Cher Had to Stop Her Career for Years Due to Illness: ‘I Was So Sick I Thought I Was Going to Die'

• Cher has battled health issues throughout the years.
• She revealed she almost died once.
• The singer also has disorders, and her son is suffering from one of them.

Cher has battled several health issues over the years, and one of them included a virus. Things got to a point whereby she believed she would lose her life.

Cher is a legendary singer dubbed the "Goddess of Pop." Apart from her successful music career, she has also had a thriving acting career which has seen her winning various prestigious awards through the years. Moreover, she is regarded as a fashion icon.

It took some leap of faith for the television personality to attain such success in her life. She dropped out of high school at age 16 and relocated to Los Angeles, where she met her future husband, Sonny Bono, in 1962.

Bono, eleven years her senior, was working for producer Phil Spector then. Meanwhile, Cher launched her career by singing backup vocals, and later, she and Bono became known as the singing duo Ceasar and Cleo, but their singles failed.

They later went by the moniker Sonny and Cher and recorded "Baby Don't Go" in 1964. A year later, the pair released their first hit song, "I've Got You Babe." They wed in Tijuana in October of that year, but the union was considered illegal.

While working with Bono, Cher continued to pursue a solo career, and her song, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," from her second album, earned her her first No. 2 single. In 1971, the California native reached her first No. 1 with the title track from her album, "Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves."

Meanwhile, she and Bono experienced immense success in the 1960s, but things slowed down at the end of the decade. The two started performing at a variety show in Las Vegas, which later became "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," earning the couple four Emmy Award nominations.

In the early seventies, Cher's fashion sense started to get recognition. While attending the 1973 Academy Awards, the dark-haired beauty donned a chic two-piece outfit that cemented her spot in fashion history.

Several years later, Cher's acting chops took center stage. She starred alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in the 1983 film, "Silkwood." The star won a Golden Globe Award as a Supporting Actress and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Cher accumulated numerous awards when she appeared in the 1987 rom-com "Moonstruck," alongside Nicholas Cage. She bagged an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe for her role.

Despite her success throughout the years, the "Strong Enough" hitmaker has had to endure a lot, including health problems that have caused a significant setback in her Hollywood career.

Cher Paused Her Career Because of Health Issues

It all started during a 1990 live performance in Connecticut, where Cher seemed exhausted. After the show, she hopped on her tour bus and admitted: "I'm getting too old for this. I can barely move around stage."

While in her bedroom at the back of the bus, she asked if she could lie down. The fatigue she felt was actually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, which she only learned about while filming "The Witches of Eastwick" in 1986.

However, the symptoms only became apparent when she started shooting "Mermaids," as production was halted for her to regain her strength. Cher explained:

"I was so sick. I thought I was going to die."

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is as a member of the herpes virus family, also known as human herpesvirus. It is regarded as one of the most common human viruses that spreads mainly through saliva and bodily fluids. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, and an inflamed throat, among others.

The virus heavily affected Cher's career, and she candidly talked about the experience during a September 2018 interview. When asked whether she was turning down acting offers or if they dried up at the time, she explained:

“[…] For two years, I couldn't work. It was terrible. I ended the second year with pneumonia. All these movie offers were coming in, but I had to turn them all down."

Cher reportedly revealed in a 2008 interview that she traveled to Germany to seek treatment for her condition, adding she almost died from pneumonia.

In a September 2016 Twitter post, the award-winning star expressed living with the infection was "rough." Several years later, she tweeted:

"I had pneumonia....and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stand to take a shower."

Amid her consistent health battles, Cher also revealed in 2008 that she was suffering from depression and the condition made her feel "completely alone." As a coping mechanism, she focused on work, which made a huge difference. Cher admitted she enjoys working as her job keeps her moving constantly.

Cher Has Two Disorders

In addition to her many health issues, Cher also suffers from different disorders. She has dyslexia, a learning disorder involving reading difficulties. Cher confirmed this in a July 2012 Twitter post, writing:

"IT'S TRUE I'M DYSLEXIC. […] Dyslexia is no joke!"

She was diagnosed with dyslexia in adulthood, and it finally dawned on her why she struggled so much in school. The music sensation penned in her autobiography, "The First Time," that she failed to read fast enough to get all her homework done, adding:

"Almost everything I learned, I had to learn by listening."

In a December 2020 interview, Cher revealed that the first book she ever read that brought her joy was the one Bono gave her – whom she divorced in 1975. It was titled "The Saracen Blade." She read it at her own pace and ultimately discovered her love for reading.

Cher's learning difficulty encouraged a fling with Tom Cruise, whom she met in 1985 at Madonna and Sean Penn's wedding. She revealed several people who have dyslexia got invited to the White House, and Cruise, who is also dyslexic, was also there, and they developed a "connection."

Dyslexia can also run in the family. Cher learned her son, Chaz, also had the disorder at ten years old after taking him to a testing center. Meanwhile, she revealed what the disorder does to her in an August 2022 tweet. She wrote on Twitter:

"I Realize 4 MOST PPL My Twts Read Like Mesopotamian Wu-Tang Clan, & I Don’t Blame Them, But I Have 2 Go Over & Over them. With my Dyslexia,..My Brain Can Go Faster Then My Hand."

The "Mask" star also suffers from dyscalculia. People with this condition react strongly to activities involving mathematics, such as getting frustrated or upset when playing board games.

She divulged the disorder makes her feel grumpy whenever she attempts to "dial long-distance calls." In her autobiography, Cher stated she has no relation with numbers.