Decades into her legendary career in music, Cher uncovered a shocking revelation about her identity—one linked to the name she thought she’d always known.

Pop legend Cher revealed a surprising detail in her latest memoir, “Cher: The Memoir, Part One.” The name she had always believed was hers—Cherilyn—was nowhere in her birth records.

Cher attends the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York on October 15, 2024. | Source: Getty Images

Instead, the 78-year-old discovered she had been officially registered under a completely different name. “I was shocked to discover that I was officially registered as Cheryl,” the singer revealed in her book. The discovery came in the late 1970s, as she sought to legally change her name to simply “Cher.”

According to her memoir, Cher, confused by the discovery, turned to her mother, Georgia Holt, to ask if she was aware of her real name. Georgia, who was just 19 when she gave birth, replied, “Let me look at that!”

Reflecting on her postpartum experience, Georgia told her daughter, “I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”

Cher and Georgia Holt appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on April 30, 2013 | Source: Getty Images

The mix-up originated shortly after Cher’s birth in 1946. Georgia, still recovering in the hospital, hadn’t decided on a name when a nurse asked for one. Inspired by actress Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl and her own mother, Lynda, Georgia suggested “Cherilyn.” However, the name was never recorded correctly on official documents.

Cher and her mother, Georgia Holt, picture together on January 1, 1986 | Source: Getty Images

In 1979, the artist explained her decision to simplify her name to just “Cher,” stating that a single name reduced confusion about how people should address her, particularly in light of her marriages and public image.

As part of this decision, she dropped her surnames—Sarkisian, LaPiere, Bono, and Allman—to streamline her identity and establish a singular professional persona.

Cher attends the premiere of “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on May 13, 2024 | Source: Getty Images

This deeply personal story is one of many shared in “The Memoir: Part One,” which took seven years to complete and tested Cher’s resilience. Writing the memoir was far from easy.

Cher began working on the book in 2017 but struggled to maintain the honesty she wanted. “Truthfully, I started work on it at least two times, maybe even three,” she admitted to Vogue, “But I always thought, ‘You know what? If you’re going to write this book, you’ve got to tell more.'”

Her struggle wasn’t just emotional—it was also technical. Cher, who has dyslexia, found the writing process often frustrating. “It was really, really difficult,” she revealed in a recent Yahoo Entertainment interview.

Writing her memoir required Cher to confront both joyful and painful moments from her life, but she approached the process with pragmatism. Reflecting on her early career, she noted that while revisiting those memories wasn’t as emotionally taxing as one might think, it still came with its challenges.

“It was what it was,” she explained, adding that the relentless pace of her work during that time—long hours with no days off—had started to take a toll on her mental well-being.

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Cher attends a Pride brunch event in Las Vegas on October 24, 2020 | Source: Getty Images

These challenges, combined with her high standards, led the book to undergo three major rewrites with different ghostwriters. “When I read it the first time, it wasn’t about stories, it was about information,” she explained.

Cher felt the focus on raw facts lacked emotional depth and the ability to engage readers, emphasizing that meaningful stories were essential to creating a compelling narrative. “Stories take you someplace,” she said.

The first part of the memoir delves into Cher’s early life, capturing the challenges of her childhood and her ascent to stardom. It highlights the relentless pace of her early career, where demanding work schedules left scarce time for personal reflection.

These experiences underscored her belief in the importance of storytelling as a way to connect with others and make sense of her journey.

Her family also played a significant role in helping Cher piece together her early years. While her mother, Georgia, had shared parts of her childhood, it was her grandmother who added surprising depth.

Cher attends the opening night of the musical “The Cher Show” on Broadway in New York City on December 3, 2018 | Source: Getty Images

Cher recalled her grandmother visiting her backstage one night with her childhood high chair, complete with a Bambi illustration, to recount memories.

The stories her grandmother shared during that visit reminded Cher of the power of storytelling and inspired her to persevere with the memoir. “I just thought, Oh, my God. I thought, Whatever I feel, I have an audience out there waiting, and I just don’t have time to feel this now. I’ll feel it later,” Cher added.

Cher appears on the “Today” Show in New York City on November 19, 2024 | Source: Getty Images

Completing the memoir marked a triumphant culmination of Cher‘s determination, transforming years of challenges and memories into a deeply personal narrative that captures the essence of her extraordinary life.

The memoir is divided into two volumes, with the first released this November and the second scheduled to arrive in 2025.