Clad in a heart-shaped pastie and dripping in rhinestones, 71 year-old Cher reminded everyone last Sunday that age is just a number. She's riding a wave of critical acclaim after her Billboard Music Awards performance, where she showed the world how a seasoned diva can steal the show. As one of Hollywood's most enduring fashion icons, Cher's career has spanned five decades. We all know that the veteran entertainer can still do a 5 minute plank, but there's a lot more to her than great chops and a rockin' bod. Here are 10 things you didn't know about Cher.  

1. Cher is a Taurus born on May 20, 1946.

     

2. Like Kim Kardashian, she is half Armenian.

   

3. She grew up relatively poor in El Centro, California. She dropped out of school and left home for acting school in LA when she was 16 years old.

     

4. Sonny and Cher met in a coffeeshop when she was 17 years old.

     

5. She and Sonny had a platonic relationship at first. They lived together, and he worked while she kept house.

   

6. I Got You Babe, Sonny and Cher's first hit, debuted in 1965 when she was 19 years old. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was one of televisions most popular shows, and it ran from 1971 to 1974.

     

7. Sonny and Cher were married from 1969 to 1975. She married Greg Allman in 1975, six days after her divorce from Sonny was finalized.

     

8. Bob Mackie was her costume designer for 42 years. She fought with TV networks for the right to wear his navel-baring looks. He designed her legendary Turn Back Time look.

   

9. Cher got her first tattoo in 1972, which was very outside the norm. She was quoted in USA Today as saying: "When I got tattooed, only bad girls did it: me and Janis Joplin and biker chicks."

     

10. She has two sons: Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.

Feature image courtesy of Gorilla Esq. via Flickr