Chaz Bono has had a lot to deal with, especially being the kid of Cher. Even in good times, being in the public eye has been challenging for him.
Chaz’s story is among the most inspiring. Transforming into a man began in 2011 at 39. Cher has always supported her loving son, even when it was hard.
Cher initially struggled with her LGBT son. Chaz said she went “ballistic” when she learned.
Chaz Bono Shutterstock
Cher is well-known. Her incredible career comes to mind when I think of her. She began her career with Sonny Bono, with whom she had a great and tempestuous relationship.
Cher dropped out of high school at 16 and relocated to LA, where the couple met. Her acting classes and career supported her. She sang great.
Cher’s son Chaz Bono worked as an assistant to famed record producer Phil Spector, when Sonny was 11 years older. Soon, the two clicked.
Bono sang backup for Cher on many Specter records. Cheer collaborated on many songs, including The Ronettes’ Be My Baby and The Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.
Sonny and Cher began recording together in 1964. The audience didn’t like their initial singles. The September 1964 release of Baby Don’t Go changed everything.
Cher’s mother Georgia Holt had her brother Mickey hire the duo to open for the Righteous Brothers, starting a long and successful career that earned her the nickname “The Goddess of Pop.”
Cher and her family’s first song, Baby Don’t Go, marked the start of a prosperous partnership that lasted until the mid-1970s.
Cher and Sonny grew closer personally.
Cher was initially attracted to Bono, but he was more interested in a buddy.
“I was with my girlfriend, who was really beautiful,” Cher said. “He liked her, so he didn’t talk to me. He said, “Oh yeah, kid.”
She said “everyone just disappeared” when she saw him, calling him “the most unusual person I’d ever seen.”
Cher and Bono moved in together. It took time for their romance to grow. Cher says Bono wasn’t initially attracted to her physically. The couple started dating again soon after.
The two married in 1965 and began their singing careers.
The couple had Chaz Bono, their most important child. Life began on March 4, 1969, as Chastity Bono. He became renowned quickly as a celebrity child and appeared on TV soon after.
Early life of Chaz Bono
Sonny’s Chasity inspired Bono’s moniker. Cher starred as a young, bisexual hippy runaway.
Chastity was conceived while filming.
Chaz frequently appeared on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour as a child. He frequently appeared at the close of each show when Sonny and Cher sang “I Got You Babe“.
The American public grew familiar with Chaz.
Few knew his home and school struggles. Chaz struggled to relate to other females’ interests early on.
“I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their interest in fashion or which boy was cutest,” Chaz told Daily Mail in 2011.
Declared lesbianism
Chaz revealed her lesbianism to her parents at 18.
I always felt strange as a child. In Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families, Chaz wrote, “I’d look at other girls my age and be perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was cutest, and who looked most like cover girl Christie Brinkley
I finally had a name for my differences at 13. I realized I was gay.”
It wasn’t “easy” for Cher, an LGBTQ icon, to deal with her daughter’s lesbianity.
“When I found out Chaz was gay, I didn’t go through it that easily,” Cher told PrideSource.
When Chaz came out to her, his mom “went ballistic” according to him.
Chaz transitioned to manhood at 39.
Becoming man
Chaz became a man in 2010 when a California court authorized his gender and name change.
Becoming Chaz, a 2011 Sundance Film Festival and Oprah Winfrey Network documentary, followed Chaz’s transformation into a man.
“My mother mourned. She struggled, and we didn’t see each other for the first year of my transition, Chaz told SBS Australia.
As Chaz recounted, his mother Cher initially struggled.
While the Oscar-winning actress and singer has always supported the LGBTQ community, she remembers it was difficult at first.
“It was very unlike me to, in the beginning, have a problem with Chaz being gay, and it disappeared like that,” Cher told CNN in 2020.
“We debated Bono’s transgender status for years. He said, “No, I don’t want to transition.” He then said, “OK, I want to do this.”
Voicemail difficult to hear
Cher contacted Chaz and his old voicemail wasn’t gone. It was hard for her, but as the hours and days passed, she slowly realized that nothing would change Bono.
“They’re not lost. Just a different shape, she said.
Cher first encountered gay people at age 9.
“One day I came home and there were these two men in my living room with my mom and aunt,” she said.
“They were doing their hair and talking, and I thought, ‘Why haven’t we had these kind of guys around? These guys are coolest. That was my introduction to the LGBT world, Cher recalled, adding that “gay people don’t feel like they fit in, and I never felt like I fit in.”
After the 2011 documentary, Chaz has appeared multiple times in Hollywood. He became the first transgender Dancing with the Stars contestant the year the documentary was broadcast.
Chaz Bono today
Advocate.com reported that it was the first time a transgender guy has starred on a major network show for a non-transgender reason.
Chaz played Reverend Rydale on The Bold and the Beautiful and five episodes of American Horror Story: Roanoke five years later.
Chaz has struggled with weight while pursuing his acting career.
Chaz was obese for years and couldn’t thrive. He started living healthier after his gender transformation.
“I would have never been able to do it before,” he told Oprah.
“I was too disconnected from my body, and the dysphoria around my body was too much to care about to do anything like that.”
Motivating weight loss
Chaz weighed 250lb when he started Dancing With The Stars, but the competition and preparation pushed him lose weight quickly. Due to the training and mobility required to excel on the dance floor, that may not be surprising.
Chaz appears to have maintained his healthy lifestyle following the TV show. Recent photos show that he has lost weight and is far from his 10-year-old weight.
Unfortunately, Chaz’s weight loss journey has been difficult. The body struggles to keep up with rapid weight loss. Thus, Chaz has extra skin that sags.
Though unpleasant, it improved my appearance. I’ve eliminated 99 percent of grains, he said. I consume mostly veggies, meat, fruit, and nuts. Chaz told Extra TV that he only eats cake on his birthday.
“He did it alone”
Cher has consistently commended her son’s courage and transition to a healthy lifestyle.
He did it alone. He decided and did it. It weighed 85–90 pounds. Wow! … I doubt I would have the courage.” Cher stated in 2013.
Noel Vasquez/Getty
Chaz Bono’s dating history has garnered media interest due to his fame. Some years ago, Chaz was linked to Jennifer Elia. After dating since 1999, Chaz proposed to Elia atop Seattle’s space needle.
However, their relationship was sometimes stormy. The pair endured much; Jennifer Elia supported Chaz through his gender transformation and eventually called him “more attractive” as a man.
Chaz Bono and Jennifer Elia attend the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on April 17, 2010. Photo by Michael Caulfield/WireImage
Not everything went well. Elia said that Chaz’s transition was difficult. She started drinking again when he told her he was undergoing gender reassignment.
Couple split in 2011.
“Chaz Bono and his fiancée, Jennifer Elia, have jointly announced that they have called off their engagement and are no longer a couple,” a rep stated. “They leave this relationship with great love, respect and affection.”
After several years, Chaz found love again. He started dating Shara Mathes in 2017. Former child artist and social worker Sarah Mathes has had Hollywood roles. She became popular after participating in It’s Your Move with Jason Bateman in 1984.
Shara exited entertainment after the 1985 performance concluded. She works for Los Angeles homeless organization Housing Works, according to Daily Mail.
We believe Chaz and Shara met through mutual friends and share many similarities. Shara and Chaz seem to want to keep their relationship private, therefore details about them are few. However, tabloids have reported some specifics. A insider said, “Shara was newly single when she first met Chaz, and she wasn’t looking for love.”
Shara looks to be welcomed by Chaz’s family, according to social media photographs.
Georgia Holt, Cher’s mother, invited Mathes to her 91st birthday party in June 2017.
On #TransvisibilityDay, we honor Cher’s son Chaz Bono ❤️?
The Cher News Page, Friday, March 31, 2023.
In 2023, Chaz and Shara have kept their romance quiet on social media. Chaz last posted them together on January 20th, their 6th anniversary. He thanked her, writing, “Shara and I celebrated our 6-year anniversary today. I’m grateful to live with this lovely woman.”
Chaz Bono inspires us all. His changing boldness is remarkable. Most importantly, he followed his heart and ignored others.
Share this story to honor Chaz Bono. This should inspire others in similar situations.