Chaz Bono

{{short description|American writer, musician and actor (born 1969)|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Chaz Bono

| image = Chaz Bono by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption = Bono in 2017

| other_names = Chaz Salvatore Bono

| birth_name = Chastity Sun Bono

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|03|04}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Writer
musician
actor

}}

| years_active = 1972–present

| mother = Cher

| father = Sonny Bono

| relatives = Elijah Blue Allman (half-brother)
Georgia Holt (grandmother)

}}

Chaz Salvatore Bono{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8667595.stm |title=Cher's son now officially a man |work=BBC News |date=May 7, 2010 |access-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831224221/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8667595.stm |url-status=live }} (born Chastity Sun Bono, March 4, 1969) is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Chastity-Bono-Gender-1006849.aspx|title=Chastity Bono Undergoing Gender Change|magazine=TV Guide|date=June 11, 2009|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-date=October 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029073002/http://www.tvguide.com/News/Chastity-Bono-Gender-1006849.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://tv.rightcelebrity.com/?p=2752|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615071103/http://tv.rightcelebrity.com/?p=2752 |url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2009|title=Chastity Bono is Chaz Bono|publisher=Right Celebrity|date=June 11, 2009|access-date=June 11, 2009}}

Chaz Bono is a trans man. In 1995, while then presenting as a woman, and several years after being outed as lesbian by the tabloid press, Chaz publicly self-identified as a lesbian in a cover story in a leading American gay monthly magazine, The Advocate. Bono eventually went on to discuss the process of coming out to oneself and others in two books: Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) includes his coming-out account. The memoir The End of Innocence (2003) discusses his outing, music career, and partner Joan's death from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.{{cite news |last=Marcus|first=Lydia |url=http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/People/2006/3/chastity.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221095922/http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/People/2006/3/chastity.html |archive-date=December 21, 2007 |title=Interview with Chastity Bono |publisher=AfterEllen |date=March 21, 2006 |access-date=February 19, 2007}}

Between 2008 and 2010, Bono sought out gender-affirming care, commonly called gender transition. In a June 2009 two-part CBS TV Entertainment Tonight feature Chaz explained that his medical transition had started a year prior."Chaz Bono", June 15–16, 2009, Entertainment Tonight. In May 2010, he legally changed his ID to match his gender and name. A documentary on Bono's experience, Becoming Chaz, was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and later made its television debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network.{{cite web |url=http://www.accesshollywood.com/chaz-bonos-documentary-to-make-world-television-premiere-on-oprah-winfrey-network_article_42282 |title=Chaz Bono Documentary To Debut on OWN | Access Hollywood – Celebrity News, Photos & Videos |publisher=Access Hollywood |access-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114113410/http://www.accesshollywood.com/chaz-bonos-documentary-to-make-world-television-premiere-on-oprah-winfrey-network_article_42282 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|title=Chaz Bono Documentary, Becoming Chaz, to Have World Television Premiere on OWN|language=en-us|work=Oprah.com|url=http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/chaz-bono-documentary-becoming-chaz-to-premiere-on-own|access-date=April 30, 2020|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727204826/http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/chaz-bono-documentary-becoming-chaz-to-premiere-on-own|url-status=live}}

Early life

File:Sonny and Chastity Bono 1974.JPG

Bono was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono of the pop duo Sonny & Cher, stars of a TV variety show on which the young child often appeared. Bono was named after the film Chastity, which was produced by Sonny and in which Cher (in her first solo role in a feature film) played a bisexual woman.Bryant, Wayne, M. (1996). Bisexual Characters in Film, from Anaïs to Zee. Haworth Press. p. 117. {{ISBN|978-0-7890-0142-9}} Through his mother, Bono is of Armenian, Irish, English, and German ancestry. He is of Italian descent through his father.{{harvnb|Bego|2001|p=11}}: Sarkisian's profession; {{harvnb|Berman|2001|p=17}}: Sarkisian's nationality and personal problems, Crouch's profession; {{harvnb|Cheever|1993}}: Crouch's ancestry.{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800057596/bio |title=Sonny Bono Biography |publisher=Yahoo! Movies |access-date=January 1, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217050528/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800057596/bio |archive-date=February 17, 2010}}

Bono was enrolled at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City.{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jennifer-aniston-chaz-bon_n_964967 |title=Jennifer Aniston & Chaz Bono in High School Together (PHOTO) |date=September 15, 2011 |access-date=October 10, 2020 |archive-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402071916/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jennifer-aniston-chaz-bon_n_964967 |url-status=live }} Bono came out to both parents as a lesbian at age 18. In Family Outing, Bono wrote that, "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."{{cite book |last= Bono |first= Chaz (as Chastity) |author2= Fitzpatrick, Billy |title= Family Outing |year= 1998 |publisher= Little, Brown |location= New York |isbn= 0-316-10233-4 |page= vii |url= https://archive.org/details/familyouting000bono |url-access= registration }}

Ceremony

Bono began a short music career in 1988 with the band Ceremony, which released one album, Hang Out Your Poetry, in 1993. The band featured Bono on vocals, acoustic guitar, and percussion. Other members were Steve March Tormé (backup vocals), Heidi Shink a.k.a. Chance, Pete McRae, Steve Bauman, Louis Ruiz, and Bryn Mathieu. All but one of the band's songs were written or co-written by Bono, Shink, and Mark Hudson. They used no synthesizers or digital effects on the album; Shink noted, "We turned our back on technology. [ ... ] It's reminiscent of the 60s, but more a tip of the hat than emulating it. We took the music we love and rejuvenated it, made it 90s."{{cite web|url=http://www.psnw.com/~randyk/122293.htm |title=Reviews of Ceremony {{!}} Hang Out Your Poetry, The Dead Milkmen {{!}} Not Richard, But Dick, and Al Stewart concert |last= Krbechek |first=Randy |website=PSNW |date=December 22, 1993 |access-date=March 12, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616114924/http://www.psnw.com/~randyk/122293.htm |archive-date=June 16, 2009 }} Critical reception of the album was lukewarm, with Roch Parisien of Allmusic describing Hang Out Your Poetry as a mildly psychedelic take on early 1990s pop, "pleasant, accessible, well-produced ear-candy that's ultimately toothless".{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hang-out-your-poetry-mw0000100698|title=Hang Out Your Poetry|author=Roch Parisien|work=AllMusic|access-date=April 27, 2015|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016065127/http://www.allmusic.com/album/hang-out-your-poetry-mw0000100698|url-status=live}}

The songs "Could've Been Love" and "Ready for Love" were released as singles from the album. Sonny and Cher also recorded backing vocals for the track "Livin' It Up" on the album.

LGBTQ activism

File:Chaz Bono square photo 1.jpg]]

In April 1995, then-Chastity Bono came out as a lesbian in an interview with The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian magazine.{{cite news |last=Freydkin |first=Donna |url=http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9810/14/bono.out.cnn/index.html |title=Chastity Bono opens up about coming out |work=CNN|date=October 14, 1998 |access-date=February 20, 2007 |archive-date=March 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320030019/http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9810/14/bono.out.cnn/index.html |url-status=live }} The 1998 book Family Outing detailed how Bono's coming out "catapulted me into a political role that has transformed my life, providing me with affirmation as a lesbian, as a woman, and as an individual."{{cite book |last= Bono |first= Chaz (as Chastity) |author2= Fitzpatrick, Billy |title= Family Outing |year= 1998 |publisher= Little, Brown |location= New York |isbn= 0-316-10233-4 |page= viii |url= https://archive.org/details/familyouting000bono |url-access= registration }} In the same book, Bono reported that Cher, who was both a gay icon and an ally of LGBTQ communities, was quite uncomfortable with the news at first and "went ballistic"{{cite book |last= Bono |first= Chaz (as Chastity) |author2= Fitzpatrick, Billy |title= Family Outing |year= 1998 |publisher= Little, Brown |location= New York |isbn= 0-316-10233-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/familyouting000bono/page/207 207] |url= https://archive.org/details/familyouting000bono/page/207 }} before coming to terms with it: "By August 1996, one year after I came out publicly, my mother had progressed so far that she agreed to 'come out' herself on the cover of The Advocate as the proud mother of a lesbian daughter." Cher has since become an outspoken LGBTQ rights activist.

Chastity Bono's paternal relationship became strained from November 1994, when her father was elected as a Republican Congressman from California. Their differing political views separated them, and the father and daughter had not spoken for more than a year at the time of Sonny's fatal skiing accident in January 1998.

Bono worked as a writer at large for The Advocate. As a social activist, Bono became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, promoted National Coming Out Day, campaigned for the reelection of Bill Clinton for US president, campaigned against the Defense of Marriage Act, and served as Entertainment Media Director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Bono was a team captain for Celebrity Fit Club 3 (2006) and was supported by girlfriend Jennifer Elia, who orchestrated exercise and training sessions.

In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Bono and others told the stories of the people killed there.{{cite web |url=http://www.hrc.org/blog/watch-49-celebrities-honor-49-victims-of-orlando-tragedy-in-new-ryan-murphy |title=49 Celebrities Honor 49 Victims of Orlando Tragedy | Human Rights Campaign |publisher=Hrc.org |access-date=June 30, 2016 |archive-date=August 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823154109/http://www.hrc.org/blog/watch-49-celebrities-honor-49-victims-of-orlando-tragedy-in-new-ryan-murphy |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last=Rothaus |first=Steve |date=June 12, 2016 |title=Pulse Orlando shooting scene a popular LGBT club where employees, patrons 'like family' |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/gay-south-florida/article83301677.html |work=The Miami Herald |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615082724/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/gay-south-florida/article83301677.html |url-status=live }}

Transition

In mid-2008, Bono began undergoing a physical and social transition from female to male. This was confirmed in June 2009 by his publicist, who identified Bono's name as Chaz Bono and said, "It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his coming out did."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/chastity-bono-gender-1006849/|title=Chastity Bono Undergoing Gender Change|date=June 11, 2009|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=January 8, 2017|archive-date=March 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321025904/http://www.tvguide.com/news/chastity-bono-gender-1006849/|url-status=live}} GLAAD and the Empowering Spirits Foundation were quick to offer praise and support for the announcement.{{cite web|url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/PRDocServer/Chaz_Bono_061109.pdf|title=ESF Applauds Chastity Bono's Gender Transition Announcement|publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release|date=June 11, 2009|access-date=June 11, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616213301/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/PRDocServer/Chaz_Bono_061109.pdf|archive-date=June 16, 2009}} Bono's legal transition was completed on May 6, 2010, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change.{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/05/06/chaz-bono-granted-gender-and-name-change/ |title=Chaz Bono granted gender and name change |work=Fox News Channel |date=May 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106030150/http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/05/06/chaz-bono-granted-gender-and-name-change/ |archive-date=January 6, 2015 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/chaz-bono-chers-child-becomes-a-man-after-southern-californian-judges-grants-gender-change/story-e6frf96o-1225863716265|title=Chaz Bono, Cher's child, becomes a man after Southern Californian judges grants gender change|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=May 7, 2010|access-date=May 7, 2010|archive-date=June 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614150903/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/chaz-bono-chers-child-becomes-a-man-after-southern-californian-judges-grants-gender-change/story-e6frf96o-1225863716265|url-status=live}} Bono made Becoming Chaz, a documentary film about his transition that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The Oprah Winfrey Network acquired the rights to the documentary and debuted it on May 10, 2011.{{cite news |last1=Byrge |first1=Duane |title=SUNDANCE REVIEW: 'Becoming Chaz' Is a Powerful Study in Personal Courage |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sundance-review-becoming-chaz-powerful-74960 |access-date=May 20, 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 24, 2011 |language=en |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001224820/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sundance-review-becoming-chaz-powerful-74960 |url-status=live }}

In September 2011, he became a competitor on the 13th season of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, paired with professional ballroom dancer Lacey Schwimmer.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14760706 |title=BBC News – Cher berates 'bigots' attack on son's role in TV show |publisher=BBC |date=September 2, 2011 |access-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124212419/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14760706 |url-status=live }} The duo was eliminated on October 25, 2011.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/dancing-with-the-stars-who-went-home-1025-20112610|title=Dancing With the Stars: Chaz Bono Sent Home|date=October 26, 2011|first=Allison|last=Corneau|journal=Us|access-date=November 27, 2011|archive-date=October 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028175745/http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/dancing-with-the-stars-who-went-home-1025-20112610|url-status=live}} This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender.{{cite web |url=http://www.advocate.com/society/transgendered/2011/12/28/14-reasons-made-2011-great-trans-people?page=0,11 |title=14 Reasons That Made 2011 Great for Trans People |publisher=Advocate.com |date=December 28, 2011 |access-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-date=October 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007030135/http://www.advocate.com/society/transgendered/2011/12/28/14-reasons-made-2011-great-trans-people?page=0%2C11 |url-status=live }}

His book, Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be was published in 2012, making him the first person of Armenian descent to publish a memoir about being an openly transgender man.{{cite web |url=https://queerarmenianlibrary.com/transition-by-chaz-bono/ |title=Transition by Chaz Bono |publisher=The Queer Armenian Library |date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=January 1, 2024}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes

1994

| Bar Girls{{efn|name="deadname"}}

| Scorp'

2004

| Fronterz{{efn|name="deadname"}}

2016

| Dirty

| Jerry the Hoarder

2019

| 3 from Hell

| Digby Neville

2020

| Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen

| Himself

| Documentary film

2020

|Reboot Camp

|Herbert

|mockumentary

2023

|The Bell Keeper

|Sheriff Carlson

2024

|Little Bites

|Paul

|Also executive producer

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes

1972–77

| The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour{{efn|name="deadname"}}

| Himself

| 32 episodes

1975

| Cher{{efn|name="deadname"}}

| Himself

| Episode 2.14

1997

| Ellen{{efn|name="deadname"}}

| The Moderator

| Episode: "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah"

rowspan="2" |2011

| Becoming Chaz

| Himself

| Documentary film

Dancing with the Stars

| Himself

| 6 episodes

2012

| Degrassi: The Next Generation

| Himself

| Episode: "Tonight, Tonight: Part 2"

2013

| The Secret Life of the American Teenager

| Himself

| Episode: "To Each Her Own"

2014

|RuPaul's Drag Race

| Himself/Guest Judge

| "Queens of Talk"{{Cite web|last=Rezsnyak|first=Eric|title="RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 6, Episode 9: Talk Show, Balk Show|url=https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/EntertainmentBlog/archives/2014/04/15/rupauls-drag-race-season-6-episode-9-talk-show-balk-show|access-date=January 27, 2021|website=CITY News|language=en|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205232757/https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/EntertainmentBlog/archives/2014/04/15/rupauls-drag-race-season-6-episode-9-talk-show-balk-show|url-status=live}}

"Reunited!"{{Cite web|date=May 23, 2014|title=Chaz Bono and Damiana on the RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 Finale Red Carpet|url=https://worldofwonder.net/chaz-bono-damiana-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-finale-red-carpet/|access-date=January 27, 2021|website=The WOW Report|language=en-US|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201144212/https://worldofwonder.net/chaz-bono-damiana-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-finale-red-carpet/|url-status=live}}

rowspan="3" |2016

| The Bold and the Beautiful

| Reverend Rydale

| 5 episodes

American Horror Story: Roanoke

| Brian Wells (Lot Polk, re-enactment)

| 4 episodes

Where the Bears Are

| Gavin Kelly

| 3 episodes

2017

| American Horror Story: Cult

| Gary K. Longstreet

| 8 episodes

2018

| Adi Shankar's Gods and Secrets

| Upcoming series

2020

| Curb Your Enthusiasm

| Joey Funkhouser

| Episode: "The Spite Store"

Bibliography

Family Outing{{efn|name="deadname"|as Chastity Bono}} (with Billie Fitzpatrick) (1998). Little, Brown and Company. pp. 272. {{ISBN|978-0316102339}}
The End of Innocence: A Memoir{{efn|name="deadname"|as Chastity Bono}} (with Michele Kort) (2003). pp. 232. {{ISBN|978-1555837952}}
Transition: The story of how I became a man (with Billie Fitzpatrick) (2011). New York: Dutton. {{ISBN|978-0525952145}}
Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be (with Billie Fitzpatrick) (2012 paperback). Plume. pp. 272. {{ISBN|978-0452298002}}

Notes

References

=Works cited=

{{cite book |last=Bego |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bego |title=Cher: If You Believe |year=2001 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |isbn=0-8154-1153-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/cherifyoubelieve00bego}}
{{cite book |last=Berman |first=Connie |title=Cher |year=2001 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-7910-5907-4}}
{{cite magazine |last=Cheever |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Cheever |url=http://people.com/archive/in-a-broken-land-vol-39-no-19/|title=In a Broken Land |magazine=People |date=May 17, 1993 |access-date=January 16, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227055224/http://people.com/archive/in-a-broken-land-vol-39-no-19/}}