Chaz Bono: From Cher’s Child to His Own Name

Most people met Chaz Bono before they knew his name — a small, dark-haired kid waving from the stage of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (GLBTQ Archive). Five decades later, the same name belongs to an actor, author, and transgender advocate whose life has been documented in public since birth. Here’s how Chaz moved from “Cher’s daughter” to his own name — and why the bond with his mother stayed part of the story the whole way.

Born: March 4, 1969 (as Chastity Sun Bono) (Swooon) ·
Parents: Sonny Bono and Cher (People) ·
Net worth (estimated): $500,000 – $1 million (TheThings)

Six details capture the public record: identity, family, and money — with legal recognition as the hinge between the first two.

What happened to Cher’s daughter Chastity?

The short answer: Chastity didn’t vanish — she became Chaz Bono. The long answer runs from a TV stage in the 1970s to a California courtroom in 2010.

Chaz Bono’s early life as Chastity

• Chastity appeared on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour as a child (GLBTQ Archive)
• As a teenager, Chastity trained at the High School for the Performing Arts in New York, according to the GLBTQ Archive (GLBTQ Archive)

By the mid-1990s, Chastity was navigating a public identity that no longer fit. She came out as a lesbian in 1995, according to Wikipedia’s Chaz Bono biography (Wikipedia).

Gender transition and name change

• Bono began his gender transition in 2008 (Wikipedia)
• He announced the transition publicly in 2009 (Britannica)
• A California court granted his petition for a legal name and gender change in 2010 (GLBTQ Archive)

After the legal change, People reports, Chaz returned to acting and pursued male roles (People).

The pattern: what happened to Chastity is a sequence — coming out, transition, legal recognition, new career — not a single tabloid moment.

Does Chaz Bono have a good relationship with Cher?

Cher’s public statements about Chaz

People, which has covered the family for decades, describes Cher as a proud and dedicated mother to Chaz (People). In interviews, Cher has gone further, saying she is “amazed by him” and calling him “very brave” (Britannica).

Chaz’s comments on their bond

• Chaz has described Cher as “wonderful” and a “great mom,” telling Nicki Swift that “she’s been wonderful. She’s just my mom.” (Nicki Swift)

People also notes that the dynamic shifted as Chaz rebuilt his career, with his mother cheering from the sidelines while he moved into male roles (People).

The implication: the relationship reads as close and unusually normal for a family at this level of fame.

Who is Chaz Bono’s partner today?

Current relationship status

Business Insider’s review of Cher’s children notes no current partner for Chaz as of 2026 (Business Insider).

Past relationships

• Jennifer Elia (2008–2011) — reported by Business Insider (Business Insider)
• Shara Mathes (2016–2018) — reported by Business Insider (Business Insider)

Neither relationship ended in a wedding: there is no public record of Chaz Bono being legally married.

The pattern: the public knows the chapter titles of Chaz’s personal life, not the daily pages — and he seems to prefer it that way.

What does Cher think of Chaz?

Cher’s supportive statements

• “I’m amazed by him. I think he’s very brave.” — Cher, on Chaz’s transition (Britannica)
• People describes Cher as a proud and dedicated mother to Chaz (People)

The through-line in her on-record comments is admiration, not obligation — she frames Chaz as brave, not as a source of family drama.

Mother-son bond

• People’s coverage ties the bond to decades of public support, from childhood into his acting career (People)
• Chaz has returned the warmth in interviews, calling her “wonderful” and “my mom” (Nicki Swift)

Why this matters: Cher’s words travel further than most: her audience spans generations, so a single supportive statement carries unusual weight.

Did Cher go to Chaz’ wedding?

The question assumes a wedding that has never happened. Chaz Bono has never been legally married, and no ceremony is in the public record.

So the answer is simpler than most searches expect: Cher didn’t attend Chaz’s wedding because there was no wedding to attend.

The implication: the public keeps narrating Chaz through a family drama from the 1970s; the facts are quieter and far less dramatic.

Key milestones in Chaz Bono’s life

Nine milestones, one pattern: a very public childhood, a deliberate personal transition, and a second act on screen.

What this means: the timeline reframes Chaz’s transition as a long, deliberate arc — from 2008 to 2010 — rather than a single tabloid headline.

What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

The trade-off: Chaz’s life is widely documented but thinly understood — the record is strongest on dates and roles, weakest on the space in between.

What Cher and Chaz have said

Two quotes, from two voices in the same family, frame how the public reads their bond.

“I’m amazed by him. I think he’s very brave.”

— Cher, on Chaz Bono (Britannica)

“She’s been wonderful. She’s just my mom.”

— Chaz Bono, on Cher (Nicki Swift)

The pattern: Cher speaks about Chaz with awe; Chaz speaks about Cher with plainness. Between those two tones, the relationship story lives.

The takeaway

Chaz Bono’s story started on a 1970s variety stage and moved through one of the most public gender transitions in American entertainment. The documentary record — court documents, casting lists, interviews — is concrete, even when the private details stay out of view. For anyone who still pictures “Chastity” when the name Chaz Bono comes up, the choice is simple: meet the man who has been living under his own name since 2010 — or keep replaying a rerun from the 1970s.

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