Cher is a name that almost everyone knows, and her career is full of ups and downs. One of the most memorable parts of her life was her rocky relationship with Sonny Bono. Together, they had a child, Chaz Bono, who was originally born as Chastity Bono on March 4, 1969. From the moment he was born, being the child of two famous people meant Chaz was thrust into the spotlight.
Chaz was named after the movie Chastity, which was produced by Sonny Bono and starred Cher as a young, bisexual hippie runaway. Chaz was conceived during the making of this film.
As a child, Chaz frequently appeared on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He would often come on at the end of each episode when Sonny and Cher sang their famous song “I Got You Babe.” This made Chaz a familiar face to many TV viewers.
But behind the scenes, Chaz was struggling. Growing up, he couldn’t relate to other girls and their interests. “I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their interest in fashion or which boy was the cutest,” Chaz told Daily Mail in 2011. At 18, Chaz came out to his parents as a lesbian.
In his book Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families, Chaz wrote, “As a child, I always felt there was something different about me. I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley.
When I was 13, I finally found a name for exactly how I was different. I realized I was gay.”
Cher was taken aback by the news. “When I found out Chaz was gay, I didn’t go through it that easily,” Cher admitted in an interview with PrideSource. Chaz himself said his mom “went ballistic” when he first came out to her.
Years later, at 39, Chaz began transitioning to become a man. Once again, Cher was shocked. “When I found out Chaz was [transitioning]… we talked about it a lot, actually. But then Chaz didn’t mention it anymore, so I kind of forgot,” Cher explained. “And what I think is, there’s such a fear of losing the child you love, and what will replace that child.”
Cher added, “I think it’s about the fear, mostly. I felt, who will this new person be? Because I know who the person is now, but who will the new person be and how will it work and will I have lost somebody?”
It wasn’t until 2010 that Chaz officially became a man when a California court approved his request for a gender and name change. His transition was documented in the film Becoming Chaz, which was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The documentary provided an intimate look at Chaz’s journey and the emotional challenges he faced.
“My mother went through a kind of mourning period. It was difficult for her, and we didn’t see each other for about the first year of my transition,” Chaz told SBS Australia. One emotional moment in the documentary was when Cher heard Chaz’s new voice for the first time, altered by hormone therapy.
“I was hysterical when I heard her voice on her answering machine. It was her old voice,” Cher said. “I remember saying, ‘Is there any way I can save it?’ But it was gone. I’ll never hear it again.”
After the documentary, Chaz continued to make waves in Hollywood. In 2011, he made history as the first transgender man to compete on Dancing with the Stars. This was also the first time a transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender, according to Advocate.com.
Five years later, he appeared in five episodes of American Horror Story: Roanoke and played Reverend Rydale on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Chaz had struggled with obesity for many years, but his journey to a healthier lifestyle began during his gender transition. “I would have never been able to do it before,” Chaz told Oprah Winfrey. “I was too disconnected from my body… the dysphoria I had with my body was too much to be able to have cared enough about to do anything like that.”
When Chaz joined Dancing with the Stars, he weighed 250 pounds. The intense training and competition helped him lose weight rapidly. Even after the show, Chaz continued his healthy lifestyle, and new pictures show he is far from the unhealthy weight he carried ten years ago.
However, losing so much weight wasn’t easy. Chaz dealt with sagging skin, a common issue after significant weight loss. “It’s not fun, but it was worth it, because I look better now. I’ve cut out, you know, 99 percent of grains from my diet,” Chaz revealed. “I pretty much eat vegetables, meat, fruit, nuts… My birthday is the one day of the year I’ll do cake,” he told Extra TV.
Cher has been incredibly supportive of her son’s journey. “He did it all by himself. He made up his own mind and he did it. And it was like what—85, 90 pounds. Wow! … I don’t know if I’d have that courage,” Cher said in 2013.
It’s inspiring to see Chaz today. He has been through so much but seems to have found a new sense of self and health. His journey is a powerful reminder of resilience and self-discovery. If you find his story as inspiring as we do, feel free to share this article!
