Editing Cher (section)

=== Acting style and screen persona ===
{{Further|Cher filmography}}
[[File:Good Times 3.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Cher with a voluminous blonde bouffant hairstyle and winged eyeliner, wearing a gold sequined top while seated in a red booth.|Cher in ''[[Good Times (film)|Good Times]]'' (1967), her first leading film role]]

''[[Maclean's]]'' magazine's Barbara Wickens described Cher as "probably the most fascinating [[movie star]] of her generation", highlighting her "magnetic" screen presence and her ability to be both "boldly [[shock value|shocking]]" and "ultimately enigmatic".<ref name=Wickens-1989>{{cite magazine |title=The Cher Effect |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1989/3/6/the-cher-effect |date=March 6, 1989 |last=Wickens |first=Barbara |magazine=[[Maclean's]] |archive-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620073930/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1989/3/6/the-cher-effect |url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Film Comment'' wrote, "For Cher is a star. That is, she manages the movie star trick of being at once a character and at the same time never allowing you to forget: that's Cher."{{sfn|Berman|2001|pp=86–87}} ''[[New York Post]]'' critic [[David Edelstein]] attributed Cher's "top-ranking [[Charisma|star quality]]" to her capacity for projecting "honesty, rawness and emotionality", adding that she "wears her vulnerability on her sleeve".<ref name=Wickens-1989/> ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine's [[David Denby]] pointed to her distinctive appearance as a key factor in her appeal, describing her look as "odd, a bit oriental and snaky" and suggesting that it aligns with "the traditional definition of a Hollywood star—that you always want to see more".<ref name=Wickens-1989/>

Author Yvonne Tasker noted that Cher's film roles mirror her public image as a rebellious, sexually autonomous and [[self-made woman]].{{sfn|Tasker|2002|pp=191–192}} She often portrays women who help [[Social exclusion|marginalized]] male characters navigate mainstream society.{{sfn|Negra|2001|pp=170–177}} This perception was reinforced in ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "[[The Post-Modern Prometheus]]" (1997), which follows a scientist's grotesque creature who idolizes Cher because of her role in ''Mask'' (1985), where her character cares for her disfigured son.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Carter, Chris]] |year=2005 |title=Audio Commentary for "The Post-Modern Prometheus" |medium=DVD |work=[[The X-Files (season 5)|The X-Files: The Complete Fifth Season]] |publisher=[[20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Deans |first=Meghan |title=Reopening ''The X-Files'': 'The Post-Modern Prometheus' |url=http://www.tor.com/2012/08/23/reopening-the-x-files-qthe-post-modern-prometheusq/ |website=[[Tor.com]] |access-date=January 17, 2016 |date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328024925/http://www.tor.com/2012/08/23/reopening-the-x-files-qthe-post-modern-prometheusq/ |archive-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> Film critic [[:de:Kathleen Rowe Karlyn|Kathleen Rowe]] wrote of ''Moonstruck'' (1987) that the depiction of Cher's character as "a '[[Women in positions of power|woman on top]]' [is] enhanced by the unruly star persona Cher brings to the part'".{{sfn|Tasker|2002|p=192}}

Cher was ranked first by ''Billboard'' on its list of "The 100 Best Acting Performances by Musicians in Movies" for her role in ''Moonstruck'', with the performance described as "the standard by which you mentally check all others".<ref>{{cite news|title=The 100 Best Acting Performances by Musicians in Movies|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8477854/musician-movie-performances-top-100|date=October 4, 2018|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|archive-date=July 25, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725071006/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8477854/musician-movie-performances-top-100|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was named the eighth-greatest [[romantic comedy]] of all time by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=2 |title=AFI's 10 Top 10: The 10 Greatest Movies in 10 Categories |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=June 23, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222429/http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=2 |archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> ''People'' included Cher among its "100 Greatest Movie Stars of our Time"{{sfn|Laufenberg|2005|p=120}} and ''[[Biography (magazine)|Biography]]'' ranked her the third-favorite leading actress of all time, behind Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Audrey+Hepburn+Named+Favorite+All-Time+Oscar-Winning+Actress+by...-a075081004|title=Audrey Hepburn Named Favorite All-Time Oscar-Winning Actress by ''Biography'' Magazine Readers|agency=[[PR Newswire]]|date=May 29, 2001|archive-date=November 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110213336/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Audrey+Hepburn+Named+Favorite+All-Time+Oscar-Winning+Actress+by...-a075081004|url-status=dead}}</ref>