- Original name:
- Chastity Sun Bono
- Born:
- March 4, 1969, Los Angeles, California, U.S. (age 57)
Chaz Bono
-
Who is Chaz Bono?
Chaz Bono (born in Los Angeles, March 4, 1969) is an American actor, author, and LGBTQ+ rights activist. Born to Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz, who was originally named Chastity, appeared on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour at a young age.
At 13, Bono attended acting classes and later attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. In 1995, Bono publicly came out as lesbian. Bono's activism began as a writer for The Advocate and as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign.
In 2009, Bono began transitioning from female to male and legally changed his name to Chaz Salvatore Bono. Bono chronicled this process in Becoming Chaz, a 2011 documentary.
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What is Chaz Bono known for?
Chaz Bono is an American actor, author, and activist known for his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and his openness about his transition from female to male.
Born to Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz began life in the public eye, appearing on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour at a young age. In 1995, Chaz publicly came out as a lesbian and later became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign and entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
In 2009, Bono announced his transition from female to male, which he chronicled in the documentary Becoming Chaz (2011).
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What are some of Chaz Bono's acting roles or projects?
Chaz Bono is an American actor, author, and activist known for LGBTQ+ rights advocacy and openness about transitioning from female to male.
Bono's acting roles and projects include:
* Bar Girls (1994)
* Ellen (1997), television sitcom
* Becoming Chaz (2011), documentary
* Being Chaz (2011), a one-hour special
* Degrassi: The Next Generation (2012), television series
* The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2013), television series
* The Bold and the Beautiful (2016), soap opera
* American Horror Story (2016-2017), television series
* Little Bites (announced in 2023), horror movie1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What books has Chaz Bono written?
Chaz Bono is an American actor, author, and activist known for LGBTQ+ rights advocacy and his openness about transitioning from female to male.
Bono's books include:
* Family Outing (1998; written with Billie Fitzpatrick), a compilation of coming out stories.
* The End of Innocence: A Memoir (2002; with journalist Michele Kort), about Bono’s struggle to establish his identity and career.
* Transition (2011; written with Billie Fitzpatrick), Bono's second memoir.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has Chaz Bono been involved in activism?
Chaz Bono is an American actor, author, and activist known for LGBTQ+ rights advocacy and openness about transitioning from female to male. Bono's activism began after publicly coming out as lesbian, first as a writer for The Advocate, then as a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson in 1996. Later, Bono served as entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Bono also assists Transforming Family in its work with gender diverse teenagers and their families.
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How has Chaz Bono influenced public discussions about gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights?
Chaz Bono has significantly influenced public discussions on gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights through his openness about his transition from female to male. Bono's visibility increased awareness and acceptance, and his documentary, Becoming Chaz, received a GLAAD Media Award. As a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign and entertainment media director for GLAAD, Bono has been a prominent advocate. His continued activism includes assisting Transforming Family in its work with gender diverse teenagers and their families.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Chaz Bono (born March 4, 1969, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) American actor and author known for his activism concerning LGBTQ+ rights. Bono is further known for his openness about his transition from female to male.
Bono was born to singer and actress Cher and musician Sonny Bono and was named Chastity, for a film that starred Cher and was produced by Sonny. Given Cher and Sonny’s fame, Chastity began life in the public eye at an early age—appearing at age two on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a variety television show that aired from 1971 to 1974, when Cher and Sonny separated.
At age 13 Bono was having trouble in school, and Cher suggested acting classes, which, after initial hesitation, Bono embraced. Bono went on to attend Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. There Bono, then still known as Chastity, was given the role of a male character and felt particularly comfortable playing it. However, Bono realized the unlikelihood of a female being cast in male roles professionally. At age 18 Bono came out as a lesbian to Cher and Sonny.
In 1988 Bono tried the family business as a singer, debuting at a concert given by his father. He then formed a rock band called Ceremony, which released one album, Hang Out Your Poetry (1993). In 1994 Bono was cast in the lesbian romance movie Bar Girls. The following year he came out publicly as being lesbian through a cover story in the gay newsmagazine The Advocate. After playing “The Moderator” in a 1997 episode of Ellen, the television sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres, Bono temporarily set aside aspirations of a career in acting.
Once out by choice, Bono’s life of activism began, initially as a writer-at-large for The Advocate and then, in 1996, as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. Bono then served as entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and released a compilation of coming out stories in Family Outing (1998; written with Billie Fitzpatrick). Bono later wrote The End of Innocence: A Memoir (2002; with journalist Michele Kort), which was a more in-depth book about Bono’s struggle to establish his own identity and career. In 2005, continuing to embrace public openness about personal matters, Bono spoke about weight issues through appearances on the television show Celebrity Fit Club.
In 2009 Bono announced his transition from female to male. The transition included changing his legal name to Chaz Salvatore Bono, his middle name taken in honor of his father, who died from injuries incurred in a skiing accident in 1998. Bono chronicled the process, which had begun in 2008, and released a documentary, Becoming Chaz (2011), that premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The film, which includes a segment in which Cher speaks candidly about her feelings on watching her son’s transition, was recognized with the 2012 GLAAD Media Award for outstanding documentary. The same year that Becoming Chaz was released, Bono published his second memoir, Transition (written with Fitzpatrick), and starred in Being Chaz, a one-hour special aired on OWN that served as a sequel to Becoming Chaz.
Bono subsequently made regular appearances on television, including in an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation in 2012, an episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager in 2013, and multiple episodes of the American daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful in 2016. Bono made his mark as an actor when he portrayed Gary Longstreet, a grocery store cashier and an avid supporter of Donald Trump, in the television series American Horror Story in 2016–17. He continued to appear in films and television and, in 2023, announced that he and Cher would be coproducing a horror movie, Little Bites.
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Bono also continued his work as an activist, assisting the organization Transforming Family in its work with gender diverse teenagers and their families.