What makes Chaz Bono a Global Shaker?
Chaz Bono is a writer, musician, actor and activist. His parents are the acclaimed entertainers Cher Bono and the late Sonny Bono.
Following in his parents’ footsteps, he embarked on a music career in the late-80s. As the lead singer for the band Ceremony, he released one album with the group. Sonny and Cher recorded background vocals for one of the tracks.
In 1995, before transitioning to a man, Chaz publicly self-identified as a lesbian after being outed by the tabloids. He appeared in a cover story in The Advocate and went out to write two books about coming out: Family Outing. In 1998, he published “A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families,” and in 2003, he wrote his first memoir, “The End of Innocence.”
As an LGBTQ+ activist, Chaz worked as a writer for The Advocate and became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. When the Human Rights Campaign released a video in honour of the victims of the Orlando gay nightclub shooting in 2016, Chaz was one of the celebrity figures who told their stories.
Chaz has also promoted National Coming Out Day, campaigned against the Defense of Marriage Act and worked for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation as the entertainment media director.
In mid-2008, Chaz started the transition process to become a man, completing the legal transition in May 2010. “Becoming Chaz,” the documentary about his transition, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival before The Oprah Winfrey Network acquired the rights to the film and debuted it in May 2011. Over the next year, he wrote “Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be.”
“I risked a lot but I finally got to the place where I knew this is what I’m supposed to do,” he said in a 2011 interview with ABC News. “I had absolute faith in no matter what, even if it was rocky or difficult, everything in the end was going to be fine, and it was. It has exceeded every expectation that I’ve had.”
In 2011, Chaz competed on the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars. This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender.
Throughout his career as an actor, Chaz has starred on Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Bold and the Beautiful, American Horror Story, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dirty, 3 from Hell, and more.
Tags: Activism, Diversity and Inclusion, entertainment, LGBTQ+Last updated: March 30, 2020
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