Cher Recalls the First Time She Met Silkwood Costar Meryl Streep: 'From Then on We Were Joined at the Hip'

Cher and Meryl Streep's friendship has been going strong for over 40 years.

During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, the 77-year-old "Believe" icon opened up about feeling nervous to meet Streep when they costarred in the 1983 film Silkwood and how working together sparked their strong bond.

"I went to make a movie with her. I was packing my bag, and then I started unpacking it, and my sister kept packing it," recalled Cher. "I went, 'I cannot go make a movie with Meryl Streep, OK?'"

"And then I get to Texas, and a woman comes at me with wide, white hair and a white dress," added the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. "She puts her arms around me, and she says, ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ and it was her."

Cher continued, "From then on, we were joined at the hip. We’ve been friends all this time."

Based on a true story, Silkwood starred Streep as nuclear whistle-blower and activist Karen Silkwood, while Cher played her lesbian roommate and close confidant, Dolly Pelliker. Also starring Kurt Russell, the film earned Oscar nominations for Cher, Streep and director Mike Nichols.

In a 1984 PEOPLE cover story interview, the "If I Could Turn Back Time" musician similarly recalled the story of when she first met Streep on set. "The first day on location Meryl just came up, threw her arms around me and said, ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’” said Cher. "She’s all communication and warmth and friendship with a great sense of humor."

Streep felt similarly, as she explained at the time, "I was already in the mind-set of 'My friend is coming, I have somebody on my side.'"

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The pair has since costarred in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in which Cher played Ruby Sheridan, the mother of Streep's character, Donna Sheridan. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar around the 2018 film's release, Cher further reflected on how their friendship blossomed post-Silkwood.

"We used to go to the movies on Sundays. When I was in New York, I would go to her house every day," said the Oscar-winning Moonstruck star.