Few people on this planet are more recognizable than Cher, the decorated singer, actress, and pop culture icon who has won hundreds of awards for her work in music and acting. Over the years, the Hollywood it girl has won Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and is only a Tony Award shy of joining the list of EGOT winners, and that’s barely scratching the surface.
In addition to having more hit songs than we can count, Cher has dazzled on the big screen and small screen alike with various movies, shows, and variety specials dating back more than 50 years. As we continue to celebrate the career and legacy of one of the greatest to ever do it, we thought now would be a good time to look back on the best Cher movie and TV appearances.
Moonstruck (1987)
Probably Cher’s most iconic film appearance, Moonstruck is one of the most decorated romantic comedies and a movie that we still celebrate nearly 40 years later. Her take on Loretta Castorini, a no-nonsense widow who ends up having an affair with her boyfriend’s young brother (played by Nicolas Cage), is nothing short of magical, which is why it’s no surprise she won the Oscar for Best Actress. If there’s one Cher movie you watch, this should be it.
Rent/Buy Moonstruck on Amazon.
Mask (1985)
One of the most heartbreaking movies in Cher’s filmography, 1985’s Mask tells the story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a teenage boy suffering from the physical and emotional effects of lionitis, a rare facial deformity that makes daily life a living nightmare. While the world sees Rocky as some kind of sideshow freak, his mother, Rusty (Cher), sees her son for the good that’s in his heart. A tremendous mother-son relationship story, it’s hard to watch the singer’s performance with a dry eye.
Silkwood (1983)
Silkwood never seems to get the attention or respect it deserves, which is a shame, considering all the talented actors and filmmakers who made the 1982 biographical drama about an ill-fated whistleblower a reality. In the film, which was written by Nora Ephron and directed by Mike Nichols, Cher plays Dolly Pelliker, the roommate and best friend of Meryl Streep’s Karen Silkwood, a role that earned her an Oscar nomination. Though one of her first dramatic roles, you wouldn’t be able to tell it based on her command of the screen and the audience’s attention.
Buy Silkwood on DVD on Amazon.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974)
Between 1964 and 1977, Sonny & Cher found a tremendous amount of success in the music industry and on TV, where they had multiple variety shows throughout their time together. One of the most popular was the long-running variety show titled The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, where the couple with an infectious sense of humor and tremendous vocal harmonies dazzled TV audiences with enchanting songs and hilarious sketch comedy routines. Feeling like a bigger version of their nightclub routine, Comedy Hour had a little something for everyone.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is not available to stream or purchase.
The Witches Of Eastwick (1987)
Directed by Mad Max creator George Miller, The Witches of Eastwick has gone down as one of the best supernatural comedy films, and it remains a great watch all these years later. A lot of that has to do with the story surrounding three women who inadvertently form a witches’ coven, but it’s also because of the great cast that included Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon, and Cher, who steals the show as Alexandra Medford. If you’re looking for a wild and fantastical experience, then look no further.
Rent/Buy The Witches of Eastwick on Amazon.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which quietly made a ton of money at the box office in 2018, features one of the best musician cameos in recent memory. Of course, we’re talking about at the end of the Abba-centric musical when Cher is revealed to be Sophie Sheridan’s (Amanda Seyfried) extremely famous (and distant) grandmother. But it just gets better when a few moments later she kicks off a wonderful duet with Andy Garcia’s Señor Fernando Cienfuegos.
Stream Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again on Prime Video.
The Sonny & Cher Show (1976-1977)
Following their divorce and a brief cooling-off period, Sonny & Cher started making must-watch TV together near the end of the variety show boom in the mid-’70s. The Sonny & Cher Show, which had virtually the same format as their previous small-screen offerings, had some unforgettable music moments, hilarious sketches, and some wonderful celebrity guests.
The Sonny & Cher Show is not available to stream or purchase.
If These Walls Could Talk (1996)
The 1996 HBO anthology drama film, If These Walls Could Talk is split up into three sections focusing on different women and their experiences with abortion. The first two segments, directed by Nancy Savoca, follow characters played by Demi Moore and Sissy Spaceck, respectively, while the final portion stars and is directed by Cher. The singer-turned-actress does a fantastic job of playing a doctor performing abortions and brings a great deal of humanity and sincerity to the role and overall film.
Stream If These Walls Could Talk on Max.
Suspect (1987)
Released in 1987, Suspect follows attorney Kathleen Riley (Cher) who goes to hell and back in an attempt to prove her client (played by Liam Neeson) is innocent of murder. Combining elements of legal dramas and crime thrillers, the movie centers on Riley as she digs deeper and deeper into the matter, uncovering a vast criminal conspiracy that’s bigger than anything she could ever imagine.
Cher (1975-1976)
Between her stints on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show, the actress, singer, and comedian had a variety show of her own with Cher. Between 1975 and 1976, a total of 26 episodes of the series aired on CBS, which saw the singer working with everyone from Elton John to David Bowie, and just about every major star in between.
Cher is not available to stream or purchase.
Mermaids (1990)
Richard Benjamin’s 1990 dramedy, Mermaids, doesn’t have to do with mythical sea creatures but it does tell a fantastic story about a family attempting to work through their quirks and differences. At the center of this is the strained relationship between Rachel Flax (Cher) and her teenage daughter, Charlotte (Winona Ryder), which is at a breaking point due to the mother’s flamboyant and flippant nature. The two really feel like mother and daughter, which makes it all the better.
Come Back To The 5 And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Robert Altman’s 1982 adaptation of Ed Graczyk’s Broadway play, Come Back To The 5 And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, follows an all-female James Dean fan club as they reunite on the anniversary of his death to talk about their obsession with the late icon and the current state of their lives. The cast is phenomenal and includes everyone from Karen Black to Kathy Bates and Sandy Dennis to Cher, who steals the show as Sissy. Despite it being one of her first major acting roles, Cher is a full-on star in this classic.
Rent/Buy Come Back To The 5 And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean on Amazon.
As you can probably tell by now, Cher has continued to not only have success as a singer for the past 50-plus years but also as an actress who has killed it on screen for just as long.
