Cher is known by many people. We usually think of her troubled relationship with Sonny Bono when we talk about her. Charlie Bono was their child together. The first name Chaz used was Chastity Bono. She was born on March 4, 1969. Because his parents were popular, he became well-known very quickly. His TV show became popular very quickly.
The movie “Chastity,” which Sonny created, is where Bono got his name. Cher played the movie’s lead role, a young lesbian hippie who ran away. Their baby, Chastity Bono, was born while they were working on this movie.
A lot of times when Chaz was young, he was on a TV show called “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.” Every show ended with Sonny and Cher singing their popular song “I Got You Babe.” People who watched the show knew Chaz from this.
The things Chaz was going through at home and school were hard, though. With girls his age, he didn’t feel like he belonged. In a previous interview, Chaz explained that he didn’t know why some girls were so interested in boys and fashion.
The 18-year-old Chaz told his parents that he was a woman. He wrote in a book that he always felt different as a child and found out he was gay when he was 13.
Cher later became a strong backer of LGBTQ people, but it was hard for her when her daughter told everyone that she was a lesbian. Even admitted that she wasn’t good at handling things at first in an interview.
According to Chaz, his mom was very upset when he first told her he was gay.
At age 39, Chaz started to change into a man.
This time, Cher, Chaz’s mom, was shocked.
“I learned that Chaz was transitioning, and we talked about it a lot.” But Chaz stopped talking about it, so I forgot about it. “I think there’s a lot of fear about losing a child you love and what will come after that child,” Cher said. In addition, she said, “I think it’s mostly anxiety.” I wondered: “Who is this new person?” The person I know now is gone, but who will the new person be? How will it work? Have I lost someone?”
For real, Chaz didn’t become a man until 2010. His request to change his name and gender was granted by a court in California.
People saw Chaz’s path into becoming a man in the documentary “Becoming Chaz,” which had its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
“My mom went through a time of mourning.” Chaz told SBS Australia, “It was hard for her, and we didn’t see each other for about a year after I transitioned.”
There are many moving parts in the video. Part of the movie shows how Cher felt when she heard Chaz’s new voice, which was caused by hormone drugs.
“Listening to her voicemail made me very angry.” “It was her old voice,” answered Cher. I recall asking, ‘Is there a way we can save it?’ It wasn’t there anymore. That sound will not be heard again.
Chaz began to show up in Hollywood more often after the documentary. It was the first time a transgender guy was on “Dancing with the Stars.” Advocate.com says this was the first time a transgender guy starred in a big TV show that wasn’t about being transgender.
Chaz played Reverend Rydale on “The Bold and the Beautiful” and was in five episodes of “American Horror Story: Roanoke” five years later.
Chaz had a hard time for a long time because he was overweight and didn’t like his body. When he started to change his gender, things began to get better.
‘I wouldn’t have been able to do it before,’ I told Oprah Winfrey years ago. I felt like I wasn’t linked enough to my body. “The negative feelings I had about my body were too strong for me to care enough to do that,” Chaz said.
This is how much Chaz weighed when he started “Dancing With The Stars.” He started dropping weight quickly, though, because he was training and competing a lot. That doesn’t come as a surprise when you think about how much practice and movement you need to be good at dancing.
Chaz kept living a healthy life after the show was over. Recent shots of him show that he’s a long way from the unhealthy weight he was at 10 years ago.
It’s not been easy for Chaz to lose weight. There are times when your body can’t keep up with the weight loss, and you may end up with skin that hangs down.
“It’s not fun, but I look better now, so it was worth it,” Chaz said. I’m not eating any grains anymore. I mostly eat meat, fruit, nuts, and veggies. “I will have cake on my birthday, though!” he told Extra TV.
His mother, Cher, has told him many times how proud she is of his bravery and efforts to live a healthy life.
His actions were all by himself. He decided for himself and did it. I think it weighed between 85 and 90 pounds. Wow! … I not sure if I’d be brave enough to do that.” What Cher said in 2013.
Isn’t it great to see Chaz doing well today? He has been through a lot, but he is happy and seems to be in a better place now that he knows who he is.
I hope that other people can be inspired by Chaz’s story! Simply share this story if you agree!