{{Short description|American singer-songwriter (1926–2022)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Georgia Holt | image = Georgia Holt non-free.jpg | alt = Georgia Holt | caption = Georgia Holt in the 1940s | birth_name = Jackie Jean Crouch | birth_date = {{birth date|1926|6|9}} | birth_place = [[Kensett, Arkansas]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|12|10|1926|6|9}} | other_names = {{Plainlist| * Georgia LaPiere }} | spouse = {{Plainlist| * {{marriage|John Sarkisian|June 22, 1945|1947|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|<!-- John Sarkisian -->|December 15, 1965|1966|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|[[Chris Alcaide]]|April 10, 1948|1951|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|John Southall|March 19, 1951|1955|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Joseph Harper Collins|September 7, 1957|1961|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere|December 8, 1962|1964|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Hamilton T. Holt|January 24, 1970|1974|end=divorced}} }} | children = 2, including [[Cher]] | partner = Craig Spencer (1976–2022) | relatives = {{Plainlist| * [[Chaz Bono]] (grandson) * [[Elijah Blue Allman]] (grandson) }} | occupation = {{flatlist| * Singer-songwriter * actress * model}} | years_active = 1932–2014 | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | genre = [[Country music|Country]] | associated_acts = {{flatlist| * [[Bob Wills]] * [[Cher]]}} }} }} '''Georgia Holt''' (born '''Jackie Jean Crouch'''; June 9, 1926 – December 10, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, model, and occasional bit part actress. She was best known for being the mother of [[Cher]].
==Early life== Holt was born Jackie Jean Crouch on June 9, 1926, in [[Kensett, Arkansas]], to Lynda Inez (née Gulley; 1913–2009) and Roy Malloy Crouch (1905–1969).<ref name = Hendricks>{{cite web |last1=Hendricks |first1=Nancy |title=Georgia Holt (1926–2022) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/georgia-holt-12542/ |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |publisher=Central Arkansas Library System |access-date=September 7, 2024 |date=December 12, 2022}}</ref> Mr. Crouch was a baker at the time. Frequently moving back and forth between her separated parents before settling in Los Angeles,<ref name = Hendricks/> Holt estimated that she attended 17 [[Middle school|junior high schools]]. Her father taught her how to sing and play guitar.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woo |first=Kelly |title=First Look at Cher With Her Mom in Lifetime Documentary |url=https://tv.yahoo.com/news/first-look-at-cher-with-her-mom-in-lifetime-documentary--photo--183457865.html |access-date=May 1, 2013 |newspaper=Yahoo! TV |date=April 2, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Advocate Watch Cher and her Mother">{{cite news |last=Peeples |first=Jase |title=Watch: Cher and Her Mother Sing on Ellen |url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2013/05/01/watch-cher-and-her-mother-sing-ellen |access-date=May 1, 2013 |newspaper=The Advocate |date=May 1, 2013}}</ref><ref name="People Seven Failed Marriages">{{cite news |last=Kalter |first=Suzy |date=August 7, 1978 |title=After Seven Failed Marriages, Cher's Ma (Chastity's Grandma) Takes Her Own Star Turn |newspaper=People |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20071447,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607141704/https://people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20071447,00.html |archive-date=June 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aaanativearts.com/the-controversy-of-cher-s-heritage |title=The Controversy of Cher's Heritage |date=September 28, 2015 |website=AAA Native Arts}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2022-12-14 |title=Georgia Holt, singer, actress and mother of Cher – obituary |language=en-GB |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/12/14/georgia-holt-singer-actress-mother-cher-obituary/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
==Career== Holt sang on an [[Oklahoma City]] radio station when she was six years old, and by the age of 10, had sung with [[Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys]]. She won several talent and beauty competitions<ref name="People Seven Failed Marriages"/> and had a number of minor television and film roles in the 1950s. These included [[Watch the Birdie (1950 film)|''Watch the Birdie'']] (1950), ''[[Grounds for Marriage]]'' (1951) and ''[[Lovely to Look At]]'' (1952).<ref name="ci">{{cite magazine |last=Claesson |first=Samuel |date=March 2025 |title=Georgia Pelham Holt |magazine=Classic Images |pages=26–29}}</ref> However, by the mid-1950s, Holt's income was largely derived from working as a club singer.<ref name=":0"/>
After Holt performed in a singers' workshop ([[Phil Moore (jazz musician)|Phil Moore]]'s "Get Your Act Together") in July 1978 at [[Studio One (West Hollywood Nightclub)|Studio One]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[Mike Douglas]], [[Merv Griffin]], and [[Dinah Shore]] booked Holt to appear on their television talk shows.<ref name="People Seven Failed Marriages"/> Holt also appeared as an audience polling member as part of a group of ten mothers of famous celebrities on the American game show ''[[Card Sharks]]'' on July 4–8, 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thelifeandtimesofhollywood.com/meet-chers-93-year-old-mother-georgia-holt-great-video-with-cher-chaz-and-elijah-blue-allman-georgia/ |title=Meet Cher's 93 year old mother, Georgia Holt- Great Video with Cher, Chaz, and Elijah Blue , sister Georgeanne, Allman & Georgia |date=October 5, 2019 |website=thelifeandtimesofhollywood.com/ |access-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211053017/https://thelifeandtimesofhollywood.com/meet-chers-93-year-old-mother-georgia-holt-great-video-with-cher-chaz-and-elijah-blue-allman-georgia/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Holt was the subject of the 2013 [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] documentary ''[[Dear Mom, Love Cher]]'', which was executive produced by her daughter, [[Cher]]. The same year, Holt also released her album ''Honky Tonk Woman'', which was recorded in 1982 with the [[TCB Band]]. It was Holt's discovery of the tapes which led to the documentary project.<ref name=":0"/> The album includes a duet with Cher titled "I'm Just Your Yesterday".<ref name="EW Lifetime documentary">{{cite news |last=Rice |first=Lynette |title=Cher's family subject of Lifetime documentary |url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/01/chers-family-subject-of-lifetime-documentary-exclusive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404000600/http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/01/chers-family-subject-of-lifetime-documentary-exclusive/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 4, 2013 |access-date=May 1, 2013 |newspaper=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 1, 2013}}</ref>
In 2013, Holt and Cher appeared together on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Yahr |first=Emily |title=TV highlights |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/tv-highlights-amanda-knox-sits-for-first-interview-since-release-from-prison/2013/04/29/c2a301b2-a935-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html |access-date=May 1, 2013 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 29, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Avery |first=Dan |title=Cher Reveals Her Teenage Mugshot On "The Tonight Show" |url=http://www.newnownext.com/cher-reveals-her-teenage-mugshot-on-the-tonight-show-photo/05/2013/ |access-date=May 1, 2013 |newspaper=NewNowNext |date=May 1, 2013}}</ref> and ''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]''<ref name="Advocate Watch Cher and her Mother"/> to promote the documentary and album.<ref name="Advocate Watch Cher and her Mother"/>
==Personal life== Holt was married and divorced seven times to six husbands. She married Cher's father, [[Armenian-American]] truck driver John Paul Sarkisian,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/cher/ |title=Cher. Biography, news, photos and videos |website=HELLO! |date=October 8, 2009 }}</ref> on June 22, 1945 in [[Reno, Nevada]];<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/701709261 "Licensed To Wed"]. ''The Fresno Bee''. June 25, 1945. p. 11.</ref> they briefly remarried and redivorced about 20 years later. Holt's second husband was actor [[Chris Alcaide]].<ref name = Hendricks/> Her third husband was actor John Southall, with whom she had her second child, actress Georganne LaPiere.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cain |first=Sian |date=2022-12-12 |title=Georgia Holt, actor, singer and Cher's mother, dies aged 96 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/12/georgia-holt-actor-singer-and-chers-mother-dies-aged-96 |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=MyNewsGH |date=2022-12-11 |title=Georgia Holt Children: Meet Cher and Georganne LaPiere |url=https://www.mynewsgh.com/georgia-holt-children-meet-cher-and-georganne-lapiere/ |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=MyNewsGh |language=en-us}}</ref> She later wed Joseph Harper Collins,<ref name=":0"/> after whom she married Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere, a bank manager who legally adopted Cher and Georganne and changed their surnames to LaPiere.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://lady.co.uk/cher-her-family-saga-and-mother%E2%80%99s-love |title=CHER, HER FAMILY SAGA and a mother's love | lady.co.uk |website=lady.co.uk}}</ref> Holt's last marriage was to Hamilton T. Holt, by whose surname she became known.<ref name=":0"/>
From 1976 until her death, Holt was in a relationship with Craig Spencer.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/Dear-Mom-Love-Cher-Lifetime.aspx |title=Lifetime's 'Dear Mom, Love Cher' has Georgia on its Mind}}</ref> Holt was 50 and running an antiques shop when she met the then 28-year-old Spencer, who was initially interested in her daughter Georganne.<ref name=":0"/>
In the late 1970s, Holt owned and operated a bedding store in [[Brentwood, California]], called Granny's Cabbage Patch. It was paid for by Cher, who noted in her 2024 autobiography that it consistently operated at a financial loss until its closure.
Holt had two grandsons, Cher's children, [[Chaz Bono]] and [[Elijah Blue Allman]].<ref name="EW Lifetime documentary"/>
On December 10, 2022, Cher announced on [[Twitter]] that Holt had died at age 96.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2022 |title=Cher confirms her mother Georgia Holt death at 96 |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/457967-cher-confirms-her-mother-georgia-holt-death-at-96 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |website=Geo.tv |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Cher |user=cher |number=1601804644501508096 |title=Mom is gone😔}}</ref> Holt was survived by Spencer, her daughters and grandchildren.<ref name=":0"/>
==Filmography== {{More citations needed|date=December 2022}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes ! Ref |- |rowspan="2"|1950 |''[[A Life of Her Own]]'' |Uncredited |rowspan="3"|Movies | |- |''[[Watch the Birdie (1950 film)|Watch the Birdie]]'' |Grandpop's Girl | |- |1951 |''[[Grounds for Marriage]]'' |First Girl | |- |rowspan="2"|1955 |''[[The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet]]'' |Bride |TV episode "David's Engagement" | |- |''[[Artists and Models]]'' |Uncredited |Movie | |- |1956 |''[[I Love Lucy]]'' |Jaques Marcel Model |TV episode "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown" | |- |1966 |''[[The Lucy Show]]'' |Model |TV episode "Lucy and Pat Collins" | |- |1978 |''[[Cher... Special]]'' |rowspan="13"|Herself |Voice only | |- |1979 |''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'' |rowspan="2"|TV series | |- |1980 |''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'' | |- |1987 |''Superstars and Their Moms'' |TV movie, also co-executive producer | |- |1999 |''[[Behind the Music]]'' |TV series documentary episode "Cher" | |- |2011 |''Becoming Chaz'' |TV series | |- |rowspan="7"|2013 |''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' |Television infotainment series | |- |''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' |Late night comedy program (NBC-TV) |<ref name=tvguide>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/georgia-holt/credits/3000050087/ |title=Georgia Holt |website=TV Guide}}</ref> |- |''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]'' |TV series | |- |''[[Good Morning America]]'' |Morning news program (ABC-TV) | |- |''[[Access Hollywood]]'' |Television infotainment series | |- |''[[Dear Mom, Love Cher]]'' |TV documentary |<ref name=tvguide/> |- |''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'' |Weekly news program (on ABC-TV) | |- | 2013 |''[[CBS News Sunday Morning|Sunday Morning]]'' | Herself |Weekly news program | |- | 2014 |''[[RuPaul's Drag Race]]'' | Herself/Guest Judge | Season 6 episode 9; "[[Queens of Talk]]" |<ref name=tvguide/> |- |}
==Discography== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title ! rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Album details ! colspan="2"| Peak chart<br />positions |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="45"| [[Top Country Albums|US Country]] ! width="45"| [[Top Heatseekers|US Heat]] |- ! scope="row"| ''Honky Tonk Woman'' | * Release date: April 30, 2013 | 43<ref name=denver_05102013>{{cite web |title=Cher's mother Georgia Holt makes chart debut at age 86 |date=May 10, 2013 |work=Denver Post |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2013/05/10/chers-mother-georgia-holt-makes-chart-debut-at-age-86/ |access-date=December 14, 2022}}</ref> | 13<ref name=denver_05102013/> |- |}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |date=1989 |title=Star Mothers – The Moms Behind the Celebrities |first1=Georgia |last1=Holt |first2=Phyllis |last2=Quinn |first3=Sue |last3=Russell |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-91540-3 }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|4917742|Georgia Holt}} *{{discogs artist|Georgia Holt}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Georgia}} [[Category:1926 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]] [[Category:20th-century American women singers]] [[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]] [[Category:21st-century American women singers]] [[Category:Actresses from Arkansas]] [[Category:American country singer-songwriters]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:American people of German descent]] [[Category:American people of Irish descent]] [[Category:American people of Cherokee descent]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:American women country singers]] [[Category:American women singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Cher]] [[Category:Country musicians from Arkansas]] [[Category:Female models from Alabama]] [[Category:People from Kensett, Arkansas]] [[Category:Singer-songwriters from Arkansas]] [[Category:American people of English descent]]