Cher shares a surprising moment from her storied life in her recently released memoir, “Cher: The Memoir, Part One.” The iconic singer and actress reveals that she was taken aback to learn that her birth name was actually Cheryl, despite her lifelong belief that she was named Cherilyn.
In the memoir, Cher recounts the story of how this name discrepancy arose. After her birth in 1946, her mother, Georgia Holt, was exhausted from labor and ended up misnaming her. When a nurse came in to inquire about the baby’s name, Holt, who was just 19 at the time, jokingly combined her favorite actress Lana Turner’s daughter’s name and her own mother’s name, responding with “Cherilyn.”
Years later, when Cher decided to officially change her name to simply “Cher,” she confronted her mother about the mix-up. Holt’s candid reply highlighted her young age and the pain she was experiencing at the time. Cher ultimately embraced her new identity, shortening her first name and dropping her four surnames, including those from her fathers and ex-husbands.
“Cher: The Memoir, Part One” was released on November 19 and is now available for fans and readers who wish to delve deeper into Cher’s remarkable journey.
This revelation underscores the sometimes unexpected twists in the life of a superstar and highlights the human aspect of Cher’s story, reminding fans that even the most famous personalities have unique and relatable experiences in their backgrounds. Cher’s transition to her iconic mononym signifies not only a personal choice but also a powerful assertion of her identity in the entertainment world.