Cher recently revealed that she was “shocked” to find out what her real name was when she went to legally change her name.
In her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the music icon, 78, recalled discovering there was a mix-up on the birth certificate at the hospital when she was born.
She said she believed her name was Cherilyn for many years before legally changing it to her nickname Cher.
The Pop Goddess, who said her late ex-husband Sonny Bono would “like” how she would portray him in her new memoir, explained in her story: “I thought Cherilyn was my name until the day, years later, I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher.’
He said he was surprised when he found out her name was Cheryl.
Cher explained that the mix-up occurred at the hospital when her mother, who was just 19 at the time, went into labor a month before her due date.
Cher recently revealed that she was “shocked” to find out what her real name was when she went to legally change her name; photographed on October 15 in New York City
In 1946, she said, her mother Georgia Holt also went through a long, unmedicated labor.
“When I arrived, around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, May 20, I was exhausted,” Cher wrote in her memoir.
She said that when her mother was recovering after giving birth, a nurse asked her name.
That’s when the misunderstanding occurred.
“My mom had no idea, but the woman insisted and said, ‘Well, Lana Turner is my favorite actress and her little girl’s name is Cheryl.’ My mother’s name is Lynda, so what about Cherilyn?’
The Grammy winner legally changed her full name to Cher in the late ’70s, dropping all four of her last names: her birth name, Sarkisian, plus the last names of her stepfather Gilbert LaPiere and ex-husbands Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman.
In order to legally and officially change his name, he needed to present his birth certificate and when he got it, that’s when he learned that his name was not what he had thought his entire life at that point.
The Grammy winner legally changed her full name to Cher in the late ’70s, dropping all four of her last names: her birth name, Sarkisian, plus the last names of her stepfather Gilbert LaPiere and ex-husbands Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman; photographed in 1983 in Los Angeles.
Cher explained that the mix-up occurred at the hospital when her mother, who was just 19 at the time, went into labor a month before her due date. In 1946, she said, her mother Georgia Holt also went through a long, unmedicated labor; Pictured in November 2010 in Hollywood.
In her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the music icon, 78, recalled discovering there was a mix-up on the birth certificate at the hospital when she was born. She said she believed her name was Cherilyn for many years before legally changing it to her nickname Cher; Pictured in July 2018 in London.
After finding out her name was wrong on the birth certificate, Cher said she asked her mother about it.
The singer recalled her mother telling her: “I was just a teenager and I was in a lot of pain.” Give me a break.’
Previously, the Believe singer shared the reason why she wanted to change her legal name to Cher in 1979.
“I like it,” Cher told Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show at the time.
The Goddess of Pop explained in her story: “I thought Cherilyn was my name until the day when, years later, I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher.” He said he was surprised when he found out her name was Cheryl; photographed on October 24 in Santa Monica
After finding out her name was wrong on the birth certificate, Cher said she asked her mother about it. The singer recalled her mother telling her: “I was just a teenager and I was in a lot of pain.” Give me a break’; photographed in January 1986 in portrait
“It’s better for me than people wondering if they should call me Mrs. Allman or Mrs. Bono or Mrs. Bono Allman or Miss Cher or whatever.”
He added: I mean, Cher is fine. Simply Cher.
Elsewhere in her memoir, Cher also made other revelations, including about the only celebrity who broke up with her.
She also opened up about why she decided to divorce her ex, Gregg Allman, after just nine days of marriage.