76-year-old pop idol Cher has had to live through her fair share of tragedies. Currently, the “Believe” singer is mourning the loss of her mother. Cher’s mother just recently passed away at the age of 96. Some people may not realize that the singer’s mother, whose name was Georgia, was actually quite the entertainer herself. Georgia has a story that’s just as interesting as her more famous daughter’s, and we’ll be exploring it! Join Facts Verse as we explore how Cher is mourning again after her mother Georgia Holt dies.
Cher’s Mother Recently Passed Away
In the middle of 2022, Cher came out publicly with some news that upset fans. The 76-year-old figure claimed that her mother was in the hospital suffering from pneumonia. Now, it appears as if Cher’s mother has passed away. The singer is in mourning for her 96-year-old mother, whose name was Georgia Holt. Georgia passed away in December of 2022, and the news was revealed via Cher’s social media. Ever the youthful figure, Cher shared the news alongside a decidedly upset emoji. When Cher revealed the news that her mother had been suffering from pneumonia earlier in 2022, she seemed hopeful that her mother was going to recover. However, 96 year olds don’t take pneumonia very well.
Cher is understandably upset about losing her mother, and the fact that she tried so hard to keep her mother in good health in the years leading up to her death only adds insult to injury. In the years leading up to her mother’s death, Cher was careful not to make too much contact on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cher kept a distance from her mother after the start of the pandemic, and this distance only grew greater once it was revealed that her mother was suffering from pneumonia. COVID-19 masks and social distancing inhibited what little contact Cher was allowed with her late mother in the time leading up to her recent death. Another reason that Cher has been so cautious about social contact in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is her asthma.
If Cher had known that it was truly the end for her mother, she might’ve taken her COVID-19 mask off and given her a kiss goodbye. However, fate had other plans. Though the pandemic messed up the final years that Cher got to spend with her mother, the pair has several harmonious decades together before the recent health scare. Cher and her mom were so close that the singer produced a documentary by the name of Dear Mom, Love Cher in 2013. The documentary was a love letter from Cher to her mother, and functioned as a birthday present. The story of Cher’s mother is nearly as interesting as the story of Cher herself!
Cher’s Mother Was Georgia Holt
Georgia Holt was born in 1926. At the time of her birth, Georgia’s mother was only 13 years old! Georgia would go on to have Cher at a fairly young age, though she wasn’t nearly as young as her mother had been when having her first child. Georgia’s mother was a woman by the name of Lynda, and her father was a man by the name of Roy. Roy was 21 years old at the time of her birth, and he was a heavy drinker. Still, he had a lot of love for his newborn baby.
When she was still young, it became apparent that Georgia Holt had a staggering amount of talent. According to her own drunken father, the young girl could sing just as good as Judy Garland! Roy believed that Georgia was going to become a star, and he went about attempting to catalyze her fame by bringing her around to perform at nightclubs. Georgia performed at her very first nightclub when she was only six years old. Eventually, Roy decided to take Georgia out to Hollywood and try to find fame for her there. Sadly, fame didn’t end up coming young Georgia’s way. Instead, her father was forced to work in a cafeteria while the family lived in a shoddy motel room that was riddled with pests.
When Georgia was 17 years old, she met a man by the name of Johnny Sarkisian. Johnny wooed the young woman, and they were quickly married. By the time that Georgia was 19 years old, she was pregnant with Cher. However, her first marriage was in dire straits. Georgia found herself unhappy with Johnny, and she ended up leaving him to go live with her mother. Lynda took Georgia in with open arms, but she had one condition. If Georgia wasn’t going to stay married to Johnny, then she needed to have her pregnancy terminated.
Cher Was Georgia Holt’s First Child
Keen viewers will likely already have pieced together that the baby Georgia was pregnant with was none other than Cher. This means that Georgia almost had Cher aborted at the behest of the singer’s own grandmother! Thankfully, Georgia didn’t end up going through with the procedure. She almost did, but ended up having second thoughts at the very last minute. When Georgia went to her mother Lynda with the news that she had failed to go through with the abortion, Lynda told her daughter that she needed to go back to Johnny and try to make her first marriage work.
Georgia tried one more time with Johnny Sarkisian, but the second time didn’t prove the charm. Georgia gave birth to Cher in 1946, and the family lived for a period of time in Pennsylvania. However, it soon became apparent that the family wasn’t going to be able to make ends meet. As a result of financial troubles, young Cher was boarded in a Catholic home. When the couple were finally able to get their finances sorted out, they were able to get Cher back. By this point, Georgia and Johnny were once again on the outs. Georgia ended up leaving Johnny for good. This time, her mother was more sympathetic. Georgia’s mother was divorcing from her father at the time, and she ended up inviting her daughter and her new granddaughter to stay.
Back at home with her mother and with her young daughter in tow, Georgia Holt reignited her childhood dreams of stardom. Georgia decided that she was going to make a second bid at becoming a Hollywood actress. Though this bid proved more successful than the first, she still didn’t end up receiving all that much fame. She competed successfully in a variety of beauty pageants around the time, and also met the man who would go on to become her second husband. This man was named Chris Alcaide. Sadly, Georgia’s second marriage was even shorter than her first.
Georgia Holt Had Plenty of Failed Romances
After divorcing from second husband Chris Alcaide, Georgia Holt caught what she thought was going to be her big break. She received an audition for a big part in a film, and she ended up wowing the producers. However, there was another figure that ended up wowing the producer even more. The film that Georgia was auditioning for was The Asphalt Jungle, and the person that she lost the role to was none other than Marilyn Monroe. Despite this tragic loss, Georgia could be seen performing on a few television shows, and she was also getting some lucrative work as a model.
Georgia Holt’s third husband was a man by the name of John Southall, though this third marriage didn’t last any longer than either of the preceding two. However, the marriage did result in Georgia having a second child. The second child was named Georganne. Shortly after divorcing from him, she moved on to fourth husband Joe Collins. Cher has reminisced that none of her mother’s husbands were very prominent figures in the household growing up. Instead, it felt like it was just she, her sister, and her mother.
Though Georgia Holt didn’t have a lot of money to support her two children, she still did her best. According to Cher, she and her sister never really realized just how much their family was financially struggling during their hardest times. Georgia always made sure that the girls had plenty of fun, and that they had memorable holiday celebrations. It seems that Georgia had a lot of regrets about not being able to provide for her children, so she ended up choosing a very wealthy man as her fifth husband. This fifth husband was a man by the name of Gilbert LaPiere. Gilbert ended up adopting Cher and Georganne. In fact, Georganne still retains the last name of LaPiere to this day. However, Georgia and Gilbert didn’t stay married for very long.
Like Mother, Like Daughter!
By the time that Georgia Holt was done with her fifth unsuccessful marriage, her youngest daughter was ready to suffer through some romantic tribulations of her own. Just as had happened with her mom, an older man swept Cher off her feet when she was only 17 years old. In Cher’s case, the older man was none other than Sonny Bono. At the time Sonny, was well into his 20s. Understandably, Georgia took a disliking to Sonny right away. She even threatened to have the man arrested! However, Cher was eventually able to convince her mother to back off and let the couple be.
Cher found massive success in the entertainment industry alongside Sonny Bono, but there marriage wasn’t perfect. After a decade, Cher and Sonny divorced. Since divorcing from Sonny, Cher has made a habit of dating much younger men. This habit formed in the 1980s. Coincidentally, Cher’s mother was also dating a much younger man during the 1980s. This man was named Craig Spencer, and he inspired Georgia to make a third bid at becoming a famous entertainer. This bid result in the recording of a country album. Sadly, this album wasn’t deemed worth releasing at the time. Many years later, Cher released the album herself. The release coincided with the premiere of the aforementioned documentary To Mom, Love Cher.
Cher’s mother has recently passed away, but the 76-year-old pop idol has plenty of fond memories about their time together. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Cher’s mother almost had her aborted, and that she tried to have Sonny Bono arrested? Comment down below!
