Quick answer: Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California (Britannica). She legally changed her name to just "Cher" in the late 1970s. This week she's trending because Michael Douglas said on The Graham Norton Show that Glenn Close should have won the 1988 Best Actress Oscar that went to Cher for Moonstruck. Cher's response, through a representative: "Cher adores Michael Douglas" (Entertainment Weekly).
What Michael Douglas said
On the October 30, 2026, episode of The Graham Norton Show, Douglas, 82, sat beside his Fatal Attraction co-star Glenn Close and said, "She should have won with 'Fatal Attraction,'" adding that Cher won that year (USA Today). When Norton replied "Oh, wow," Douglas joked, "I know, that's what we all said." Close told him, "Michael, be kind!" (Entertainment Weekly).
The timing matters. Close, 79, has eight competitive Oscar nominations and no win, and she's set to receive an honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards this month (Page Six).
Cher's four-word reply
Cher, 80, didn't fire back. Her representative told Entertainment Weekly by email, "Cher adores Michael Douglas," and Variety, USA Today and Page Six all reported the same statement (Variety).
For the record, the 1988 race was stacked. Cher beat Close, Holly Hunter, Sally Kirkland and Meryl Streep, and Moonstruck also won Oscars for Olympia Dukakis and its screenplay. Fatal Attraction went 0 for 6. Douglas himself won Best Actor that night for Wall Street (Variety).
From Cherilyn (or Cheryl) to Cher
Cher's name story has a twist. In her 2024 memoir, she wrote that when she applied to change her name legally, she was "shocked" to find her birth certificate listed her as Cheryl, not Cherilyn (CNN). Her mother had picked the name after actress Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl and Cher's grandmother Lynda.
By then she'd collected four surnames: her father's (Sarkisian), her stepfather Gilbert LaPiere's, and those of ex-husbands Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman (CNN). She dropped them all. Sources differ on the year: Cher told CR Fashion Book she went to court in 1978, while CNN's memoir coverage says 1979 (CR Fashion Book). She also recorded early on as "Bonnie Jo Mason" and "Cleo."
More real names in this story
- Michael Douglas is his birth name, but his father, Kirk Douglas, was born Issur Danielovitch (Britannica).
- Nicolas Cage, Cher's Moonstruck co-star, was born Nicholas Kim Coppola, nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola (Britannica).
- Glenn Close performs under her birth name, Glenn Close; she has confirmed that the "Glenda" story is a myth (Wikipedia).
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- Cher's real name: Cherilyn Sarkisian
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FAQ
What is Cher's real name? She was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, though her birth certificate reads Cheryl. Her legal name has been just "Cher" since the late 1970s.
What did Michael Douglas say about Cher? On The Graham Norton Show, he said Glenn Close should have won the 1988 Best Actress Oscar for Fatal Attraction instead of Cher for Moonstruck.
How did Cher respond? Her representative told Entertainment Weekly: "Cher adores Michael Douglas."
Has Glenn Close ever won an Oscar? Not a competitive one. She has eight nominations and is receiving an honorary Oscar at the November 2026 Governors Awards.
What was Kirk Douglas's real name? Issur Danielovitch.