Cher has spent six decades working in music, film and fashion, and the cultural icon isn't slowing down.
Cher says that in her entire career, she has never reinvented herself.
“I was popular or I wasn't popular,” she said in an interview that aired Tuesday on CBS Mornings. “But I’ve always been exactly who I am.”
“I always thought of myself as a bumper car, because if I hit a wall, I would just back off and go in the other direction,” she said.
Entrepreneurship and memoirs
Her latest project is taking her in a pleasant direction.
Cherlato, an ice cream brand, is Cher's passion project, 10 years in the making.
Most recently, she tasted the brand's scents in her kitchen. “We had about 10 chocolates because we're still working on it,” she said.
The ice cream is currently being sold at pop-up locations, including a recent stop in New York City where fans were able to sample the singer's creations.
“I've been a Cher fan my whole life. My mother is a Cher fan. My grandma is a Cher fan, and it kind of transcends generations,” said Darian Simas, one of the fans at the pop-up.
The crowd also received a surprise visit from the superstar.
“You don't put your name on anything, so I'm like, 'It's going to be good ice cream today,'” another fan, Javi Rodriguez, told Cher.
Cher said she is grateful to fans around the world for the trust they have placed in her.
“I'm told to do everything… and… I just don't want to do it because people feel like I won't lie to them and I don't want to do that, you know, I don't want that to ever change,” she said.
Last year, Cher wrote about her early career and marriage to Sonny Bono in Cher: A Memoir, Part One. The book instantly became a New York Times bestseller.
She is now releasing a paperback version with a new addition and is considering a second volume of her life story.
“I want to come back and just have this continuation, because just recently I wasn’t even thinking about it. I remembered the story, but didn't tell it, and then I remembered why I didn't tell it. And then I thought, “I wonder if I have the courage to say this,” she said, but did not reveal the details of the story.
The singer considers herself simply “a woman who works.”
“I don’t think, ‘Oh, I’m a star, I’m a star,’ you know. I’m just happy, and I’m really, really happy,” she said.
“We're just having a blast”
In her personal life, Cher has been dating music director and producer Alexander Edwards for three years. The couple's age difference is 40 years.
“Nobody knows what's going on between us, but we… we're just having a blast,” she said of her relationship with Edwards. “He just says you're getting older, but he said your spirit is younger.”
Cher also became friends with Edwards' 6-year-old son Slash.
“He's so funny. He's so smart. He’s just… he’s just a delight.”
Reflecting on your goals: “I love what I do”
The 79-year-old woman admits that she doesn't like aging.
“I hate it. I’m none the wiser,” Cher said, laughing.
Her classic sense of humor is not lost, nor is her work ethic. She is still touring and achieving the goals she set for herself decades ago. In a 1991 interview with CBS News, Cher was 45 years old and said that at 75 she would like to continue “doing the same thing I'm doing today, and I don't think I could do it unless I take care of my body.”
More than 30 years later, she reflects on that moment, saying, “I don’t know how to do anything else. What will I do? I love what I do.”
