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Cher’s decades-long career has been defined by her ability to repeatedly shed her skin and reinvent herself, a characteristic that is also evident in the singer’s expansive and eclectic real estate portfolio. No two properties are exactly the same, and this is intentionally so. “I don’t know where people go to get that rule, ‘Thou shalt be one thing and one thing only for thy entire life,’” she told Architectural Digest in 1989.
Cher bought her first house in Aspen in the 1970s, but ultimately had to sell it. Since then, she’s snapped up spots in NYC, Hawaii, and throughout the greater Los Angeles area. With each home, she’s worked hard to make the spaces feel unique to her taste and aesthetics. Los Angeles–based designer Ron Wilson, her longtime collaborator and friend, told AD in 1989, “She stretches me to the limit, and then some. I’ve tried every trick in the book, used every drapery treatment, every floor material. She’s had everything—and she still insists I do something new.” Here, we’ve rounded up just some of Cher’s most memorable homes, from subdued sanctuaries to Egyptian-inspired interiors and beyond.
1974
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One of Cher’s most well-known properties was the Owlwood Estate in Holmby Hills, California, a sprawling property that she and then husband Sonny Bono picked up for $750,000 (or around $4 million in today’s currency). The Italian Renaissance–style home was built by architect Robert D. Farquhar in 1936, and comprised a historic 12,201-square-foot main house with nine bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, an elevator, and a dramatic spiral staircase. Marilyn Monroe was believed to have spent considerable time at the place when her rumored boyfriend, 20th Century Fox founder Joseph Schenck, lived there. (Actor Tony Curtis and oil baron William Keck were also previous owners.) It’s unknown how much Sonny and Cher ultimately offloaded the home for, but it most recently sold for $88 million in 2020.
Also in the ’70s, Cher owned a Beverly Hills pad that was known as her Egyptian fortress for how it was decorated. The 20,000-square-foot main house had stone flooring, brick accent walls, and wood-beamed ceilings. There was also a 7,000-square-foot Moroccan-style guesthouse featuring hand-carved wood doors, arched windows, and coffered ceilings, as well as five stables, two riding rings, and a tennis court. “That was the only house I ever had any real emotional ties to,” Cher told AD in 1992. The singer ultimately sold the place to Eddie Murphy for an unknown amount in the ’80s. It was last listed for $85 million in 2016.
1980s
Cher also built her portfolio on the East Coast, snapping up the penthouse in NoHo’s Silk Building in the 1980s for an undisclosed amount and becoming the building’s first residential owner. She worked with designer pal Ron Wilson to bring her vision for the 4,500-square-foot unit to life. They implemented neutral tones and natural textures throughout, including walls and ceilings made of faux-stone and a big dining table composed of two large slabs. “She’s never cared for flat, textureless things,” Wilson told AD in 1989. “She doesn’t like a flat painted wall—she’s never understood having a wall just painted white.”
When Cher did finally sell the penthouse in 1990—to Russell Simmons for $1.6 million—the home still maintained many of her personal touches, including faux leopard skin upholstery. Other celebrity owners of the unit included Keith Richards and Britney Spears.
1989
One of Cher’s most cherished properties is her Italian Renaissance–style mansion in Malibu. She purchased the property for $2.95 million and spent a great deal over the next decade to make the estate match her vision of Venice-inspired grandeur. The singer once again worked with Wilson to manifest a home that she once called her “sanctuary” in AD. Spanning 16,000 square feet, the mansion boasts six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, with hand-carved marble details and limestone fireplaces sprinkled throughout. The back of the house overlooks the Pacific Ocean and features marble arches opening onto an infinity pool surrounded by tropical greenery.
Cher is said to have designed that portion of the home herself. “She was totally involved with the landscape design—which is unbelievable. She’s very gifted,” Wilson told AD in 2002. In 2006, Cher brought in celeb-favorite designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard to help her rework all the finishes in the home, even painting the ceilings with Eastern motifs and incorporating some stencils on the raw silk-clad walls and drapery. She listed the estate for $85 million in early October.
1990
New decade, new city. Cher visited Aspen in September 1990 for her sister Georganne’s wedding, and decided to look at condos on a whim. What ended up happening was a lot like falling in love. The whirlwind ended with Cher snapping up an adobe home designed by Aspen architect David Finholm. The singer insisted that it be decorated and ready for visitors by the holidays. “I said it couldn’t be done,” designer Wilson told AD. “She said, ‘Well, kick some ass and get it done.’” The uniquely shaped structure was outfitted with Art Deco details mixed in with some sunny Santa Fe–inspired aesthetics, including chairs made of elk horns and sofas upholstered with antique kilims. It is not clear if the superstar still owns the home, but it has been listed on the rental market in recent years.
1993
When Cher picked up a 1950s-built home in Miami Beach for $1.5 million, it was one of the rare instances that she didn’t work with Wilson. Instead, the singer let her gut guide her, pulling inspiration from Venetian and Moorish design and filling the place with carved woods, rich fabrics, stone, scrolled ironwork, and religious art. (She also furnished much of the home with items from Sanctuary, a mail-order catalog she launched around the same time.) The mansion measured 11,500 square feet, and featured six bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms. She sold it just three years later, for a considerable profit at $4.35 million.
2006
The megastar snapped up a luxury two-story condo in the celebrity-favorite Sierra Towers for $3 million and completely transformed the space into what Lawrence Bullard called “one big harem.” The Balinese-inspired space spanned 2,300 square feet and featured two one-bedroom and one-bathroom units connected via a spiral staircase. The condo was littered with antiques from India and other countries, and one of the crowning features was a “very Cleopatra” tub in the primary suite, which was wrapped in 19th-century stone and sat in the center of the bathroom. “While I know what I want when I see it, Martyn can verbalize it,” Cher told AD in 2010. “In the end, our sensibilities are on the same page because he’s an artist.” Cher ultimately sold the place for $5.25 million in 2013.
2008
The singer next challenged herself by designing a home in Hawaii inside the gated Hualālai Resort that was built in 2008. The sprawling residence measured 9,446 square feet and included six bedrooms and six full and two half bathrooms. A unique feature of the home was that the main structure only housed one bedroom, while separate guest houses were located elsewhere within the courtyard. Cher reportedly never intended to live in the Hawaiian residence; it was last on the market for $10.995 million in 2019.
2010
Cher next picked up a relatively modest home in Venice Beach, California, for a little over $1.5 million. Situated just a stone’s throw from the shoreline, the two-story and three-bedroom residence featured a double-height living room, a chef’s kitchen, and a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen and a bamboo-lined outdoor shower. The pop icon listed the pad for $1.89 million in 2013, and ended up selling it for $100,000 over asking shortly thereafter.
2013
Cher made her way back to Beverly Hills with the purchase of a 3,089-square-foot English Tudor–style bungalow, shelling out $2.145 million for the unique home. Set at the end of a brick-paved driveway, the four-bedroom and three-bathroom residence featured a white exterior with dark wood framing. A large wraparound porch in the back of the home overlooked a koi pond, a waterfall, and a meditation area. Cher said farewell to her oasis in 2018, selling it for around $2.07 million.
