JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Cher Admits She Had No Idea What Her Real Name Was for Years, and Was Left 'Shocked' After Learning What It Really Was
In the upcoming memoir, Cher revealed what her mother had originally named her and how the revelation left her “shocked.” The singer shared why she decided to legally change her name to Cher. Deets!
Cher was oblivious to her real name for years! The singer made a shocking revelation in her new self-titled memoir about the time she decided to legally change her name to Cher. The Grammy winner wrote in Cher: The Memoir, Part One that she believed "Cherilyn was [her] name," but her birth certificate listed it as "Cheryl."
Upon discovering her real name, she spoke to her mother, Georgia Holt, but her mother asked the singer to “give [her] a break.” Georgia, who was also an actress until her death in 2022, told her daughter that she was a teenager and in a lot of “pain” when she gave birth to Cher in 1946.
“My mother had no idea [what to name me], but the [nurse] insisted, so she replied, ‘Well, Lana Turner’s my favorite actress, and her little girl’s called Cheryl,’” the singer wrote in her book. “My mother’s name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?” she added.
However, the Strong Enough singer was officially registered as Cheryl, and in 1979, she opted to shorten her name to just Cher, dropping the four surnames of her father, John Paul Sarkisian; her stepfather, Gilbert LaPiere; and her ex-husbands, Gregg Allman and Sonny Bono.
During her appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the singer explained that she made the change to reduce confusion among people. Rather than wondering how to address her as “Mrs. Allman, or Mrs. Bono, or Mrs. Bono Allman, or whatever,” people could simply call her Cher. “It’s better for me,” she admitted.
Apart from the light-hearted memories, Cher also dug deep into her vulnerable moments, including her complicated first marriage to Sonny Bono. The singer revealed that she felt suicidal and “dizzy” with loneliness throughout her marriage. But thinking about her mother, sister, and millions of fans, she kept going until they split in 1975.
In her memoir, Cher also shared details about her painful breakup with Top Gun star Val Kilmer. She opened up about losing her virginity, describing the incident as “revenge sex” after a neighborhood boy “ditched” her after a kiss.
Latest Articles
