)
Profession:
Record producer, Singer, Actor, Songwriter, Entrepreneur, Fashion designer, Model, Dancer, Film director, Comedian
Nationality:
United States of America
Cher is an American singer, actress, and television personality who has a net worth of $360 million. Cher is widely regarded as a cultural icon with a career spanning multiple decades. To date, 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. Her name is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as part of the Sonny & Cher duo.
After establishing herself as one-half of the groovy, drug-free music duo known as Sonny & Cher in the mid-60s, she went on to become a sensation on television as well, co-starring on the popular “Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” and then her own show, “Cher,” into the ’70s. She then found fame appearing in her own shows in Las Vegas before opportunities on the big screen lured her back to Hollywood. Her return proved quite successful, and she went on to appear in a number of high-profile films throughout the ’80s, including “Silkwood,” “Mask,” “The Witches of Eastwick,” and “Moonstruck.” She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in “Moonstruck.” She began burning up the music charts again almost immediately with her hit album, “Heart of Stone.” Cher is the only artist to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a Golden Globe (she’s won three), and a Best Actress honor at Cannes, as well as the only musical artist to have had a #1 song on the “Billboard” charts every decade of the last sixty years.
Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California. 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.
Cher 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 its success propelled Cher into stardom.
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 signed with Liberty Records’ Imperial imprint in 1964, releasing the albums “All I Really Want to Do” (1965), “The Sonny Side of Cher” (1966), and “Chr” (1966). Her 1966 single “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” 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 her 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.
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. Director Robert Altman cast her in the Broadway production “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean” in 1976, and she played 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 to star in films such as “Mask” (1985), “The Witches of Eastwick” (1987), “Moonstruck” (1987), “Mermaids” (1990), “Tea with Mussolini” (1999) and “Burlesque” (2010). She also played Ruby Sheridan in “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again” (2018) and lent her voice to roles in “Zookeeper” (2011) and “Bobbleheads: The Movie” (2020).
Well-known for her 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 infomercials 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.
Cher has been very philanthropic over her career, having supported endeavors to help children, soldiers, veterans, and the environment. She has engaged with Habitat for Humanity, and her very own The Cher Charitable Foundation supports international projects such as the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Helmet, and the Children’s Craniofacial Association.
Cher married Sonny Bono officially in 1969, shortly after she gave birth to their child Chaz Bono (born Chastity Bono) in March of 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 nine 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.
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 with Sonny Bono was sold in September 2016 for $90 million.
In 2006, Cher paid $4.5 million for a condo in a famous LA building called Sierra Towers. She and her designer remodeled it to look like a Buddhist paradise. The condo features high ceilings, arched entryways, Bell Jar ceiling fixtures, and a range of “Eastern” touches. The condo is two stories, and the walls were removed from the twelve-room interior to create two massive open-plan floors. There is also a large outdoor terrace which provides gorgeous views of the city. Cher listed this unit for sale in February 2015 and ultimately accepted $5.25 million. Prior to Cher owning this unit, it had at one point been owned by David Geffen.
For most of the last three decades, Cher’s primary 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 13,000 square-foot main house, tennis court, pool and guest house. Cher bought the undeveloped plot of land for $2.95 million in 1989. It took five years to complete construction. Construction was officially over in 1999.
Cher first listed her Malibu mansion for sale in August 2008, shortly before the real estate crisis, for $45 million. In October 2022, she listed the home for sale once again, this time for a whopping $85 million. She reduced the price to $75 million in March 2023.
Cher previously owned a bay-front home in Key Biscayne, Florida, which sold for $8.8 million in 2006. In 2019, she took a slight loss on a Beverly Hills home when she sold it for $2.073 million.
