Cher’s 2 Sons: All About Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman

Cher has won Oscars, Emmys and Grammys during her six-decade career, but her greatest achievement remains raising her two sons, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.

“I always, always wanted to be a mother,” she told Robin McGraw Dr. Phil in 2004. “I am proud of the fact that both of them had great morals in this life. They speak the truth, cheer for the weaker, respect people. The things my mom made me think were the most important things, my kids have.”

The “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer revealed that she suffered several miscarriages before welcoming her first child, Chaz Bono, with then-husband Sonny Bono on March 4, 1969. She and Sonny, who performed together as Sonny & Cher, split in 1974 but were still close when he died in a skiing accident in 1998.

Just days after Cher and Sonny’s divorce was finalized in 1975, she married Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. Although Cher filed for divorce nine days into their relationship, the couple eventually reconciled and welcomed their only child together, son Elijah Blue, on July 10, 1976. Three years later, Cher and Gregg went their separate ways, and she began raising her two children as a single mother.

Cher has long been candid about how difficult it has been to balance her career with family life, admitting that she wished she had been able to offer more “stability” to Chaz and Elijah. “But in my job it’s very difficult,” she continued Dr. Phil. “It doesn’t necessarily combine well with having children. As Kate Hepburn said: ‘If you’re going to do this job, don’t have children.’ But I wanted them. My life would be nothing without them.”

Elijah and Cher’s relationship made headlines in December 2023 when the “Believe” singer filed for custody of her son. According to court documents, Elijah is “unable to manage his financial resources” due to “severe mental health and substance abuse issues.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Cher’s two sons.

Chaz Bono, 54

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Cher became a mom for the first time when she welcomed Chaz Bono with then-husband Sonny Bono on March 4, 1969. After his birth, she said it was like having “a new best friend. It was just the most fun. It was like every day was Christmas.”

Growing up, Chaz was incredibly well behaved, according to his mother. “[He] I never did anything wrong. Never, it was amazing. It was just who [he] was,” the Burlesque said the actress Dr. Philadding that he joined his parents on the road when he was only 6 weeks old.

Beginning at the age of 2, Chaz frequently appeared alongside his parents on their Emmy Award-winning variety show, Sonny & Cher comedy hour, during his childhood — where he may have first gotten the acting bug. At the age of 13, Cher noticed that Chaz was having trouble in school and enrolled him in summer acting classes. Despite the initial rejection, he was immediately hooked. “[His] whole life changed. It was a transformation,” Cher told McGraw in 2004.

Soon after, Chaz was offered a scholarship to LaGuardia High School, a performing arts school, in New York. The opportunity gave Chaz space to discover who he was without his famous parents. “It’s done [him] shine and be this kind of open person, and that is a given [him his] myself – not to be in my shadow, not to be inside [his] dad’s shadow,” Cher said.

Despite Chaz’s interest in acting, he eventually put his dream aside. “In my senior year of high school, I got the role of a male character and for the first time I really excelled. But I said to myself, ‘This is never going to happen as a professional so I have to find another career,'” Chaz — who was assigned female at birth — told PEOPLE in 2013, reflecting on life before in March 2009, after his 40th birthday.

Chaz later spoke about coming out as a transgender man Entertainment tonight: “I was turning 40 and I thought it was now or never. I want to continue to feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a man’s body and not wait until I get old.”

Chaz documented his transition in a 2011 documentary Become Chaz.

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Meanwhile, his mother was his biggest supporter. A source told PEOPLE that after a screening of his documentary at her home, Cher told a friend, “I admire the courage of my son Chaz to share his personal journey. The most important thing for me is that he is very happy. That’s what I care about the most. He has my love and support.”

Chaz eventually returned to acting after a confidence-boosting involvement Dancing with the stars 2011. That experience led him to guest roles on Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. “I decided that, hopefully, it’s never too late to do what you want to do,” he told PEOPLE in 2013.

In 2015, he starred in a theater production Evidence, for which he drew inspiration from his relationship with his late father. He also landed recurring roles Brave and beautiful and American Horror Story.

Chaz and his mother remain close, going out together to events including Cher’s hand and foot print ceremony in 2010 and the Women’s March in 2017. They also made it a point to attend each other’s shows. “She has been very supportive and a huge fan,” Chaz previously told PEOPLE. “She came up with everything I’ve ever done.”

Elijah Blue Allman, 47

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Cher and Gregg Allman had a son, Elijah Blue Allman, on July 10, 1976. By 1979 Infatuated with the moon star split from Allman, who struggled with drug addiction.

I stayed with him until I knew I couldn’t because I didn’t want the kids around, Cher said Parade 2018, adding that while he was “the sweetest man in the world”, his drug use meant things “just didn’t work out”.

She continued to raise her children as a single mother, with her boyfriends acting as temporary father figures for her sons. “I don’t know if that’s enough,” Cher said Dr. Phil, after noting that exes Val Kilmer, Joshua Donen, and Gene Simmons all appeared as father figures. “His father wasn’t there,” she said of Elijah. “He never saw his father.” Elijah later mended his relationship with his father before Gregg’s death in 2017.

“I’ve seen my dad a lot more in the past year than I’ve seen him in a long time,” Elijah said Daily mail 2014. “That was absent when I was growing up and it’s important to fix the boundaries now in our relationship.”

He and Cher also went through periods of estrangement as adults. He added that, despite all the difficulties, he knows that he will always fix his relationship. “It’s going to get better because it has to, it’s just going to take time,” Elijah said at the time.

Cher opened up about the complicated nature of their relationship over the years, telling McGraw, “He and I have such a bizarre relationship. We had so many weird moments. I don’t really understand him. Somehow Elijah and I talk through osmosis.”

She added that the mother-son pair “had our first fight” when Elijah was 9 months old. She also praised his intelligence growing up, explaining, “His mind is very expansive. He just dances to his own tune and doesn’t really care.”

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

After graduating from high school, Elijah followed in his family’s footsteps and pursued a musical career under the stage name P. Exeter Blue and formed the rock band Deadsy with a group of friends. The group produced three albums together and toured with Limp Bizkit.

In 2013, Elijah married singer Marieangela “Angie” King, known professionally as Queenie. They eventually divorced in 2021.

During the divorce proceedings, King accused Cher of hiring four men to kidnap Elijah in late 2022. She claimed the Believe singer did it because she didn’t want the couple to “reconcile” their marriage.

“That rumor is not true,” Cher told PEOPLE in October 2023, before adding that she would “do anything” to help her children through difficult times.

In December 2023, Cher filed for custody of Elijah. Court documents claim he is “currently unable to manage his assets due to serious mental health and substance abuse issues.”

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Source: HIS Education