Cher, the legendary singer and actress, has revealed a surprising detail about her past: for years, she didn’t know her real name. In her newly released memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the star shares her shock upon learning that her birth name wasn’t what she believed.
The Grammy-winning artist explained that when she decided to legally change her name to simply “Cher” in 1979, she discovered that her birth certificate listed her as “Cheryl” — not “Cherilyn,” the name she thought was hers.
Cher recounted a conversation with her late mother, Georgia Holt, about the mix-up. Holt, who gave birth to Cher as a teenager in May 1946, admitted she was overwhelmed at the time.
“My mother didn’t know what to name me, but the nurse pressured her to decide,” Cher wrote. “She told the nurse, ‘Lana Turner’s daughter is called Cheryl, and my mom’s name is Lynda, so let’s go with Cherilyn.’ But I was officially registered as Cheryl.”
The revelation came decades later when Cher dropped her last names, including those from her father, John Paul Sarkisian, stepfather Gilbert LaPiere, and ex-husbands Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman.
Speaking on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson in 1979, Cher said, “I like it better this way. People don’t have to wonder whether to call me Mrs. Bono, Mrs. Allman, or something else. Just Cher works.”
Her memoir also delves into other deeply personal stories, including her tumultuous relationships with Bono and Allman. She candidly discusses the challenges of her marriages and details moments of heartbreak, such as being the only one of her ex-partners ever dumped by actor Val Kilmer.
Cher also shares the story of her virginity loss, describing it as a case of “revenge sex” after being snubbed by a neighborhood boy. “When it was over, I told him, ‘Is that it? Are we finished?’ Then I sent him home and never spoke to him again,” she wrote.
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