Georgia Holt

Georgia Holt (born Jackie Jean Crouch; June 9, 1926 – December 10, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, actress and model. She was also notable for being the mother of singer and actress Cher.

Early life

Holt was born Jackie Jean Crouch in Kensett, Arkansas, in 1926 to Lynda Inez Gulley, (February 8, 1913 - May 13, 2009), aged 13, and Roy Malloy Crouch, (July 17, 1905 - June 18, 1969) a 21-year-old baker. Holt said she was of English, German, Irish, French, Dutch, and Cherokee descent. She frequently moved back and forth between her separated parents. Holt estimated that she attended 17 junior high schools. Her father taught her how to sing and play guitar.

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, and had a number of minor television and film roles in the 1950s. These included ''Watch the Birdie'' (1950), ''Grounds for Marriage'' (1951) and ''Lovely to Look At'' (1952). However, by the mid-1950s, Holt's income was largely derived from working as a club singer.

After performing in a singers' workshop ( Phil Moore's "Get Your Act Together") in July 1978 at Studio One in Los Angeles, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, and Dinah Shore booked Holt to appear on their television talk shows. Holt also appeared as an audience polling member as part of a group of ten mothers of famous celebrities on the U.S. game show '' Card Sharks'' from July 4 to 8, 1988.

Holt was the subject of the 2013 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 Elvis Presley's band. It was Holt's discovery of the tapes which led to the documentary project. The album includes a duet with Cher titled "I'm Just Your Yesterday".

In 2013, Holt and Cher appeared together on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' and ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' to promote the documentary and album.

Personal life

Throughout her life, Holt was married 6 times and divorced six times. She and her first husband, Armenian-American truck driver John Paul Sarkisian (whom she remarried 19 years later as her fifth husband and divorced again) had daughter Cher in 1946, when Holt was 19. Holt later married actor John Southall, by whom she had her second child, actress Georganne LaPiere. Following this, she wed Joseph Harper Collins. In 1961, Holt married Gilbert Hartmann LaPiere, a bank manager, who legally adopted Cher and Georganne, changing their surnames to LaPiere.

Holt's last marriage was to Hamilton T Holt, by whose surname she became known.

Through Cher, Holt had two grandsons, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman. From 1976 until her death, Holt was in a relationship with Craig Spencer. At the time they met, Holt was 50 and running an antiques shop, whilst Spencer was aged 21, and initially interested in her daughter Georganne.

Her daughter, Cher, announced on Twitter that Holt had died on December 10, 2022, at age 96. Holt was survived by Spencer, her daughters, and grandsons.

Filmography

Discography

Bibliography

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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Georgia
1926 births
2022 deaths
American film actresses
Female models from Alabama
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
People from Kensett, Arkansas
Actresses from Arkansas
Country musicians from Arkansas
American people of Irish descent
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American television actresses
20th-century American singers
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers