Cher

When Cherilyn Sarkasian reinvented herself as the more photogenic half of '60s pop duo Sonny & Cher, no one could guess it would be merely the first step in an ongoing artistic redefinition that would continue for decades. After the smash success of Sonny & Cher's '60s recordings and '70s TV show, the pair split. Cher continued to score pop hits on her own, such as "Half Breed" and "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" in the '70s, before switching into disco mode for "Take Me Home." In the '80s, she became an acclaimed actress, with lead roles in such well received films as MASK, MERMAIDS, and MOONSTRUCK (the latter earning her an Oscar). Incredibly, she followed this by returning to the pop charts in the late '80s with "If I Could Turn Back Time" and becoming a Madonna-like dance-pop diva in the late '90s with the megahit "Believe."

• pop
• electronic
• 1990s
• 1980s
• 2000s