Cher: That’s why the pop icon still looks so youthful


Pop icon Cher is 75 years old. Over the years, the singer has acquired the nimbus of timelessness. That’s how she did it.

Ageless. There is no other way. In theory, even a megastar like Cher is getting on in years, but in practical terms she is not allowed to get older or even old, because, as she herself says, “the truth is that getting old is the same in my job is like extinction “. Who would want that? She will be 75 years old on May 20th. That’s pretty old for a pop star, but certainly not for Cher, because over the years she has acquired the nimbus of timelessness.

“Pop music has proven itself as medicine for Cher”, wrote the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” in 2019 and continued: “After an eventful past, the lady on contemporary pop stages does not look outdated or ridiculous, but relaxed and glamorous. When the spotlights ensnare her, she shines all over her face, framed by blonde, red or black wigs. The cheeks and the long bridge of the nose are made up as cleanly as the kissing lips sprayed on cover up natural decay. “

Cher sees itself as a “total work of art”

That was two years ago, since then nothing serious has happened visually at Cher. Even when it comes to cosmetic surgery, she remains extremely calm. In contrast to famous colleagues, she does not deny any of the many interventions with which she had her body shaped: skin tightening, new nose and lips, new chin, smooth neck, smooth legs, tight stomach, large breasts and so on.

She is said to have gone under the knife about thirty times and allegedly paid half a million US dollars for them. That and an intensive fitness training were part of her self-realization. The blasphemy over it left her cold. “And if I have my breasts put on my back, that’s my business,” she said.

The pop icon sees itself as a “total work of art”. She worked hard all her life on its inner and outer perfection. In her biography “The First Time” she wrote that she wanted to be a star from an early age, a famous Cher. “When I was four or five we saw the cartoons ‘Dumbo the Flying Elephant’ and ‘Cinderella'”, she told the “Spiegel” in 2018. Her mother replied: “Child, you cannot become Dumbo, but you can become Cinderella.”

Great career in music

A girl and a dream. Cherilyn Sarkisian comes from the small Californian town of El Centro near the border with Mexico. The father is of Armenian descent, the mother has German, French, Irish and English roots, among others. The family is said to have lived in poverty.

At the age of 16, a chubby at the time, she left home. At 18, she married the musician Sonny Bono (1935-1998), who was nine years older than her and who founded the duo Sonny and Cher with her. At 19 she had her first world hit with Sonny: “I Got You Babe” (1965), followed by other successes with “Baby Don’t Go” (1965), “Little Man” (1966) and “The Beat Goes On” (1968).

At that time, in the mid-1960s, Cher appeared as a solo singer and promptly landed number one hits, such as “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” (1966). Her long, black hair, her thick eyeliner and bell-bottoms become her trademark, Cher lands on the cover of “Vogue”.

But her marriage to Sonny Bono is a catastrophe, followed by divorce in 1975. In the time after that, Sonny tries unsuccessfully to get the millions that Cher has earned as a solo artist. Courts reject his complaints. And she makes a great career with worldwide shows and appearances in Las Vegas – as well as in Hollywood: Cher becomes a movie star.

Breakthrough in Hollywood

She is shooting “Die Hexen von Eastwick” (1987) with Jack Nicholson (84), Michelle Pfeiffer (63) and Susan Sarandon (74), plays with Meryl Streep (71) and Kurt Russell (70) in “Silkwood” ( 1983) and shines alongside Nicolas Cage (57) in the comedy “Mondsüchtig” (1987), for which she won the Oscar for best actress in 1988. At the awards ceremony, she wears a see-through black outfit that Hollywood still whispers about today.

She is now at the summit – a world star in pop culture and film. And again she reinvents herself on her musical comeback. Their wonderful dark timbre is slightly alienated by the auto-tune software. The songs “Believe” (1998) and “Strong Enough” (1999) become worldwide hits. This is followed by tours and appearances in Las Vegas, where she is said to have earned over $ 200 million from 2008 to 2011.

Cher and the men

Her horror of poverty remains a nightmare as Cher is one of the richest women in showbiz. She reportedly owns over 20 properties, including villas in Malibu, Miami and Aspen, apartments in West Hollywood and London, and lots in France and New Zealand. Her art collection is valued at nearly $ 200 million and her net worth is $ 620 million, according to Forbes magazine.

The number of their husbands is also impressive. In 1998 Sonny Bono had a fatal accident while skiing. With him she has son Chaz Bono, who was called Chastity until 2010, when he undertook a gender reassignment. After marrying Sonny Bono, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman (1947-2017) in 1975. This marriage was also short-lived.

Numerous love intermezzi followed, among others with the actors Val Kilmer (61) and Warren Beatty (84), the musicians Eric Clapton (76), Tommy Lee (58), Gene Simmons (71) from Kiss, and Richie Sambora (61) from Bon Jovi and Michael Bolton (68).

Your mother stayed just as young

Those days are obviously over. Today she says: “I would rather go to bed with a good book than with a man.” Cher lives completely healthy, no alcohol and no drugs at all. Your fountain of youth is music. At the age of 72 she recorded the album “Dancing Queen” (2018) with cover versions of ABBA songs.

And she did a song with her mother Georgia Holt in 2013. She is 94 years old and recently made her comeback as a country singer. You don’t see her age either, she could easily pass as Cher’s younger sister – or vice versa. This will remain so. Should there ever be a nuclear disaster, Cher says in interviews, only cockroaches would survive – and she herself.

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