Cher was once so broke she stole a dress from a department store—then wore it to an audition that would change her life.

She was 16. Homeless. Sleeping on friends’ couches. Her father had vanished. Her mom worked as a part-time actress and waitress. Cherilyn Sarkisian didn’t have a plan—just a voice, a vision, and a sense that she was meant for more than waiting tables in the Valley.

Then she met Sonny Bono.

Their love story was messy, electric, and unequal. He was the boss. She was the kid. He made the decisions, signed the deals, shaped her voice. And for a while, she let him—until she didn’t. Because what people missed behind the big eyelashes and deadpan delivery was a woman watching, learning, and preparing to take control.

When The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour made them stars, it was Cher who stole every scene. Her wit. Her timing. Her refusal to be the cute sidekick. And when the marriage crumbled, Sonny kept the rights. Cher kept the fire.

She went solo. Reinvented herself again and again—disco queen, Oscar-winning actress, rock star, fashion renegade, Twitter savage, age-defying icon. When men told her to be quiet, she turned up the volume. When critics mocked her outfits, she wore less. And when an interviewer asked what she wanted in a man, she famously said: “A man? Honey, I am a rich man.”

Behind it all, though, was a survivor. A mother who lost a child. A daughter who lost herself in the spotlight. A performer who outlived her doubters, her trends, and even her own fears.

Cher didn’t just survive six decades in showbiz—she shape-shifted her way through it, one rhinestone and revolution at a time.