Amazing Singer Had To Overcome A Learning Disability As A Little Girl To Become An Icon Known Throughout The World

Sep 20, 2023 by apost team

Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian, is 77 but shows no signs of stopping. Regarded as the goddess of pop, she is renowned for her talent and powerful contralto voice, which makes her stand out among others and helped her sustain a career in what was once a male-dominated industry. Few singers have embodied female autonomy in the industry like her.

Cher stepped into the spotlight in 1965 alongside her ex-husband, Sonny Bono, when the duo, known together as Sonny & Cher, released their song “I Got You Babe.” Following this, she released her first solo singles, including “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” and “You Better Sit Down Kids.”

She is the only artist in the world with a single in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart in the past six decades. Some of her top singles include “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” “Half-Breed,” and “Dark Lady,” and she pioneered the use of auto-tune in her 1998 album “Believe,” a development now known as the “Cher effect.”  

Cher also ventured into acting in the 1970s, starting with the CBS series “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour,” which established her as a force. Per Elle, Meryl Streep said of the singer’s aura: 

“You couldn’t watch (Cher’s) show and not recognize her natural talent as an actress. She made everybody else on TV look like they were trying too hard, pushing. She was so immediate, free, and she was canny about landing the jokes. Skilled, but it was invisible.”

She also starred in films like “Silkwood,” “Mask,” and “Moonstruck,” which earned her an Academy Award. She has also received a Grammy, an Emmy and three Golden Globe Awards. However, Cher’s rise to fame wasn’t a walk in the park, as she had to combat dyslexia to become a world-class singer. Keep reading to see her transformation. 

Cher was born to Georgia Holt, an aspiring actress, and her first husband, John Sarkisian. Despite being married six times to five men, Holt raised the singer and her half-sister, Georganne LaPiere, mostly as a single mom. 

Cher dropped out of high school at 16 because of her dyslexia. She had difficulty keeping up and has stated that her teachers simply concluded she wasn’t trying enough, especially since her diagnosis came much later in life. 

According to the NHS, “Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.” However, dyslexia, also known as a reading disability, doesn’t affect one’s intelligence, and people with the condition are often highly creative. 

Cher’s dyslexia also affected her when she tried to memorize scripts. Nevertheless, she found her way around it. She disclosed that she would usually read them slowly before starting to memorize the scripts. Throughout Cher’s struggle with the condition, her mom supported her until her death in 2022, and the singer was vocal about it. She told The Guardian: 

“My mom was my biggest fan. She said (dyslexia) doesn’t matter, school is not important. And I said: ‘Yeah Mom, but I can’t even see numbers – they look like little scratchy things to me.’ She said: ‘When you grow up, you’re going to have somebody else to do numbers for you.’”

As her mom predicted, Cher got people to do numbers for her when she became a star. However, before then, someone manipulated the numbers and made her lose everything she worked for for 11 years. Cher was 16 when she met her first husband, 27-year-old Sonny Bono, and the two soon became a musical duo and got married. She had the voice while he wrote the songs. 

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Bono also founded Cher Enterprises in her name, but she later discovered that he owned 95 percent of it while their lawyer owned the remaining 5 percent. Cher walked away with nothing but a $2 million debt for breaking a contract with the enterprise. 

However, Cher was determined and started all over. Her transformation over the years has been a huge part of her career. From being the girl who struggled to learn and memorize scripts, Cher became known as a fashion icon and an excellent singer and actress. 

Cher served many iconic looks in her music videos and on red carpets. From her legendary Oscars gown — black and sheer and dripping with beads, designed by her long-time friend and designer, Bob Mackie — to the colorful eyeshadows and long eyelashes, she revolutionized fashion in many ways. 

“Bob doesn’t make anything that shouldn’t be in a museum,” Cher told Allure of Mackie’s work. 

She was also known for dating younger men, including Rob Camilletti, popularly referred to as Bagel Boy, and actor Tom Cruise, whom she met at a White House ceremony to honor prominent people with Dyslexia. 

“We had a weird relationship,” Cher explained of her and Cruise’s relationship. “I don’t expect anybody to understand it.” 

Today, Cher and Cruise have made names for themselves. Cher has entertained generations for decades but says she doesn’t feel like an icon yet. 

“In my mind, an icon has always got to be old to be iconic. I can’t think (I’m) old yet,” she told Allure in 2022. 

She indeed shows no sign of stopping yet as she is set to release her first holiday album, which she promised features duets with many unnamed artists, according to Billboard. On Instagram, she teased, “Are you spending Christmas with me?” Her fans will surely be counting down to the holidays. 

What do you think of Cher’s journey through the years? Which of her songs do you enjoy most? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to fans of the singer and actress.