Cher turns 80 today. Which means: 60 years in show business, 6 world tours, an Oscar for best actress in a leading role (1988), and at the same time - more publicly followed romances than any living pop icon. Current partner: Alexander "AE" Edwards, a music producer 40 years younger than her. And no, she never asked permission.

That might be the biggest lesson of her career. Cher never bowed to what "should" be done - in work, in fashion, in her private life. When in 1964 she married Sonny Bono (with whom she formed the legendary duo "Sonny & Cher"), she was 18, he was 28. When in 1975 - the same year she divorced Sonny - she married Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, he was better known for drugs than for guitar. The marriage lasted nine days before she filed for divorce. They reconciled later, had son Elijah Blue, divorced in 1979.

The list of romances between marriages is a story of its own. Warren Beatty as far back as 1962. Gene Simmons of Kiss in 1979-1980. Val Kilmer in 1982-1984. Tom Cruise in 1985, when Cruise was 23 and she was 39. Rob Camilletti from 1986-1989 - known as the "Bagel Boy" because he worked in a bakery when she met him. Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi in 1989-1990.

Cher now marries who she wants. Shows up the way she wants. Talks about what she wants. That's still a rarity in an industry that most often grinds women out after 40. At 80 - with a partner 40 years younger - she's proving nothing. She's just continuing where she started. Balkan culture would say: "A woman with five husbands". Pop culture would say: a woman who is her own. Cher doesn't ask who is right.