Cher

She and Barbra Streisand are the only two female performers in the United States to have had a #1 hit and won a competitive Oscar.
Her legal name has changed numerous times throughout her life. She was born as Cherilyn Sarkisian, and in 1961 her legal name was changed to Cheryl LaPiere after her stepfather formally adopted her. After her two marriages she had up to four last names, Sarkisian LaPiere Bono Allman, though accounts differ whether she was still using her birth father's last name and if her legal first name was Cherilyn or Cheryl. In 1979 she legally shortened her name to Cher, with no surname.
She lives by her mother Georgia Holt's rule-of-thumb life lesson: "If it doesn't matter in 5 years, it doesn't matter".
Wanted to play Morticia Addams in Los locos Addams (1991), but the role went to Anjelica Huston.
When she first heard Diane Warren's demo for "If I Could Turn Back Time", she detested the song and firmly rejected it. It was only after much encouragement and badgering from the songwriter that she agreed to record it. The fact that Warren agreed to fund the recording session also helped clinch the deal, and Cher nailed the recording after just two takes.

I don't like my voice that much. I think I'm a much better actress than singer. Singing is like going to a party at someone else's house. Acting is like having the party at your own house. When you go to someone else's house for a party, it's not your responsibility at all, but when you have the party at your own house, there's a lot of responsibility. Everyone has to have a good time. So for me, acting is deeper.
In this business, you have to be tough, and if someone pushes me really far, I can certainly be impossible. I've always said, "If you're nice, they walk over you, and if you stand up for yourself, they call you a bitch.".
I'm not a role model, nor have I ever tried to be a role model. The only thing about me as a role model is I've managed to stay here and be working and survive. For 40 years.
I'm like a bumper car. When I did an infomercial I was fodder for every TV comedy show. I couldn't get a job. People said I was a huge joke. I've been a joke so many times. I've been on my way out since I started, but I'm strong-willed. My mother is so much tougher than I am and my grandmother is so much tougher than my mother.
I haven't a clue why I've lasted so long. There's no reason. There are many people more talented than me. I think it's luck.