Most people know Cher, and when I think about her, I remember her turbulent relationship with Sonny Bono. They had one child together: Chaz Bono, who was born as Chastity Bono on March 4, 1969. As a celebrity kid, he became famous quickly and appeared on TV not long after.
Chaz Bono was named after the movie “Chastity,” which was produced by Sonny. In the movie, Cher played the main character, a young, bisexual hippie who ran away.
Chastity Bono was conceived while the movie was being made.
As a kid, Chaz often appeared on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He usually came on at the end of each episode when Sonny and Cher sang “I Got You Babe.” This made him a familiar face to the American audience.
Came out as a lesbian
Few people knew what Chaz was going through at home and at school. Early on, he didn’t feel connected to other girls or their interests.
“I’d look at other girls my age and feel confused about their interest in fashion or which boy was the cutest,” Chaz told the Daily Mail in 2011.
At 18, he came out as a lesbian to his parents.
Jennifer Aniston and a young Chaz (then Chastity) Bono in high school, 1987.
Posted by Groovy History on Saturday, July 15, 2017.
“…as a child, I always felt different. I’d see other girls my age interested in fashion, cute boys, and looking like cover girl Christie Brinkley, and it confused me. When I was 13, I figured out why I felt different: I realized I was gay,” Chaz wrote in his book Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families.
Cher was shocked
For Cher, who later became a LGBTQ icon, it wasn’t easy to accept her daughter coming out as a lesbian.
“When I found out Chaz was gay, I didn’t handle it very well,” Cher said in an interview with PrideSource.
But according to Chaz, his mom “went ballistic” when he first came out to her.
At 39, Chaz began transitioning to male.
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Once again, his mother was surprised.
“When I found out Chaz was transitioning… we talked about it a lot, actually. But then Chaz didn’t mention it anymore, so I sort of forgot about it. I think it’s because parents fear losing the child they know and love, and wonder who will take their place.”
Cher added, “I think it’s mostly about fear. I wondered, who will this new person be? I know Chaz as they are now, but who will they become, and how will it all work out? Will I feel like I’ve lost someone?”
Transition into a man
It wasn’t until 2010 that Chaz officially became a man. A California court approved his request to change his gender and name.
In the documentary Becoming Chaz, shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and on the Oprah Winfrey Network, viewers could see Chaz’s journey to becoming a man.
“My mother went through a period of mourning. It was hard for her, and we didn’t see each other much during the first year of my transition,” Chaz told SBS Australia.
The documentary includes many emotional scenes, such as an interview with Cher after she heard her child’s new voice, altered by hormone medication.
“I was devastated when I heard her voice on her voicemail. It sounded like her old voice,” says Cher.
“I asked, ‘Is there any way to keep it?’ but it was gone. I won’t hear it again.”
After the documentary, Chaz appeared several times in Hollywood. In 2011, he made history as the first transgender man to compete on Dancing with the Stars. It was also the first time a transgender man starred on a major TV show for reasons unrelated to being transgender, according to Advocate.com.
Chaz Bono at GLAAD Awards 2012
Five years later, he appeared in five episodes of American Horror Story: Roanoke and played Reverend Rydale on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Chaz Bono 85lbs weight loss
For many years, Chaz Bono struggled with obesity and didn’t feel comfortable in his body. His journey towards a healthier lifestyle began when he started transitioning genders.
Facebook / Chaz Bono
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it before,” he told Winfrey. “I was too disconnected from my body, and the dysphoria I had around it was too overwhelming for me to care enough to do anything like that,” Chaz said in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey some years ago.
When Chaz joined Dancing With The Stars, he weighed 250 pounds. During the competition and all the practice, he quickly lost weight. That’s not surprising, given how much training and movement is needed to do well on the dance floor.
But Chaz didn’t stop there. He continued with his healthy lifestyle even after the TV show. Recent pictures show that he has come a long way from the unhealthy weight he had 10 years ago.
Unfortunately, losing weight hasn’t been easy for Chaz. When you lose a lot of weight, your body doesn’t always tighten up perfectly. Chaz has a lot of loose skin.
“It’s not enjoyable, but it was worth it because I look better now. I’ve cut out almost all grains from my diet,” he shared. “I mostly eat vegetables, meat, fruit, and nuts… On my birthday, I’ll have cake, though,” Chaz told Extra TV.
Cher, his mother, has often praised her son’s bravery and journey to a healthier life.
“He did it all on his own. He decided and he did it. He lost like, what, 85, 90 pounds. Wow! … I don’t know if I would have that courage,” Cher said in 2013.
Wikipedia Commons / Gage Skidmore
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