Cher's Surprising Name Revelation in Her Memoir
In her newly released memoir "Cher: The Memoir, Part One," Cher shares a surprising discovery about her birth name. The Oscar- and Grammy-winning star recounts that in 1979, while applying to legally change her name, she was "shocked" to learn her first name on her birth certificate was listed as Cheryl, not Cherilyn, the name she had believed to be hers all along.
Cher explains that her late mother, Georgia Holt, was only 19 when Cher was born in 1946. Exhausted after labor, Holt responded on a whim when asked about the baby’s name, combining inspiration from actress Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl and her own mother Lynda to form Cherilyn.
After discovering the discrepancy, Cher confronted her mother, who humorously replied, “I was a teenager and in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”
In 1979, Cher legally changed her name to the single moniker she’s famously known by today, shedding her first name and four surnames, including those of her father, stepfather, and two ex-husbands.
"Cher: The Memoir, Part One" was published on November 19 and is available now.
