Cher Opens Up About Her Weight and Emotions in Candid Memoir
In her newly released memoir Cher: The Memoir – Part One, the legendary 78-year-old singer offers a deeply personal look at her life, including the often-overlooked details of her weight fluctuations and how they have been intrinsically linked to her emotions. Cher takes readers through moments from her past, sharing how her physical appearance was sometimes a reflection of her mental and emotional state.
In a particularly candid moment, Cher recalls a 1975 episode of her CBS show Cher, where she shared with her audience how her weight varied depending on her mood. “I am twenty-eight years old, five feet seven and a half inches tall, have black hair and brown eyes, weigh a hundred and four pounds when I’m happy, and a hundred and eight when I’m miserable,” Cher wrote, giving a glimpse into how much her emotions affected her physical well-being. At the time, she humorously mentioned that her weight was 106 pounds, adding with a laugh, “My fate is in your hands.”
Cher’s Journey Through Personal Struggles
This weight-related reflection comes after a tumultuous period in Cher’s life, notably following the end of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour in 1974, just after her highly publicized split from Sonny Bono. In her memoir, Cher opens up about how the emotional turmoil of the breakup impacted her physical and mental health. “Those who blamed me didn’t really know what it was like to be in my situation or how hard it had been,” she wrote, explaining how the stress from her personal life, including the challenges in her marriage, caused her to struggle with eating and sleeping.
She goes on to describe a difficult time when her weight dropped drastically due to the stress. “I was finding it hard to eat and to sleep… Weight was falling off me,” she recalled. Despite this, she later turned to food for comfort during trying moments, including a birthday celebration with her best friend Paulette Howell, where she struggled to even enjoy her favorite dish, chicken cordon bleu, because of the emotional strain she was under.
The Weight of Fame and the Impact of Public Life
Cher also reflects on the pressures of public life and how they impacted her body image. She reveals that at the age of 25, weighing 180 pounds, she was a size six, which was considered larger than the beauty standards of that era. However, as she began incorporating more dance routines into her television productions, her body type began to gain popularity, eventually becoming celebrated in her industry. Despite the ups and downs with her weight, Cher’s memoir provides readers with a rare insight into how fame and personal struggles intersected in her early career.
Cher’s journey with her weight is not just about physical transformation—it’s an exploration of the emotional and psychological toll fame, relationships, and personal challenges took on her throughout her career. The memoir delves into the pressures of maintaining a certain image while navigating the highs and lows of her personal life.
In addition to reflecting on her physical transformation, Cher: The Memoir – Part One offers a deeper understanding of her perseverance, resilience, and the complexities of balancing public perception with private realities. Cher’s openness in sharing these intimate details showcases a side of her that many may not have seen, adding yet another layer to her iconic legacy.
