Cher has opened up about the age she would like to live until, calling herself “past my sell-by date”.
The “Believe” singer, who is 77, was asked in a new interview whether she would like to make it to 96 – the same age her mother was when she died in December 2022.
Cher candidly replied to The LA Times: “No, I’m thinking about 80. I mean, I’m already past my sell-by date.”
The singer and actor, who won an Oscar for Moonstruck in 1988, continued: “My mom was great at 80 – I did a special with my mom at 80. But I’m not so much for over 80. I don’t want to not be me.”
Addressing whether she would tour again, Cher said she “hopes” and “wants” to, stating: “When I want something, I’m pretty good at striving.
“Barbra Streisand and I were doing a telethon once and we had a break. Barbra said, ‘Why are you still doing this?’ And I said, ‘Because there will come a time when I can’t.’”
Cher said her tours require more energy than Streisand’s as “she’s not running across the stage making 14 costume changes”.
She continued: “I never stop moving the whole time. It takes a lot of effort. I’m gonna have to really get into shape to do it.”
Cher’s mother was the actor, singer and former model Georgia Holt. The star announced Holt’s death in December 2022, writing: “Mom’s gone,” alongside a sad-face emoji.
She executive produced a documentary about her close relationship with her mother in 2013, titled Dear Mom, Love Cher. Cher’s father, John Paul Sarkisian, died in 1985.
Cher, who found success in the 1960s as one-half of folk duo Sonny & Cher alongside her first husband Sonny Bono, went on to become one of the most successful female artists of all time.
‘I’m past my sell-by date:’ Cher reflects on age she would like to live to— (Shutterstock / Ovidiu Hrubaru)
In the new interview, she suggested she might have help paved the way for artists including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, stating: “I like all of those girls a lot. I’m really proud of this new generation of women because they get a chance to do what they want to do. And I feel that I might have been a part of that.
“There’s a lot of us old women that were just kind of balls-to-the-wall, “Don’t f*** with me, fellas.” But it took a long, long time to get there.”
Cher’s new album, a festive record titled Christmas, is out now.
