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Most people know Cher’s voice, her iconic looks, and her decades of hit records. Far fewer know that she was briefly placed in a Catholic home for orphaned children as an infant, that her biological father sued her for $4 million, and that she is turning 80 years old in May 2026 while still in a relationship with a 39-year-old music executive. Cher’s father is John Paul Sarkisian, an Armenian-American truck driver and World War II veteran who died on January 28, 1985, having spent most of Cher’s life absent from it.
Born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California, Cher is 79 years old right now and turns 80 this month. This article covers her biological father, her stepfather John Southall, her mother Georgia Holt, her real name, her two husbands, her children, and exactly where she stands in May 2026.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Cherilyn Sarkisian |
| Stage Name | Cher |
| Date of Birth | May 20, 1946 |
| Age (2026) | 79 years old (turning 80 in May 2026) |
| Birthplace | El Centro, California, USA |
| Zodiac Sign | Taurus |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Armenian, Cherokee, Native American, English, Irish, German |
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) |
| Biological Father | John Paul Sarkisian (died January 28, 1985) |
| Stepfather | John Southall (actor) |
| Mother | Georgia Holt (died December 10, 2022) |
| Half Sister | Georganne LaPiere |
| First Husband | Sonny Bono (married 1964, divorced 1975) |
| Second Husband | Gregg Allman (married 1975, divorced 1979) |
| Current Partner | Alexander “AE” Edwards (together since 2022) |
| Children | Chaz Bono (son, born 1969), Elijah Blue Allman (son, born 1976) |
| Net Worth (2026) | Estimated $360 million |
| Profession | Singer, Actress, TV Host, Director, Activist |
| Notable Awards | Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Golden Globe |
Who Is Cher’s Father?
Cher grew up with two father figures, neither of whom stayed. Her biological father was largely absent, and the stepfather she actually loved disappeared after a few years. That pattern of male absence shaped her childhood, her ambition, and the woman she became.
Her mother, Georgia Holt, held everything together through seven marriages, dozens of jobs, and circumstances that would have broken most people. Cher has always been clear about who the real anchor of her life is.
Cher’s Biological Father: John Paul Sarkisian
John Paul Sarkisian was an Armenian-American born in Oakland, California. He served in the US Army during World War II and later worked as a truck driver in California. He married Georgia Holt on June 22, 1945, in Reno, Nevada, when Georgia was already pregnant with Cher.
The marriage was unstable from the start. John Paul struggled with gambling, alcohol, and drug addiction. He was an unreliable partner and an absent father. Georgia and John divorced when Cher was just ten months old. They attempted to reconcile twice, remarried, and divorced again. Neither attempt lasted.
Cher did not have a consistent relationship with him throughout her childhood. She first met him face-to-face at age 11. She has described looking into his dark eyes and feeling an immediate sense of her Armenian heritage, a powerful moment of recognition without real connection.
The relationship never stabilized. Their encounters as adults were rare and often tense. In 1975, John Paul sued Cher and two magazines for $4 million, claiming she had publicly described him as a criminal and damaged his reputation. That lawsuit captures the full dysfunction of their bond more clearly than any personal account could.
He died on January 28, 1985, in Fresno, California, at age 58. At the time of his death, he was working as a horse breeder at Somerset Farms in Santa Ynez. Their relationship remained unresolved when he passed.
Is Cher’s Father Still Alive?
No. John Paul Sarkisian died on January 28, 1985, when Cher was 38 years old. Her adopted father, Gilbert LaPiere, who legally adopted Cher and her half-sister Georganne after marrying Georgia Holt, also passed away in 2012. Neither of the father figures from her childhood is living.
John Southall: The Father Cher Actually Chose
Despite John Paul Sarkisian being her biological father, Cher has consistently said the man she considered her real father was her mother’s third husband, actor John Southall.
Southall married Georgia Holt and became a stepfather to Cher and later to Georganne LaPiere, born in 1951. Cher formed a genuine paternal attachment to him. She loved having a family structure with him present and has spoken about that period as one of the warmer chapters of her unstable childhood.
Southall was also a heavy drinker. After Georgia divorced him in the mid-1950s, he vanished entirely from their lives.
Cher addressed Southall directly in her 2024 memoir, acknowledging the confusion of calling someone her father who was only present for a few years and then disappeared. She still considers him her father despite the brevity of his presence. His disappearance was consistent with the broader pattern of her early life: men who arrived, created emotional connection, and left.
Cher’s Mother: Georgia Holt
Cher’s mother was Georgia Holt, born Jackie Jean Crouch on June 9, 1926, in Kensett, Arkansas. She was a model, actress, singer, and waitress who spent her life working to keep her family financially stable through seven marriages to six different husbands.
Georgia was just 18 when she gave birth to Cher, navigating poverty, an unstable marriage, and single motherhood in an era that offered women almost no financial or legal protection. She had minor television and film roles in the 1950s and worked as a club singer. She passed her musical talent directly to her daughter.
Cher has spoken about her mother as the central figure of her life, far more important to her than any of the men who cycled through their household. Georgia Holt died on December 10, 2022, at the age of 96. Cher announced her death on social media with the words “Mom is gone,” a simple statement that carried the full weight of everything the two women had shared.
Cher’s Sister: Georganne LaPiere
Cher’s half-sister is Georganne LaPiere, born in 1951 to Georgia Holt and John Southall. The two sisters share their mother but have different fathers.
Georganne is an actress best known for her appearances on General Hospital during the 1970s and 1980s. Cher helped raise Georganne during periods when Georgia was working or managing the chaos of her marriages. Their bond remains one of the most consistent and important relationships in Cher’s personal life.
What Nationality Is Cher, and What Is Her Ethnicity?
Cher is American by nationality. Her ethnicity is one of the most discussed aspects of her background because of its genuinely unusual combination.
Her biological father, John Paul Sarkisian, was Armenian-American, and that heritage gave Cher her striking dark eyes and distinctive features. Her mother, Georgia Holt, carried Cherokee Native American, English, Irish, German, and Dutch ancestry.
The combination of Armenian and Cherokee heritage, along with European roots, produced one of the most distinctive looks in entertainment history. Cher has spoken openly about this background throughout her career and has been a consistent advocate for Armenian genocide recognition, crediting her Armenian roots as a source of personal and political identity.
Cher’s Age Now: Turning 80 in May 2026
Cher was born on May 20, 1946. She is 79 years old right now and turns 80 this month in May 2026. That milestone birthday has generated significant media attention, and for good reason.
She is the only solo artist in history to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in six consecutive decades: the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. No other solo artist has matched that record.
Reports from December 2025 suggested Cher was considering marking her 80th birthday with a possible marriage to Alexander “AE” Edwards. Her team officially denied a confirmed engagement but stopped short of ruling out a future wedding. As of May 2026, no marriage has been formally announced.
Cher’s Husbands: The Full Picture
Sonny Bono
Cher met Salvatore “Sonny” Bono in 1962 at a party in Los Angeles, shortly after dropping out of high school. They married in 1964 and became one of the most iconic musical partnerships in American pop history. Their television variety series, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, dominated American television in the early 1970s.
They divorced in 1975 after 11 years together. Sonny Bono later became a Republican Congressman representing California and died on January 5, 1998, after hitting a tree while skiing in Nevada.
Gregg Allman
Just four days after her divorce from Sonny was finalized in 1975, Cher married Gregg Allman, lead vocalist of the Allman Brothers Band. The marriage lasted four years before ending in divorce in 1979. Gregg Allman died on May 27, 2017, after a long battle with liver cancer.
Alexander “AE” Edwards in 2026
Cher is not currently married. She is in a relationship with Alexander “AE” Edwards, a 39-year-old music executive at Universal Music Group who has collaborated with artists including Billie Eilish, Post Malone, and Tyga.
They met at Paris Fashion Week in September 2022 and went public that November. Their 40-year age gap drew immediate public commentary, which Cher has consistently dismissed. In a November 2025 CBS Mornings interview with Gayle King, she said simply that nobody knows what goes on between them, that they have a blast together, and that she loves him. The couple appeared together publicly at the Valentino event at Studio 54 during New York Fashion Week in September 2025.
Cher’s Children
Cher has two sons from her two marriages.
Chaz Bono, born in 1969 to Sonny Bono, came out as a transgender man in 2009. Cher has publicly supported Chaz throughout his transition and speaks about him with consistent pride and love. He is now an actor and activist with his own public career.
Elijah Blue Allman, born in 1976 with Gregg Allman, is a musician and was the lead vocalist of the rock band Deadsy. In 2023, Cher filed for conservatorship over Elijah due to concerns about his well-being. The legal effort generated significant public controversy before eventually being resolved.
What Is Cher’s Real Name?
Cher’s real name is Cherilyn Sarkisian. She was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California.
After her stepfather, Gilbert LaPiere, legally adopted her and her half-sister, she briefly used the surname LaPiere. When she began performing with Sonny Bono in the early 1960s, she started using simply “Cher,” and that single-name identity became one of the most recognizable in entertainment history.
Cher in 2026: Life Right Now
Cher’s public presence in May 2026 shows no signs of slowing down at 79.
In November 2025, she appeared on CBS Mornings and spoke openly about her relationship with Alexander Edwards, her approach to aging, and her continued passion for performing. She and Edwards attended the Valentino event at Studio 54 during New York Fashion Week in September 2025 and continue to be seen publicly together.
Her 80th birthday in May 2026 has generated substantial media coverage. Multiple sources in late 2025 reported she was considering a wedding to Alexander Edwards around the milestone. Her team denied a formal engagement but gave no firm denial of a future marriage.
One significant personal loss in 2025 was the death of Val Kilmer in April 2025. Kilmer died at age 65 after years of health issues. Cher had spoken previously about being deeply in love with him and heartbroken when that relationship ended. His passing in 2025 closed one of the most emotional chapters of her personal history.
The One Thing Most Cher Articles Get Wrong
Most coverage of Cher focuses on her career milestones and her age-gap relationship with Alexander Edwards. Very few articles examine the actual foundation of who she is: a child who was temporarily placed in a Catholic home for orphaned infants, whose mother was 18 and broke, whose biological father was absent before she could form memories, and whose chosen father figure disappeared before she was 10.
That childhood is not a footnote to Cher’s career. It is the explanation for it.
The ambition, the refusal to be defined by age or convention, the willingness to reinvent herself across six decades, all of it traces back to a child who learned very early that security does not come from the people around you. It comes from what you build yourself.
Understanding Cher’s father, both the biological one who was largely absent and the stepfather who vanished, is the key to understanding why Cher became Cher.
Little-Known Facts About Cher
- As an infant, Cher was placed in a Catholic home for wayward mothers and orphans. Georgia Holt, struggling financially in Scranton, Pennsylvania, temporarily placed baby Cher with nuns to survive. The nuns reportedly attempted to block Georgia from reclaiming her own child and wanted Cher put up for adoption.
- Cher is the only solo artist in history to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in six consecutive decades, spanning the 1960s through the 2010s. No other solo artist has matched this record.
- John Paul Sarkisian sued Cher for $4 million in 1975, claiming she publicly called him a criminal. Her own biological father filed a defamation lawsuit against her.
- Val Kilmer, one of her most famous ex-boyfriends, died in April 2025 at age 65. Cher had described being madly in love with him and devastated when he ended the relationship.
- Georgia Holt, her mother, was married seven times to six different husbands, twice to Cher’s biological father, John Paul Sarkisian, and five more times to other men across her lifetime.
- Cher won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck in 1988, making her one of the very few entertainers to hold an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe simultaneously.
- She has held a confirmed net worth of approximately $360 million in 2026, built across six decades of music, film, television, and business ventures.
FAQs About Cher
Is Cher’s father still alive?
No. Cher’s biological father, John Paul Sarkisian, died on January 28, 1985, in Fresno, California, at age 58. Her adopted father, Gilbert LaPiere, also passed away in 2012. Neither of her father figures from her childhood is living.
What is Cher’s real name?
Cher’s real name is Cherilyn Sarkisian. She was born under this name on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California, and adopted the single-name identity Cher after beginning her entertainment career with Sonny Bono in the early 1960s.
What ethnicity is Cher?
Cher is of mixed ethnicity. Her biological father was Armenian-American and her mother carried Cherokee Native American, English, Irish, German, and Dutch heritage. This combination of Armenian and Cherokee ancestry defines the core of her widely recognized ethnic background.
How old is Cher in 2026?
Cher is 79 years old in early 2026 and turns 80 in May 2026. She was born on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California.
Who is Cher’s current partner in 2026?
Cher is in a relationship with Alexander “AE” Edwards, a 39-year-old music executive at Universal Music Group. They have been together since late 2022 and continue to appear publicly together in 2026. A possible marriage around her 80th birthday has been widely reported but not officially confirmed.
Who were Cher’s husbands?
Cher has been married twice. Her first husband was Sonny Bono, whom she married in 1964 and divorced in 1975. Her second husband was Gregg Allman, lead vocalist of the Allman Brothers Band, whom she married in 1975 and divorced in 1979. She is not currently married.
Who are Cher’s children?
Cher has two sons. Chaz Bono, born in 1969 with Sonny Bono, is a transgender activist and actor who came out in 2009. Elijah Blue Allman, born in 1976 with Gregg Allman, is a musician and former lead vocalist of the rock band Deadsy.
Who was John Southall?
John Southall was an actor who married Cher’s mother Georgia Holt and became Cher’s stepfather. Cher formed a genuine paternal attachment to him and has said she considers him the father she actually chose. He was a heavy drinker who disappeared entirely after Georgia divorced him in the mid-1950s.
What is Cher’s net worth in 2026?
Cher’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at approximately $360 million, built across six decades of music, film, television, fashion, and business ventures.
Did Cher’s father sue her?
Yes. In 1975, John Paul Sarkisian filed a $4 million defamation lawsuit against Cher and two magazines, claiming she had publicly depicted him as a criminal and damaged his reputation. The lawsuit reflects the deeply dysfunctional nature of their relationship throughout her adult life.
Conclusion
Cher’s story in May 2026 begins exactly where it always has: with a childhood defined by absence, instability, and a mother who refused to quit. Her biological father John Paul Sarkisian was largely a ghost. Her chosen stepfather John Southall disappeared before she turned 10. Her mother Georgia Holt held everything together through seven marriages and a lifetime of hard work.
Out of that foundation, Cherilyn Sarkisian built one of the most remarkable careers in American entertainment history. As she turns 80 this month, she does so as the only solo artist to top Billboard charts across six consecutive decades, as a woman still in an active relationship, and as someone who turned every absence in her early life into fuel for something that has now lasted longer than most people’s entire careers.
She is not slowing down. That should surprise no one who understands where she started.
For broader context on Cher’s career and cultural impact, visit the relevant entry on Wikipedia.