• 1947: Cher's father leaves the family when she is 10 months old. He was a gambler and heroin addict.

• 1949: Cher's mother, Georgia, loses a part in the film Asphalt Jungle to Marilyn Monroe.

• 1962: Cher drops out of school and moves out of her mother's home.

• 1962: Warren Beatty spots her on Sunset Boulevard. He invites her back to his place, where they have sex. She is 16, and the romance doesn't last long.

• 1963: Still 16, she's spotted in a restaurant by a 27-year-old record producer named Sonny Bono. They become friends, in a brother-sister kind of way. They live in the same room but never have sex, until Sonny realizes he's developed feelings for her.

• 1960s: Cher works as a backup singer for producer Phil Spector. She sings vocals on hits like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

• 1965: Sonny writes "I Got You Babe," which immediately shoots to the top of the charts.

• 1965: Buoyed by that success, their first album, Look at Us, goes to number two on the charts. They're instant millionaires and buy a 34-room mansion in Bel Air, California.

• December 1966: Cher plays herself in two episodes of Batman.

• May 1967: The movie musical Good Times flops at the box office. Directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), it's the only film Sonny and Cher made together. They play themselves.

• June 1969: Sonny scrapes together $300,000 to produce another film, Chastity. It flops, too, but Sonny and Cher name their first daughter after it anyway.

• Fall 1969: Sonny and Cher finally married, eight months after the birth of Chastity.

• 1971: Sonny and Cher do a lounge act and work up their now-familiar patter. Merv Griffin catches it and has them guest host his talk show. Then, Fred Silverman, president of CBS, sees them guest host and develops a show for the couple.

• July 1971: The Sonny and Cher Nitty Gritty Hour debuts, with Bob Mackie designing Cher's wardrobe, budgeted at $10,000 a show.

• 1973: Cher becomes a solo singing act, scoring big hits with "Half Breed" and "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves."

• 1973: Their relationship straining, Sonny and Cher continue living in the same house--but in different wings. They still put up the facade of a happily married couple on television.

• January 1974: Cher leaves the TV show.

• February 1974: Cher files for divorce.

• Spring 1974: Cher starts dating David Geffen, who is up-front about his love for her, despite his homosexuality.