John Paul Sarkisian: What Happened To The Father Of Cher?

Posted by Lorie Orum on Saturday, May 18, 2024

John Paul Sarkisian is the father of Cherilyn Sarkisian commonly known as Cher and the ex-husband of singer-songwriter, actress and model Georgia Holt. John’s daughter is an American singer, actress, and television personality. The media frequently referred to her as the “Goddess of Pop”. She has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. She is famous for her distinctive contralto singing voice. Throughout her six-decade-long career, she has worked in numerous areas of entertainment. She has sold 100 million records and is regarded as one of the world’s best-selling music artists.

John Paul Sarkisian: Bio Summary

NameJohn Paul Sarkisian
Famous asfather of Cher
Date of birth23 March 1926
Died28 January 1985 (aged 58)
BirthplaceOakland, Alameda County, California, USA
ParentsGeorge Sarkisian and Blanche Dilkian
SpouseGeorgia Holt
ChildrenCher
OccupationTruck driver

Who Is Cher’s Father, John Paul Sarkisian?

John Paul Sarkisian was born on 23 March 1926, in Oakland, Alameda County, California, USA. He was an Armenian-American. His parents are George Sarkisian and Blanche Dilkian. He reportedly has two siblings: Lucy Sarkisian Mirgian and Roxanne Sarkisian Hopkins and half-siblings: Louise Voutsinas, Elizabeth, Dick, and Harry Yegan, and Pearl Najimian.

John Paul Sarkisian’s parents divorced and his mother remarried Carl Yegan. John was a truck driver. He is said to have also worked as a bartender, auto mechanic, hairstylist, delivered seasonal produce, made a living by breeding horses, and his father even bought five trucks so that John could start his own business but things didn’t go well.

John Paul Sarkisian met and eventually married Jackie Jean Crouch known as Georgia Holt. Georgia (June 9, 1926 – December 10, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, actress, and model. Things didn’t work out for the couple and they divorced in 1947. For the second time, they married in 1965 and divorced in 1966. The two gave birth to Cherilyn Sarkisian (Cher) on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California, US.

After the divorce, Georgia Holt struggled as a single mother and even briefly placed Cher in an orphanage for several weeks while she worked to become financially independent. Cher revealed that her mother almost aborted her after she got pregnant. She told abcnews: “My mother told me once about how she got pregnant with me and didn’t want to be with my dad; she was just so young and inexperienced.

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‘My grandmother said, ‘You have a bright future.’ She actually suggested an abortion, so my mom was in the doctor’s office—a back-alley doctor—getting on the table. And then at the last minute, she said, ‘I can’t do this. I don’t care what happens—I can’t do this.’ ” However, during her parents, John and Georgia’s marriage, John was rarely home. He was mostly absent from his daughter’s life. John had drug and gambling problems.

John Paul Sarkisian and his daughter Cher had a rocky relationship. Cher had cut ties with her father as she claims that he was absent from her life and caused problems when he was around. According to John, he was unable to reach his daughter for a while after his divorce from her mother because he lost track of her as she and her mother moved around most of the time.

John went ahead to sue Cher and two tabloids for $4 million over statements related to Cher, regarding his past that he felt were hurtful and damaging to his reputation. Although John Paul Sarkisian confirmed that he was imprisoned for drugs and bad-check violations, he claimed to have led an “exemplary, pious, and noble life” for several years.

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John explained that he became addicted to pain medication after suffering a medical condition. Things even became complicated because of a sold photo. Cher had a photograph taken with her father, John and granddaughter and John decided to sell the photograph to a rug dealer to prove his relationship with Cher. Cher vowed to have no further contact with her father.

What Happened To Cher’s Father?

Cher’s father, John Paul Sarkisian died at age 58, on 28 January 1985, in Fresno, Fresno County, California, USA, and was buried at Fresno Memorial Gardens, Fresno, Fresno County, California, USA. The cause of his death is undisclosed. His ex-wife Georgia Holt died on December 10, 2022, in Malibu, California, U.S., at age 96.

In a tweet, Cher revealed that her mother had been sick off and on and she was discharged from the hospital after suffering from Pneumonia.

Sorry I’ve Been Mia.
Mom’s Been Sick Off & On.She Just Got Out Of Hosp.She Had Pneumonia.She’s Getting Better.

— Cher (@cher) September 9, 2022

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After her mother passed away, Cher wrote on Twitter: ‘Mom is gone😔’.

Mom is gone😔

— Cher (@cher) December 11, 2022

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