'Believe' icon Cher has opened up about her upbringing and revealed that she spent time in a Catholic orphanage as a youngster because her mother needed time to get herself together.

Her U.S. TV documentary, entitled 'Dear Mom, Love Cher', will air on Monday (May 6) and the programme sees the superstar talk about the fact that her mother considered aborting her and while she eventually decided not to, split from Cher's father when she was just a baby so put her under the care of nuns for a while:

"I heard the abortion story when I was a teenager. The orphanage story has been a touchy one for my mum her whole life, and she didn't want to talk about it. I said, 'Mum, why didn't you just march in and take me?'

"She said, 'I didn't have the power. I didn't have any money or a job, and the church was so strong. I'd go see you every day and you'd be crying. You don't know what it was like.' It was harder for women then."

The hitmaker added that talking about her past isn't a big deal and it shouldn't impact how people see her now: "What's anyone going to do to me now? So I come from a poor white trash background. It doesn't make any difference."