half-breed

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946 and raised in El Centro, California. Her parents passed on their exotic looks with their mixed backgrounds of Armenian, Cherokee , English and French. Fame came in 1965 with the musical duo Sonny & Cher and their overnight smash single "I Got You Babe". It is said that Cher was extremely shy at this point in her career and masked her stage fright with wise cracks at Sonny and by wearing outlandish outfits.
By 1966 Cher was known as a trendsetter, popularizing long straight hair, heavy eyeliner, bell-bottoms and an exposed midriff. She is noted by fashion designers and television historians as being the first female to ever expose her bellybutton on television. Her unique fashions and costumes kept people tuning in to The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and made her a household name. In the early 70's she started her musical solo career and her divorce with Sony soon followed. By 1975, she broke off into her own special-The Cher Show. During the late seventies Cher became well known for sporting a Cherokee inspired look and putting designer Bob Mackie on the map.
By 1980, Cher had married & divorced Gregg Allman and had their son. She had also moved from a recording artist and stage performer into acting. Besides being a lifetime fashion plate and style icon she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is also the only female recording artist to have Top 10 hits in every decade of her career and the oldest female artist to reach number one. Not too shabby for a shy girl that grew out of Sonny Bono's shadow.