Chaz Salvatore Bono (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American transgender advocate, writer, and musician. Bono is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships. Bono is a transgender man.
In 1995, after several years of being outed as lesbian by the tabloid press, Bono publicly self-identified as such in a cover story in a leading American gay monthly magazine, The Advocate. Bono went on to discuss the process of coming out to oneself and to others in two books. Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) includes the author’s coming out account. The memoir, The End of Innocence (2003) discusses the author’s outing, music career, and partner Joan’s death from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
