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Cher officially changed her name and dropped all four of her surnames in 1979, but what some may not realize is that the singer discovered something about herself in the process.
In her memoir, "Cher: The Memoir, Part One," which was published on Tuesday, November 19, the 78-year-old singer revealed that she grew up thinking her name was Cherilyn for part of her life when it was actually Cheryl.
The Grammy Award winning singer explained that she was "shocked" to learn of her real name when she finally "decided to legally change [her] name to simply Cher." She also went on to share that when she questioned her mother Georgia Holt about her discovery, and was told to "Give [her mother] a break," and that Georgia "was only a teenager, and [she] was in a lot of pain," when she gave birth to Cher in May 1946.
The "Goddess of pop" also noted that her mother "had no idea [what to name her], but the [nurse] insisted so she replied, 'Well, Lana Turner's my favorite actress and her little girl's called Cheryl. My mother's name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?'" In the end, her name was officially registered as Cheryl.
Cher, who used to carry the surname of her father John Paul Sarkisian, stepfather Gilbert LaPiere, and ex-husbands Gregg Allman and Sonny Bono, talked about her name change with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show back in 1979. "It's better for me than having people wonder if they should call me Mrs. Allman or Mrs. Bono or Mrs. Bono Allman or Miss Cher or whatever," Cher said.
The singer's revealing memoir also revealed some details about her marriages, specifically alleging that Sonny Bono – who she was married to from 1964 to 1975 – was "abusive." She also wrote about her ex Gregg Allman's notorious struggles with drugs while she was expecting their child.
Cher is mother to, Chaz Bono, 55, whom she shared with Sonny, and Elijah Blue Allman, 48, whom she shared with Gregg.
While fans can read the first part of the super-star's memoir now, they can expect part two to be released in 2025, according to People.
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