Being the child of two Hollywood icons isn’t always easy, but Chaz Bono has stood out from other nepo babies by not only making a name for himself but also paving the way for others to do the same. Inside Chaz Bono’s life today, he is living out his passion for performing. He is an actor, director, and writer, and has appeared on stage in plays and on screen in several feature films and television shows. He’s also served as an inspiration to many after publicly sharing his journey as a transgender man with the world, marking him as one of the first high-profile transgender men in Hollywood.
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But the untold truth of Chaz Bono involves years of suppressed emotions, significant substance abuse, and heartbreaking loss. He’s faced significant setbacks in his health, mental wellness, and more. He’s overcome many obstacles and continues to face challenges head-on, even with his famous parents behind and beside him. “People always ask me, ‘What advice did your parents give you?'” he shared with Philadelphia Gay News. “But they weren’t big on giving advice. Personally, I’d rather lead by example than tell people what to do.”
Chaz Bono stepped into the spotlight at an early age
Being the child of two ultra-famous musical stars, Cher and Sonny Bono, meant that Chaz Bono grew up in and around the spotlight. From a young age, Bono appeared with her famous folks on their popular TV program, “The Sonny & Cher Variety Show,” in musical skits, sing-alongs, and more throughout the 1970s. But even as Bono was sharing the stage with her parents, Bono has more prevalent memories of that time in her youth away from the cameras and studio audience. “Most of the memories I have of that time are backstage,” Bono shared on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” in 2011. “I remember we shot at CBS and it was right near the farmer’s market and I used to like to go there and get Mexican food … [Being part of a famous family] didn’t really register at that point.”
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It wasn’t until later in life that Bono realized that he wanted to pursue acting as a profession, even though, in the back of his mind, it was always something that he wanted to do. Having celebrities for parents may seem like it would be a shoo-in to make it big in showbusiness, but Bono claims that’s not the case in the slightest. In fact, it made it more difficult for him to navigate his passion with the weight of his famous family on his shoulders. “People have an idea of me, and it’s not as an actor,” Bono admitted to the Los Angeles Daily News. “So I have to work that much harder.”
Chaz Bono went to high school with Jennifer Aniston
It was only natural for Chaz Bono, son of performing parents and a child interested in that same field, to attend a performing arts high school. As a student at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the young performer spent time honing his craft while also making future famous friends. Bono befriended future “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, and the two and their classmates would often spend time at Cher’s house after school. Aniston shared details about the lavish home, from its beautiful windows and chiffon curtains to its celebrity neighbors like Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones. She even admitted that Cher used to tease her about eating all of her food when she would visit the house. “It was just wild and wonderful cause we didn’t really know Cher,” Aniston dished on an episode of “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (via Entertainment Weekly). “We were little kids in high school, though I guess you understand a little bit at that point. It was just fun to be able to hang out with Cher.”
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While Chaz Bono and Aniston were close during their teenage years, the two have reportedly not kept in touch as they’ve gotten older. During an interview in 2011, Aniston shared that while they hadn’t seen each other in years, she still wished him the best, particularly as he began his gender-affirming surgery. “Good for him,” she told Allure. “[He] should just be happy.”
Chaz Bono had his own short-lived music career
Much like his parents, Chaz Bono also once pursued a music career. In 1988, Bono formed the group Ceremony alongside a colleague and friend from New York University, Heidi Shink, who goes by the stage name Chance. The duo was signed to Geffen Records, the same record label as Bono’s mother, Cher, but the young Bono insisted that it was the group’s talent and drive that landed them their own deal. “I wanted to do this myself, without [my parents’] help,” Bono explained to the Los Angeles Times in 1993. “This is a business. No record company is going to waste money on a group just because it includes the daughter of one of their artists.”
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Even though Bono and Chance went about their record deal their own way, the notoriety behind Bono’s musical lineage was enough to drive crowds (and tensions) toward the group. From struggling to schedule club dates without using Bono’s name to fighting off ego wear and tear in the unavoidable spotlight, the band endured their own growing pains with more limelight than they wanted. “People would find out about [Bono] and there’d be all this media attention about the club dates,” Chance shared with the Los Angeles Times. “We even tried to use different names but word would still get out.”
While the group only released one album, “Hang Out Your Poetry,” in 1993, reviewers shared generally positive thoughts on the Beatles-esque sound and lack of synthesizers and digital tools.
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Chaz Bono was publicly outed before coming to terms with his identity
As part of the tragic truth about Chaz Bono, the artist endured being outed by the tabloids in the early 1990s while struggling to elevate his music career. At the time, Bono identified as a lesbian, but label executives pushed the entertainer to appear more feminine to attract more male fans. That scrutiny and emotional turmoil wreaked havoc on Bono’s psyche. “It was the most difficult thing that had happened to me [at the time],” he revealed to Vanity Fair in 1998. “I think any gay person knows what it feels like. You can imagine what it’s like when the whole world finds out before you’re ready. It was very overwhelming.”
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Beyond personal struggles, the artist also endured behind-the-scenes pressure from label executives and even his legendary mother to try and combat the public scrutiny and preserve his fledgling career. “I was a f***ing wreck,” he admitted to The Advocate (via The Free Library). “After that everybody got more paranoid, and [publicists, Cher, and Geffen Records] started sending me out on dates [with men].” But it wasn’t just the situation around his sexuality that caused Bono to start to spiral.
Chaz Bono faced significant loss in his personal life
As Chaz Bono continued to endure stress and turmoil over his sexuality in the media, he also faced deep personal loss in private. In 1994, his then-partner (and friend of his mother’s) Joan Stephens passed away from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bono had been by her side through her final days serving as her caretaker. In his 2002 book “The End of Innocence,” he recounted the difficulty of dealing with his lover’s declining health as his own began to suffer. “I had so many dark and difficult images of Joan in my mind — Joan with sores everywhere, urinating and defecating on herself, acting crazy,” he wrote (via CBS News). “I didn’t know whether she’d ever be able to return to the full-of-life person she was, and if she did, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to think of her in the same way I had.”
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In the years after, Bono turned to self-destructive behavior, including prescription painkiller addiction to manage his pain. But in 1998, tragedy struck again when family patriarch Sonny Bono died in a ski accident, shocking the world. The back-to-back losses triggered a gradual but intense reaction in the younger Bono, who sunk further into despair even while realizing a key part of his identity in the process. “Through the pain and sorrow of the loss of both Joan and then my dad … I began to realize a truth about myself that was so frightening that I became completely paralyzed,” he recounted in his book “Transition: The Story of How I Became A Man” (via ABC News). “In turn, I became so disgusted with my inability to stand up for myself that I retreated further into drugs and the smallest circle of friends and family I could manage.”
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Chaz Bono experienced both clarity and challenges with gender-affirming surgery
Emerging from both loss and addiction, Chaz Bono realized his true identity as a man and was determined to live his life in its most authentic fashion. While it had taken many years to finally understand, Bono ultimately committed to undergoing gender-affirming surgery to ultimately become who he was meant to be. “This was a very difficult decision to make, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made,” he revealed on “Good Morning America” in 2009 (via ABC News). “It came down to realizing that I have to live my life for myself … and that life is short and life is precious.”
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Bono’s transition began just after his fortieth birthday, with his then-partner Jennifer Elia at his side. He has reflected on his journey over the years that led him to this point and even wrote a novel and produced a documentary about the transition. “I went through decades of trying to fit into being something that I wasn’t,” he told Philadelphia Gay News. “But there were really big signs throughout my life that I just missed that were signals.”
As he began living his newly realized life, Chaz Bono faced new challenges in the wake of his life-changing surgery, particularly when it came to its impact on his family. “I felt a tremendous responsibility not just for myself, but what am I doing to my family?” he shared with “Nightline” (via ABC News). “What am I going to put them through?”
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Chaz Bono’s mother, Cher, also admitted to difficulty processing her son’s transition
While Chaz Bono navigated his new life as a transgender man, his mother Cher, who has many tragic details of her own, experienced her own difficulties in coming to terms with her child’s true identity. Initially, Cher was hesitant about what Bono’s decision would mean both in his life and within their family as a whole. “It was waiting to see who the person would be, and would they be so much different than the person that was before them,” she admitted to the Los Angeles Times. While she later came to terms with her son’s transition and even admitted to not handling the situation well at first, she stated she has always put her love for her child first. “Although I may not understand, I will strive to be understanding,” she said in a statement in 2009 (per ABC News). “The one thing that will never change is my abiding love for my child.”
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As for Bono, his love for his mother has remained despite the difficulties throughout the years. He has said that while he understands the difficulties she endured, the toll it took on him was also considerable. “You have this expectation of your baby girl and how that’s going to be, and I didn’t act anything like she probably imagined,” he admitted in an interview with Oprah.com. “It always felt like a series of negotiations with us, with me trying to figure out how to feel as comfortable as possible without making her too upset.” The two have continued to have their differences over the years, particularly when it comes to Bono’s half-brother Elijah Blue Allman, whose tragic details of his life are also significant.
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Chaz Bono became an Emmy-nominated producer
In 2011, Chaz Bono channeled his artistic talents into telling his own story through the documentary “Becoming Chaz.” The piece highlights not only Bono’s life and the milestones that led to his realization of his true identity as a transgender man but also details his gender-affirming surgery and the healing process. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 to critical acclaim and a standing ovation. “You know, it’s exactly what I hoped it would do,” Bono told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s really opened people’s minds and changed people’s perceptions and it’s also really helped people within the transgender community.”
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Afterward, the documentary aired on the OWN Network for widespread viewing. By July of that year, Bono’s film earned three Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Nonfiction Special, Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming, and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming. While Bono and his producing team did not win any awards that night, their gratitude for the project remained. “We do something for really good reasons and, you know, for the experience and you’re kind of rewarded beyond your dreams with that kind of recognition from your peers,” Bono explained to The Hollywood Reporter.
Chaz Bono made history (and stirred controversy) on Dancing with the Stars
Following the premiere of his documentary, Chaz Bono made another significant move: he became the first transgender contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.” Bono’s casting didn’t come without controversy, with many fans taking to online forums to express their distaste and even decision to stop watching the show. Other critics claimed that the casting was a way for the show’s producers to drive certain agendas and become more political. But not all were upset with the choice — LGBTQ+ organizations like the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the move as courageous and history-making. “Chaz Bono joining the cast of a series like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is a tremendous step forward for the public to recognise that transgender people are another wonderful part of the fabric of American culture,” Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs for the organization, said in a statement (per BBC).
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And because Cher can’t stop gushing about Chaz Bono, the icon took to her social media platforms to praise her son’s bravery while simultaneously silencing the haters. “I support him no matter what he chooses to do,” she posted to X (formerly Twitter). “It took courage to do [the show]!” Bono was partnered with pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer and was ultimately eliminated after six weeks of competing. Still, he showed gratitude for the opportunity to share his story and his talents with the world on a larger scale. “If there was somebody like me on TV when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different,” he admitted on air (via The Florida Times-Union).
Chaz Bono reinvented himself again after losing 60 pounds
Chaz Bono is definitely one for rediscovering himself, which is exactly what happened when he dropped a whopping 60 pounds in 2013. His newfound health came courtesy of the inspiration he gained after competing on “Dancing with the Stars,” and he even stuck to that level of training when pursuing his new lifestyle. “I still enjoy dancing,” he revealed to People. “I still take classes.” He even expressed interest in returning to the program with his newfound physique primed to aid him in his performances. “I’d do it so much better now than I did then!” he shared in another interview with People (via ABC News).
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He also focused on changing his diet, particularly by learning new recipes and being intentional with his food choices. “I really avoid grains and starches, so meats and vegetables and fruits are my diet,” he told People. “I make them all different ways to keep it interesting.” With this weight loss success, he even upped his goal to a total of 80 pounds lost. All of these changes not only increased Bono’s confidence but also his outlook on life. “I really like what I see in the mirror,” he gushed to People. “I never thought I’d be that kind of person.”
Chaz Bono has a knack for horror projects
Ever the performer, Chaz Bono has tapped into his acting skills for a number of horror projects. He’s known for starring on TV horror staple “American Horror Story,” where he appeared in Season 6 (“Roanoke”) and Season 7 (“Cult”), the latter in which he portrayed a right-wing fanatic who meets a grisly end. “I consider myself a character actor,” Bono told Out in SA. “That’s what I love about acting — to disappear into a character who is very different from myself. That’s the type of career I would like to have.” But throughout all of his roles, he’s made it clear that he won’t do one thing: stick to transgender roles, ultimately pigeonholing him and his talents. However, that rule is not hard and fast for the entertainer. “In the future, if a trans character came up that was an amazing character, I would have to think about it at that point. But at this point, it’s not something I want to do.”
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Bono has even tapped into his producing side to bring passion projects to life. In addition to starring in the Tubi film “Bury the Bride,” he also served as a producer, bringing a different perspective to the overall experience. “When you’re just an actor, you do your work, go home and forget about it; you don’t know what’s going to come out,” he shared with Windy City Times. “Now [as a producer] it’s just as exciting to give it to the public and move on to the next one.”
