Cher

Cher, the pop culture institution who grew up with the name Cherilyn Sarkisian, has a marvelous singing voice and has employed that voice in a range of musical genres. Her life had a challenging beginning. Her father, John Sarkisian was a truck-driving Armenian immigrant with a gambling habit who split the scene shortly after Cher's birth. Her mother married and divorced many times while leading her family through a very nomadic lifestyle. Cher started dreaming of a star's life after seeing Disney's Dumbo. In the mid-1960s she emerged as part of a duo with her new husband, Sonny Bono, and their album All I Really Want to Do reached the billboard top 20. Since her divorce from Bono a decade later, Cher has been known as a solo artist (and as a very successful actress). She cut her 19th studio album, Heart of Stone, in 1989. It included “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and a duet with Peter Cetera, “After All.” She has won two Oscars and numerous Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards.