Cher on 60 Years of Fame: Music, Movies & Giving Back

Cher is a global icon whose career in TV, movies and music spans an incredible seven decades. The truth is I wanted to be famous. She's navigated ups and downs. I had so many failures in my life. Huge, huge, huge failures. And always leveraged fame to amplify her activism. You recognize your duty when you see it. I've come to Montreal, Canada to meet the one and only Cher. You're looking at two of the most sensational artists in the world of popular music. After rising to fame in the 1960s, alongside her then partner on The Sonny and Cher Show, Cher's career as an actress and solo recording artist went stratospheric. Despite receiving countless awards throughout the decades, it was the 1998 single Believe which won Cher her first and only Grammy. Believe was awarded Best Dance Recording by the Recording Academy, which has credited the song with introducing the world to auto-tune and inspiring the dance pop music trend among other female artists, which is still going strong today. As a multi-million record seller and a household name, whose longevity has earned her a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I wanted to know about the early ambition that drove Cher's success. The truth is I wanted to be famous. And it wasn't like I knew a way. I didn't, there was no pathway to it. I wanted to sing. I sang and danced and, you know, did scripts. I wrote scripts for my sister and I to perform for my mom. So I knew from the time, I knew from the time I saw Cinderella and Dumbo, that's what I wanted to do. My mother had to explain to me, you can't be an elephant cartoon, but there are other things. So in my mind, that's, I always wanted to do something, but never thought there was a pathway for me. And then when I was 16, I met Sonny. And I was just kind of this wandering diamond in the rough. And I was kind of a sickly child. And when I met Son, I was sick and he invited me to be his roommate. And so we were roommates for a long time. And then one day, this is such a stupid thing, but this is true. I was making the bed and we had twin beds. And I was making the bed and I'm singing away and I see his head come around the corner. And he was, is that you? Was that you? And I said, yeah. He said, well, you can sing. And I went, yeah, I know. But my mother, my grandfather, my uncle and I used to sing together when my grandfather would come from Oklahoma. So he said, you know, you can sing. And I went, yeah, I know. Shut up. But I was embarrassed. And he said, oh, OK. Well, but I'm telling you. And I went, OK. So he went and told his boss, who was Phil Spector, who was one of the great producers at that time. And one night, one of the background singers didn't show up. And he said, can you get out there? And I was like, panic stricken. And I'm trying to think, how can I tell him what it is I think I can do? And he said, I don't care. I just need noise. Get out there. And so that was the first song I did, Be My Baby. And the last song I did was Love and Feeling. So it was fate. I honestly believe there are so many people more talented than I am, more talented than I could ever hope to be. But I also think there's a lot of luck involved. You achieved huge success, obviously, Cher. An enormous global fame and the platform to speak about issues that are close to your heart. But how did it change your life? How do you suddenly go from no one knowing you to everyone knowing you? Well, I think it was not so hard because I had so many failures in my life, like huge, huge, huge failures. But it's so strange because when you're busy failing, nobody cares. And when you come back, it's like you reinvented yourself. I never reinvented myself for a moment. I just was more viable. And every time I failed, I just came like a bumper car, came back and turned in a different direction. I mean, I was telling my friend today that I moved to New York with no money, no job. And Mike Nichols said, get to New York. You should get to New York. And so, no, no, it wasn't Mike. It was Frances, Frances Coppola. And Mike actually was not so nice to me. And so I go to New York and I get a job by accident because of my mother. My mother and Robert Altman were friends. I was there to do an audition. My mother, by mistake, put the number in the wrong place. And so my mother thought she was calling me to find out how the audition went. And she was calling Bob Altman. And he said, who is this? And she said, who is this? And he said, Georgia? Yeah. What do you mean? Cher's not here. And she said, oh, you know, I put the number in the wrong place. Cher's there doing an audition. He said she wants to be an actress. And she said, yeah. So when I come out of the audition, there's those little memo things that said, Robert Altman, call Robert Altman. And I called him. And he said, I'm doing a play. And I'm going to send you the script. I'm not offering you anything. I'm just interested. And so I went. And I said to him, I've got such nerve. I said, you know, I know the part you want me to play. But I can't do that part. And he said, how many jobs do you have? And I said, none. He said, well, then just shut up and come over here. And I was right. He wasn't right. And I got over there. And I just, I said, you know, I'm dyslexic. So I can read or I can act. But I can't do both of them together. And he said, I just want to hear your voice. And Sandy Dennis said it was the worst audition she'd ever heard. She said, but you were so mesmerizing. And she said, you were always the best one. So I went with, I didn't have a job. I didn't have any place to stay. I was running low on funds and got the job. And then on a matinee, Mike Nichols came in and said, you're right. I was wrong. You are talented. And I am sorry. And I got Silkwood. After going on to star in a number of films, Cher's role alongside Nicolas Cage in 1987's Moonstruck won her the Oscar for Best Actress. It was really hard. And also hard to crack this industry and remain who I am. Because it was, I wasn't the most popular newcomer into film because of lots of things that for the most part, I guess, seem meaningful at some time, but no longer seem that meaningful. I really feel that people really liked my work. I never imagined, though, that for Moonstruck, I would get it. For some reason, I didn't think it's a comedy. I mean, I was trying to second guess everybody. How did that feel? It was pretty amazing. I didn't have any kind of a speech because I'd been nominated for Silkwood and I lost. So I figured I'm not going to win. They don't like me anyhow. I mean, I did a whole thing against the Academy, which was probably silly, but because I was so upset because they said I didn't dress like a serious actress. I didn't live like a serious actress. My boyfriends were too young. And so I dressed in this huge black feathers and I got up and I said, as you can see, I got my pamphlet on how to dress like a serious actress. But I kept going. As a longtime animal lover, in 2017 Cher co-founded Free the Wild, a charity with a mission to end the suffering of wild animals in captivity. Among the organization's achievements is successfully campaigning for the move of elephant Kavan from a zoo in Pakistan to a sanctuary in Cambodia. Here in Montreal, Canada, Cher is appearing on stage at the One Young World Summit to speak to young leaders about her activism. Well, this is especially dear to my heart because I believe that young people have the energy and the understanding and want to change the world. And they see, you know, how even though there are some things that are good and people that are good, the majority of people in power are really not all that helpful or not that interested in them. Today in your session, we saw you talking about Free the Wild and how you got involved. You co-founded it with Mark Cowan. What happened? What got you drawn in? Well, first of all, Mark and I didn't know each other at all. It was a mistake that we were in the same car because Bob Geldof was supposed to be in his car and he went off with the girl that was in my car. It was like, you know, he picked up a chick and Mark and I were together. And so years later, I tried to rescue an elephant in my hometown and I couldn't do it. And then I started getting these text messages on Twitter and saying Free Kavan. And I thought, oh, it'll go away. You know, people come and say all kinds of stuff. And it just didn't go away. No matter what I said, they would not stop. Because I said, I'm an entertainer. I don't know anything about saving elephants. But then it just kept coming. So I called Mark and I said, Mark, do you remember when we drew? And he said yes. And he had told me he saved elephants in South Africa. So I said, there's this, you know, elephant and languishing in Islamabad. And could you do have any desire? Would you? I think he's going to think I'm crazy. And he went, no. And like two days later, he was there giving directions on why this shouldn't be done and stop doing that. And Kavan had been tortured his whole life. How emotional was it for you to see Kavan at that time and how he was being treated? I was so happy to see him. And he had such a good personality. And he recovered so quickly. He had such a big heart that he was really able to, even with the punishment he'd had at the hands of men, be willing to go that one more step and give them another chance. And we got the right people to help him. It took years of us taking the government to court. And so then what are you going to do? And how are you going to transport an elephant across the water? And it was just one step at a time. And we were able to do it. And we built him a big enclosure on the sanctuary for himself because to get acclimated. And I walked into it and just stood against the pole. And I just watched him. And he went from this kind of being boxed in to this whole area. He'd never seen a tree, you know. So I watched him being excited. And there were toys on the ground, big tires and things like that. So I just was amazed at how inquisitive he was. And how spirited, but in a nice soft way. So it was rewarding. And when you hear about the animals who are in the sanctuaries, and they're living a free and healthy life, how does it make you feel? Well, it's amazing because it's like freedom. I mean, how would you feel if you weren't, you know, how would any of us feel if we weren't free and being tortured? You know, you don't wish any animals to be enslaved or beaten or tortured or anything. You know, it's up to us to be the stewards of these innocent beings. How proud are you, Cher, of the work that Free the Wild is doing? I'm extremely proud. And I'm extremely blessed to be able to have a part in it. We're going to get larger and larger. And, you know, we're doing it step by step. We're not going backwards. We're going forwards. Cher's music and movie career has earned her a huge global fan base and millions of followers on social media. And of course, social media is a platform to allow your voice, to share with your fans the campaigns that you're doing. What do you feel about social media, Cher? I think it's, oh gosh, it can be really great. And it has the power to do good. And then it has the power to do so many negative things as well. It's a double-edged sword. We all know this, this is no revelation, but you have to try to access the good in people and blow off the bad people or the people who are negative. My job, by nature, is a job where people criticize you. They get the chance to be critical. It's their right to be critical of what you do. And so it's hard when people are critical online because there's millions of them that can really say horrible things. But then there are so many that will be supportive, so I don't live my life by that. As a matter of fact, since it was Elon Musk who's got SX, I gave it up for a while and I really miss it. First of all, it's harder for me to navigate because I was on a different server, which was easier for me. But I don't feel good about it. Cher, you do a lot of work, obviously with Free the Wild. Other causes, they all want you to support them. How do you choose? Well, one time I was in Germany and I was watching TV and there was this really nice Scottish couple who had gone on vacation in Africa and they had seen these kids in these makeshift cardboard boxes going to school. And so I built them a school because what belongs to you comes to you. And so sometimes things just present themselves. Mostly things just present themselves because you might not be looking for something specifically, but you recognise your duty when you see it. Alongside Cher's activism, recent projects include a two-part memoir and a new Greatest Hits collection. You've managed to write your memoir. What was that experience like for you? It was a b****, OK? It was hard and we just finished it. We just finished doing it. So, you know, we just gave in the last pictures. It was to be, to try to be really honest is hard. You're busy with your memoir coming out. You're busy with your Greatest Hits album coming out forever. There's so much that you do. Cher, how do you balance everything? I didn't have to really do anything for Cher Forever and I'm getting ready to go in and make another album, which I don't know, it might be my last album because your voice only lasts so long and mine has already lasted a lot longer than normal. And I have, you know, I have my kids and I, you know, I just, there are things that need my time and things I want to give my time to. And I have friends. It's like, you just, you know, you do a little of this, you know? What is your message to the young leaders here at One Young World? They're facing so many global issues. Well, it's hard that we've left them with this, but they're strong and they're bright and they're knowledgeable. And I don't discount what one person can do. You know, it doesn't take everyone. But if you're a strong person, you can gather like-minded people along the way. And for Free the Wild, what do you want the impact to have and what do you want the next generation of conservationists to learn from what you're doing and the team? Well, it's like what I said to Jane, you know, about how in my life she's indelibly etched in seeing her. In my mind, Jane has always been by a brook, on her knees with chimpanzees around her. And so that's like, she's such a strong influence and such a strong woman. And, you know, all women can learn so much from her. So I still believe this, what belongs to you comes to you and you either pick it up or you let it alone and you walk away. Well, Cher, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here at the One Young World Summit in Montreal. Such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you.