Cher's Beloved Malibu Mansion Is An Italian Renaissance-Style Villa With Breathtaking Ocean Views

Jan 11, 2022 by apost team

Cher has been an icon for the majority of her life, thanks to her amazing talents as an actress and singer. As a member of the musical duo Sonny & Cher, the singer skyrocketed to pop stardom in the late 1960s and went on to achieve great success in the years to come.

With plenty of drive and ambition to make a great life for herself full of fame and success, Cher worked hard at perfecting her skills as a singer and actress. Her bold personality helped her meet influential people along the way, but it was ultimately her own talent that made her the star she still is today. Cher's powerful and unique voice helped her stand out against other singers. 

The performer went on to become the Goddess of Pop for being a pinnacle figure in the male-dominated entertainment industry. With a career that's spanned over six decades, it's no surprise that this talented woman has received a plethora of awards and praise for her incredulous work.

Since she's spent so much time in the spotlight, it's meant that much of her private life was also made public, including her marriage to Sonny Bono and the life of their son Chaz Bono. 

What's more, although Cher's struggled with heartache and hard times throughout her life, she has always been a beacon of hope, positivity and happiness for many people all over the world.

But one aspect of her life isn't so well known to her fans and that is Cher's enviable portfolio of homes that she owns. Her Malibu mansion in particular is truly stunning, so much so that despite having put it on the market before, the pop icon hasn't been able to part with it. Let's take a look at her career and her gorgeous home.

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California. She didn’t always live such a lavish and luxurious lifestyle, as Cher and her family struggled financially while the star was young. Before she was even a teenager, Cher had already shown a great interest in the arts and even produced her very own performance of the musical “Oklahoma!” for her fifth-grade teacher and class. Since she was unable to convince the boys in her class to participate, Cher decided to act out the male roles and sing their songs herself. Her unusually low voice fascinated many and ultimately led her to become the star she is today.

Cher was later enrolled at Montclair College Preparatory School, a private school in the Los Angeles neighborhood Encino. The upper-class environment of the school came as a shock to Cher. Although she was not the best student, Cher was still extremely intelligent and very creative, and her striking looks and personality made her even more of a leading light among her classmates.

When she turned 16 years old, Cher dropped out of school, left home, and moved out to live with a friend. She dedicated her life to her passion of becoming a star and began taking acting classes while she worked to support herself by dancing at small clubs. There, she was able to introduce herself to a litany of other performers as well as managers and talent agents. Her bold personality paid off when she met fellow performer Sonny Bono in Nov. 1962. 

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Bono was best known for his skills as a singer, songwriter and producer and introduced Cher to Phil Spector, a record producer who had many hits, including the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Spector helped the rising star when he found work for her as a backup singer on a few recordings and even produced her first single, “Ringo, I Love You,” although Cher did not release the song under her own name. Written and produced by Spector, the song was a tribute to The Beatles. Radio station programmers struggled to like the singer’s deep, contralto vocals and ultimately turned down the opportunity to play her song on the air.

Cher and Bono grew closer and became good friends before they turned their friendship into a romantic relationship. They got married in a hotel room in Mexico on Oct. 27, 1964. They went on to have one child together named Chaz. Although the original intent for their musical partnership was to help launch Cher’s solo career, Cher had other plans and insisted that her new husband join her along her musical journey. 

They first emerged as a duo called Caesar & Cleo but received poor reviews for their work. After they focused on some solo projects for Cher, the pair tried their hand again at becoming a successful duo under the name Sonny & Cher. The couple quickly skyrocketed to fame not only for their musical talents but for their personalities and great sense of fashion. Fans began dressing similarly to the stars with bell-bottoms, ruffled shirts and fur vests. 

The duo’s song “I Got You Babe” was a massive hit and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965 and spent three weeks at the top of the charts. It also received great success all around the world. Originally performed by the iconic pop duo, the British reggae-pop band UB40 made “I Got You Babe” their own and breathed new life into the beautiful song in 1985. Rolling Stone then listed the original version of the song as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2003.

Cher had also kept up with her solo career during this time and released “The Sonny Side of Cher” in 1966, which featured the song “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” Her solo work easily rivaled her work with Bono, as the singer managed to maintain popularity in both aspects of her career. Together, the pair continued to flourish and even had various television shows. 

“The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” aired from 1971 until 1974 and was a variety show filled with comedy sketches and musical performances that gave viewers a chance to get better acquainted with Cher and Bono and really connect with their individual personalities. They had a number of stars appear on the program, including Glen Campbell, Andy Griffith and Carol Burnett.

A new variety show titled “The Sonny and Cher Show” first aired a year after “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” wrapped up. Although Cher and Bono had divorced in 1975, they decided to work on the show together, but fans were not too keen on the joking nature of the divorced couple, which led to the show’s cancellation in 1977. 

Cher’s disco-infused album “Take Me Home” brought her great popularity, but she decided to switch up her style with her 1979 album “Prisoner.” The album’s cover showcased Cher as a prisoner of the press, much to fans and critics’ dislike, and ultimately was a commercial failure. However, she had gone on to hold a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from June 1979 until Dec. 1981.

During the 1980s, Cher found great success in the film industry when she landed both leading and supporting roles in a plethora of movies, including “Mask” and “Moonstruck.” The decade also breathed new life into her career with another smash hit record. In 1989, Cher released one of her most loved and iconic songs to date, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” It served as the lead single off her 19th album “Heart of Stone” and found global success and praise. Since then, it's been a fan favorite to see Cher perform in tours over the years.

In the 1990s, Cher starred in the movie “Mermaids,” which went on to be a box-office success despite some hiccups between Cher and the film’s original directors. The star also faced a few health issues during this decade but never let anything stop her from pushing forward with her illustrious career. Following Bono’s death from a skiing accident in Jan. 1998, Cher returned to the music scene with her album “Believe” in October of that same year. The title track with the same name went on to become a massive hit all over the world and has continued to be an anthem of hope and positivity today. 

In June 2002, Cher embarked on what was announced as her final live concert tour in her career, Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. The show continued to be extended as the tour progressed, with more and more dates added on, which made it one of the most successful female tours ever. It later spawned an NBC special titled “Cher: The Farewell Tour” in 2003 that allowed more fans to witness the spectacle and earned Cher the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

Cher had one of the leading roles in the 2011 musical film “Burlesque,” which also starred Christina Aguilera and Stanley Tucci, her first musical film since “Good Times” in 1967. Being a mother in real life was brought into the film as she played a character who was very protective of the other dancers at the nightclub she worked at. Her song, “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” was a highlight of the movie and even went on to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs. 

In 2017, Cher was honored with the Billboard Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards and gave a memorable performance of “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time." It was her first awards show performance in over 15 years.

Then one year later she showed her love for ABBA when she appeared in “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again” in 2018 and released an album of covers with the appropriate title “Dancing Queen” in Sep. 2018. She embarked on the Here We Go Again Tour that same month, which was the first tour she had done since she completed her farewell tour in 2002.  

Considering her incredible success it's no surprise to learn that Cher owns multiple homes, but her Malibu mansion no doubt holds a special place in her heart. The pop icon bought the home back in the early '90s for $1.5 million and she spent the subsequent decades transforming it into an Italian renaissance-style villa.

Inspired by trips to Venice, Italy and Casa Casuarina — the late Gianni Versace's home in Miami — Cher worked on her house with designer and old friend, Ron Wilson. The duo has actually known each other since they were teenagers and Wilson has worked on every home Cher has owned, dating back to the first home she bought with Bono. Overall, the pair have worked together on a staggering 19 projects! 

Cher described the residence as her "version of Venetian." She told Architectural Digest in 2002:

“Ron and I work together in a unique way ... I tell him what I want, he says I’m crazy, and then I get it. I bust his chops, but we laugh the whole time.”

Firstly, the home's location is simply to die for. Situated on a high bluff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, nearly every room in the house has views of the water below. Cher said in the same interview:

“Every room has two views of the ocean, each of which is so beautiful — the water is always glistening, the sunset always happening. My house is so special because it’s my sanctuary, my fortress, really — the only place I have any privacy. There’s no place else that I would rather be.”  

The 3-story, 16,000 square-foot mansion has a number of handcrafted features including limestone floors, a mantelpiece from Mexico, a loggia with bespoke marble arches and hard-carved marble throughout.  

Other touches include copper ceilings, gothic revival chandeliers and antique tapestries, including one that hung in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence also features a theater, home gym, tennis court and a guest house. Cher told AD what she loves about her gorgeous home:

"I like its drama, its splendor ... It has beautiful pageantry.”

She added that she likes "very masculine surfaces done in a very feminine way." Wilson added that the pop icon "loves the process (of designing) so much" and that she flew back "almost every weekend" during construction. Wilson added:

"And if she saw something she didn’t like, she’d throw it out.”

In fact, when it came to the home's lush grounds, Cher actually designed them herself. She said:

“It drove me crazy. I wanted tropical, like in Florida. When I think of trees, I only think of palm trees. I knew certain plants that I wanted and just read up on the rest.”

To cap off the gorgeous sea views is an infinity pool that appears to merge with the ocean below. Cher explained there are two things she loves the most about the home — the first is its location, Malibu, and the second is the water. She said:

"I love looking at the ocean because there are no boundaries. It doesn’t stop anywhere ... To me, the ocean is a symbol of infinite possibility.”   

But despite her love for the home, Cher has put it on the market before. After it wasn't sold around 2009, she took it off the market before it was rumored that Beyoncé and Jay-Z bought the property in 2016, but that also turned out to be false. It seems she still owns the house — perhaps she truly can't bear to part with her gorgeous creation.  

Are you a fan of Cher? Did you know about her stunning Malibu mansion that she played a role in designing? Pass this on to your friends so they can read about it too!