Born in El Centro, California in 1946, Cher was a poor, fatherless child whose eight times-married Motherstruggled by on occasional singing gigs and brief movie roles. To Cher this was life and she delighted in watching her mother on stage and living a peaceful life in her family apartment. At sixteen Cher's dyslexia proved too gruelling and she left school and home to take acting lessons in Los Angeles. To Cher this was a new beginning and the start of a whole new life, she didn't expect what was to come. At the age of seventeen, Cher will never forget the time she met a man named Sonny. They met at the renowned Aldo's Coffee Shop, the place where celebrities used to hang out. At that stage Cher was a nobody, unemployed and desperate for work, on the other hand Sonny had established himself as a celebrity and had many previous appearances on Television. Cher soon became attached to Sonny and she moved in with him. The two lived platonically at first, sharing an apartment but sleeping in twin beds. While Sonny progressed as a star, Cher was kept house bound and it wasn't until Cher's mother discovered the arrangement and tried to separate them, that the pair rebelled and proclaimed their love. Cher claims in her current Biography "The First Time", that Sonny Bono was the ultimate love of her life and that the two remained amicable in personal st ruggles and hardships. Cher said, "What you saw on TV with Sonny and Cher was a good representation of our personal life, always laughing and having fun".

Sonny and Cher hit gold with their single, "I've got you babe" and furthered their world-wide success with "The
Beat Goes On" and "Baby Don' t Go". It was Sonny and Cher's far-out look, with wide colourful pants, skimpy tops, shaggy hair and fur vests, which attracted fans. Cher was deemed as a fashion innovator, a role she has continued with, for better or worse, throughout her career. The happy family portrait presented to America and the world was soon breaking down for Cher. She tells how her daughter Chastity, born in 1969 was affected by intense spotlight and that family life was becoming hectic and unstable . On stage Cher was calm, but backstage was turbulent and Cher felt trapped. Cher states in her biography, "The only way I could continue life happily was to split with Sonny and bring our show to a premature end." She continues, "This devastated our fans, as well as CBS executives, but it had to be done, I was simply, unhappy with my life." In the end stardom pulled Cher's marriage down and the media attention on Cher sky rocketed as she dated new men. Cher now knows that she has made many mistakes in her life. "I was stupid" she said in her biography, "Dumb and stupid!". Cher had agreed to a second season of Sonny and Cher.

Sonny Bono rang Cher constantly to set up a reunion and Cher agreed eventually. Although something was different this time, Cher was married and pregnant to, southern rock great Greg Allman. Intense curiosity sparkedhuge initial ratings for the new Sonny and Cher Comedy hour, but Cher knew that the show wouldn't last as ratings dropped every week. Finally in August 1977, after two seasons the show got the ax for good.