1974
“I was presenting with Sonny [Bono, her then-husband and music partner]. That was pants and a chiffon-y top. Bob Mackie made it out of sari material and added the beads. I hadn’t worn it yet for The Sonny and Cher Show. We were presenting to Marvin Hamlisch [center, with Debbie Reynolds], and I called him the wrong name! I couldn’t read the cards; I was dyslexic. And he didn’t even seem upset! No one took the pomp all that seriously then.”
1980
"In ’80, Val Kilmer and I [with her son Elijah] had just started dating. We’re still friends; he came to my house for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. That dress was pretty tame for me, although it was see-through. I weighed 108, so I could pretty much wear anything. That’s what Bob told me all the time — that I was a big Barbie doll.”
1984
“I went with Val when I was nominated [for supporting actress] for Silkwood, my first Oscar nomination. That was a plain-beaded dress Bob made me, but it was so beautifully made. Someday he’ll get the recognition he deserves. He made a lot of these dresses for me in a week because he had a dress figure in my shape in his studio. That night, I had braces on. It was a little awkward. I was trying to straighten my teeth! I don’t think too many people realize that from the photos.”
1986
“Oh, yeah, the Mohawk year. You don’t have to like it — I liked it. I didn’t get a nomination for Mask, and everyone said it was because I didn’t dress like a serious actress. Well, I did not get that pamphlet! I wanted to be a member of the Academy, but I could not be a member of the Academy and not belong to myself. I was more interested in just having a good time. You have to be voted in by someone, and after Silkwood and Mask, eventually I was. … The hair may have been distracting, but the dress was all cashmere. It was a piece of art, a truly beautiful thing. Another thing about that night: I had one blue eye and one brown eye — one contact lens. I’ve never told anyone that before. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
1988
“That was the year I won [best actress] for Moonstruck. Bob made a beautiful dress, and I had this hairdo by Renate Leuschner — I think I actually wore my own hair that night. The way it would work with Bob is that I would go to his studio and say, ‘I would like to do this,’ and he’d say, ‘OK, let me see how I can interpret this.’ He might give me three versions. With this, he wanted it to look like the beads were on me, not the fabric. I was dating [producer] Josh Donen, and I kept saying to him, ‘No matter what I wear, will you be OK with me?’ He kept saying, ‘Yes, sweetheart.’ Oscar night, I walked out in my outfit, and I thought he was going to pass out. We got there, and his father, Stanley Donen, said: ‘Josh, what a girl! You gotta give it to her!’ Then Josh was OK. … When Jane Fonda saw me, she just laughed like crazy."
1989
“I had won the year before, so this time I was presenting best actor. I was with Rob Camilletti. It was a little short dress, a corset top and swingy skirt, with fishnets and Valentino pumps that I wore till they fell apart. Was it irreverent that I wore a short dress to the Oscars? I don’t think that’s so important. It’s like you can’t wear patent leather after a certain month, you have to cut your hair after a certain age — who are those people who get to tell you what to do? I think I’ve been doing what I want for so long that when it comes to clothing, it doesn’t even occur to me to do anything else. You dress because it makes you feel and look good; you don’t dress to fit in.”
1998
“I liked the hat and had all kinds of time to tell Bob I didn’t really like the dress, but I didn’t realize how much till I walked out the door.”
2000
“Bob made this black velvet dress with a cross hanging off an Elizabethan-style waist belt and rhinestone straps that came up over the shoulders. Elizabeth Courtney, a famous costumer, did my fittings till she passed. She’d made Marlene Dietrich’s gowns. One night I saw this woman in their studio cleaning out the refrigerator, and I asked who it was, and Bob said, 'Dietrich.' I was about as subtle as an elephant trying to get a better look at her. But I couldn’t introduce myself — you could tell she wasn’t up for that.”
2000
Cher attended the Vanity Fair Academy Awards party in this jean jacket and beaded pants combo.