Lots of folks know about Cher. When we talk about her, we often think of her rocky relationship with Sonny Bono. They had a kid together named Chaz Bono. Chaz, who was initially known as Chastity Bono, was born on March 4, 1969. Because his parents were famous, he became a well-known figure pretty quickly. It didn’t take much time for people to see him on TV.
Bono got his name from a movie called “Chastity,” which Sonny produced. In the movie, Cher played the main character, a young hippie runaway who was bisexual. Chastity Bono, their child, was conceived while they were making this film.
When Chaz was young, he often appeared on a TV show called “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.” He would 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 people watching the show.
But at home and school, Chaz was going through some tough times. He didn’t feel like he fit in with other girls his age. Chaz once said in an interview that he didn’t understand why other girls cared so much about fashion and boys.
When Chaz was 18 years old, he told his parents that he was a lesbian. He wrote in a book that as a child, he always felt different and realized he was gay when he was 13.
Cher, who later became a big supporter of the LGBTQ community, found it hard when her daughter came out as a lesbian. She even said in an interview that she didn’t handle it well at first.
Chaz himself said that his mom got really upset when he first told her he was gay.
When Chaz was 39, he began his transition to becoming a man.
Once again, Chaz’s mother, Cher, 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 kind of forgot. And what I think is, there’s such a fear of losing the child you love, and what will replace that child,” Cher said. She 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. A California court approved his request to change his gender and name.
In a documentary called “Becoming Chaz,” which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on Oprah Winfrey Network, viewers got to see Chaz’s journey into becoming a man.
“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 explained to SBS Australia.
The documentary has lots of touching moments. One part shows Cher’s reaction after hearing Chaz’s new voice, changed by hormone drugs.