Georgia Holt, a singer, actress, and Cher’s mother, passed away at the age of 96.
Cher tweeted “mom is gone” on Saturday to confirm the passing. Liz Rosenberg, her publicist, confirmed the news to the Washington Post on Sunday, but she did not provide any further information, such as the cause of death or the precise date. In September, Holt was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia. Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was one of the well-known people to offer Cher her sympathies, writing, “So sorry for your loss, my friend.”
Cher Is Heartbroken
Holt, who was born Jackie Jean Crouch in Arkansas in 1926, learned how to sing and play the guitar from her father.
She won various skill and beauty contests as a youngster and started acting in her 20s. She was cast in movies like A Life of Her Own and Grounds for Marriage as well as television shows like I Love Lucy and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet during her career. Six times, including twice to her daughter’s father John Paul Sarkisian, with whom she wed in 1946, divorced in 1947, later remarried in 1965, and divorced once more in 1966, Holt was married and divorced.
Holt suffered as a single mother after their first marriage broke down, even briefly placing Cher in a Catholic orphanage while she sought to become self-sufficient. After having her second child, Georganne, with actor John Southall, Holt subsequently got married. Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere, a bank manager who formally adopted Cher and Georganne and gave them the last name LaPiere, wed Holt in 1961.
Craig Spencer, Holt’s last husband, and she were together from 1976 until Holt’s passing. When Spencer was 21 and she was 50, they met while she was managing an antique store.
Cher, 76, has always expressed her affection for her mother. She even served as executive producer of the 2013 documentary Dear Mom, Love Cher, which examined their tight bond.
