MY PRIVATE WORLD Cher is loving life

At 72, life keeps getting better for the music icon, and she shows no signs of slowing down ... just yet

Aminute after excusing herself to use her hotel bathroom – the door of which she left ajar, because “who’s gonna see anything?” – Cher emerges. She sits on an easy chair in the living room of her West Hollywood suite and announces, “I’m ready.” The icon, who over 30 years ago arrived at the Oscars in a bejewelled, barely there Bob Mackie gown, still knows how to make an entrance. Today, off-duty Cher has opted for black sweatpants and sheepskin boots rather than couture and diamonds. At 72 years old, the diva – born Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1946 to Georgia Holt, now 92, and the late John Paul Sarkisian – has accomplished more than she ever dreamed. The mother of sons Chaz Bono, 49, and Elijah Blue Allman, 42, has won an Emmy, a Grammy and an Academy Award … and the beat goes on. Hot off her appearance in the recent smashhit film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, she’s back with her first album in five years, an ABBA covers collection called Dancing Queen. There’s even more to come as The Cher Show, a jukebox musical based on her life, opens on Broadway on Dec. 3. “Sometimes I think, ‘It’s such a pain in my ass,’ ” says Cher of being – well – Cher. “But then I remember, ‘You’re so lucky to be able to do what you’re doing.’”

It seemed everyone was excited to see you in the recent Mamma Mia! sequel. How did it feel getting back into acting?

I usually say no to everything. But my friend Ron Meyer – who is now the head of Universal [Pictures, the film’s studio] – called and said, “You’re doing Mamma Mia!. It’s good for your career,” and hung up. So I thought, “I’ll do my best and we’ll see what happens.” It was really fun – I know Pierce [Brosnan] and Meryl [Streep] – and it was the easiest job I ever had.

So what did you think of the movie?

I haven’t seen it. I’ve seen some parts that I’m not in. I’ll see it in a little while.

Do you not like to watch yourself onscreen?

It depends, but mostly no. I wait a little while, till I’ve had some breathing space from it.

When did you know you wanted to record an entire album of ABBA covers?

If I hadn’t done the film I wouldn’t have thought about it. It would have never entered my mind, but after I did “Fernando” I had it in my mind. So I recorded “One of Us” and the record company said, “Do the whole thing.”

You must have run into the band during their heyday.

No, except I did a cameo in one of their videos [“Our Last Video Ever” in 2004], but there were these marionette puppets of them, so I wasn’t with them. When I saw it I thought, “My God, what’s that?”

This album is dedicated to your mum. How did she shape your career?

The thing my mum gave me when I was really young was confidence to do what I wanted to do.

What’s the best advice she ever gave you?

“If it doesn’t matter in five years, it doesn’t matter.” I really use that as a rule, and it has always served me well.

What have you applied that to?

Well, failure. I’ve failed before. I’ve come back.

Your upcoming Broadway show explores that. Was it weird seeing your life and high-profile relationships play out on stage?

I was surprised how good the actors are. Kind of creepy too. Like [the ones playing] Greg [Allman] and Sonny [Bono] and Robert [Camilletti] … You’re looking at them, and you’re like, “Hmm, that’s a little too real.”

What has kept you going?

It’s all I wanted to do, from the time I was 4 years old. Sometimes I think, “You better stop, this is just too much.” But that’s momentary.

You look incredible. What’s your secret?

You have to work out. But, thank God, I always was a tomboy, so I don’t mind doing it. I like cake and stuff too, but I have to limit myself, ’cause I have to fit into costumes. So I watch what I’m eating, and I don’t like it. When I was 40 or 50, I never had to watch it, but I have to now.

Is there a difference between the Cher the public sees and Cher at home?

You know, you can’t go around being glamorous Cher all the time. I go around just in my sweatpants. I don’t go around in makeup, I have my hair in a ponytail – I like my off time. I like just being grubby.

Do you ever see yourself retiring?

Oh god, yeah. I just don’t know when.