Born into a lower-income California family, actress/ pop singer Cher (nee Cherilyn Sarkesian) attempted to escape her poverty by entering show business at age 16 as a "go go" dancer. She met and married singer/promoter Sonny Bono, who lifted her from obscurity as half of the immensely popular singing duo Sonny and Cher. The diminutive, ebullient Sonny and the tall, deadpan Cher became a top recording team (their big hit was "I Got You, Babe") and a regular guest act on the many variety shows of the period. Sonny and Cher continued their upward climb until musical tastes changed in the early 1970s, whereupon they began concentrating on comedy sketches and kidding-on-the-square insults directed at one another in a 1971 TV variety weekly, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which enjoyed a successful three-year network run. It was on this program that Cher, began sharpening her acting versatility in such sketch roles as brash housewife Laverne, sardonic waitress Rosa, and a whole slew of historical "vamps." But Cher began to chafe at Sonny's hold on her career and her private life, and in 1974 the couple divorced. In the fall of that year, both Sonny and Cher were starring on separate TV series but were faced with diminishing ratings, Sonny and Cher decided to team up again professionally for a new Sonny and Cher Show, even though Cher was now Mrs. Greg Allman. The chemistry was no longer there, and the new program was axed in 1977. Sonny eased out of show business for a successful political career, while Cher began seeking out film work. At first treated condescendingly by critics, Cher matured into a first-rate actress in such films as Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean (1982) (repeating her Broadway role), Silkwood (1983), Mask (85), Suspect (1987) and Moonstruck (1987). She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Silkwood, won an Academy Award for her role in Moonstruck and shared a "Best Actress" award at Cannes for her supporting role in Mask. Something of an enigma in the show business world, Cher has managed to remain her stature as a highly respected film actress, while promoting exercise videos and a line of cosmetics, and while continuing to record new chart-topping songs and appearing in music videos.