Cher’s Most Scandalous Naked Dresses of All Time

Cher, the “Goddess of Pop,” turned 80 on Wednesday.

From her rise to fame in 1965 as one-half of Sonny & Cher—a duo she formed with her ex-husband, Sonny Bono—to releasing 27 solo studio albums, the “Believe” singer holds one of Hollywood’s longest spanning careers.

Looking past her prolific music career, Cher has also won an Academy Award and three Golden Globes for acting. Through her decades in the spotlight, she has become a global fashion icon for her bold sense of style and her boundary-pushing, borderline-naked red-carpet ensembles.

It’s unlikely the 80-year-old star will slow down or switch to prairie dresses anytime soon, so while these are the most scandalous, talked-about looks of her career so far, we fully expect to update the list before she turns 90.

Met Gala, 1974

In 1974, Cher attended the Met Gala—then a far less lavish affair—wearing a sheer dress with silver beads sewn in a tactical pattern.

The gown, a creation by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, 87, included feathers in the sleeves and hem and is perhaps one of the most well-known “naked dresses” of all time.

She repeated the look on the cover of Time magazine in 1975.

In 2026, Cher told Vogue about the reaction to her head-turning look.

“At the first Met Gala, I was naked, and so people were upset about it,” she said. “But now people wouldn’t even give it a thought.”

She also joked that, because of her slim figure, there was nothing to see.

“Well, that’s not exactly true,” she added. “But it wasn’t much.”

Academy Awards, 1986

In 1986, Cher bared her abs in a black geometric two-piece set—another Mackie design—at the Academy Awards.

She delved deeper into her inspiration behind the look in the 2024 documentary, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusions.

In the documentary, she said she felt snubbed by the Academy after not receiving a nomination for her role in Mask, according to People.

She felt the reasons were personal.

“I didn’t dress like a serious actress, and I had… my boyfriends were strange,” Cher explained.

She called walking to the carpet in the bralette her “‘f— you” moment to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Cher also recalled another famous actress’s reaction to her outfit.

“I was coming around, and Jane Fonda was coming around, and she looked at me and said, ‘Cher, please wait until I get back to my seat, OK, before you come out. Please, I can’t wait. I want to see everybody’s reaction,’” she said.

Academy Awards, 1988

Just two short years later, Cher caused another commotion with her sheer scene-stealing gown at the 1988 Academy Awards.

The bejeweled gown exposed her stomach and most of her legs. Like her show-stopping gowns before it, this dress was designed by Mackie, who called Cher his muse.

That evening, Cher won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

“If I Could Turn Back Time” Video, 1989

In 1989, Cher filmed a music video for her hit song “If I Could Turn Back Time” aboard the USS Missouri battleship.

In the video, she performs for Navy soldiers in a see-through bodysuit with black fabric cut into a V-shape covering her breasts and crotch.

At the time of its release, the video was divisive, with some viewers labeling it overly scandalous and others praising its set design, costumes, and concept.

Cher continued to wow with her daring style choices well into the new millennium.

One of Cher’s most notable 21st-century fashion moments was the bodysuit she wore at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

The bedazzled catsuit was—in true Cher fashion—mostly sheer, with tactfully placed black fabric.