Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono, born Chastity Sun Bono on March 4, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, is an American writer, musician, and actor whose life has been shaped by both celebrity lineage and groundbreaking personal transformation. The only child of iconic entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, he first appeared on their variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, where his early visibility foreshadowed a career spent in the public eye. Enrolled at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, he cultivated a passion for performance that led to the formation of the band Ceremony in 1988, releasing the album Hang Out Your Poetry in 1993. Though the record received modest critical attention, it demonstrated his commitment to authentic, analog soundscapes and his talent as a songwriter. Beyond music, Bono authored several books, including Family Outing (1998) and The End of Innocence (2003), which chronicled his coming‑out journey as a lesbian and the loss of his partner Joan to lymphoma. His activism flourished as he became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, a media director for GLAAD, and a visible advocate for LGBTQ rights, frequently appearing on television programs and in documentaries.

In the late 2000s, Bono embarked on a highly public gender transition, a process documented in the Sundance‑premiered film Becoming Chaz and later broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Legally changing his name and gender in 2010, he continued to break barriers by competing on Dancing with the Stars in 2011, becoming the first openly transgender man featured on a major network series unrelated to his identity. His 2012 memoir, Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be, added to his literary legacy while also marking a historic moment as the first Armenian‑descent memoir about a transgender man. Throughout his multifaceted career, Chaz Bono has remained a resilient figure, intertwining artistic expression with steadfast advocacy.