Georgia Holt, Actress and the Mother of Cher, Dead at 96

Singer-songwriter and actress Georgia Holt, who is the mother of Cher, has died age 96, her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg confirmed, per The Washington Post.

In a tweet shared just after midnight on Sunday, Cher wrote, “Mom is gone 😔.” 

In a September tweet, Cher told her fans that Holt had been hospitalized with pneumonia. “Sorry I’ve Been Mia. Mom’s Been Sick Off & On,” she tweeted at the time. “She Just Got Out Of Hosp. She Had Pneumonia. She’s Getting Better.” 

Among those to share their condolences were Hillary Clinton, and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and Cher impersonator Chad Michaels. “Sorry sorry for your loss, my friend,” wrote Clinton.

Born Jackie Jean Crouch in Kensett, Arkansas in 1926, Holt started her singing career when she was just six years old. Throughout her life she was an actress, model, and singer. She made appearances on I Love Lucy and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in the ‘50s. She only released her debut album Honky Tonk Woman in 2013 despite recording it in the ‘80s with Elvis Presley’s band.

Holt also made appearances alongside her daughter on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2013 to promote the documentary Dear Mom, Love Cher. She divorced six times throughout her life, and was in a relationship with Craig Spencer from 1976 until her death. The last time Holt made an appearance on TV was as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2014.