Chaz Bono, Cher.
Amanda Edwards/WireImageCher Clearing up any confusion for readers as to why she is calling her son by his dead name in her new book.
“This memoir is based on my (sometimes imperfect) memory,” Cher, 78, wrote in an author’s note. Cher: A Memoir – Part I. “In this memoir, I refer to my son Chaz as Chaz, the name he took during the years covered in this book. Chaz has given his blessing for this use. In the next volume, the appropriate occasion.” But, I will refer to my son as Chaz.”
Cher dedicated her book – which hits shelves on Tuesday, November 19 – to her mother, Georgiahis sister, Jorgenand his two children: Chaz and Elijah. (Cher welcomed Chaz in 1969. Sonny BonoFive years before filing for divorce in 1974. The following year, she gained custody of Chaz. Four days after finalizing her divorce from Bono, Cher got married Greg Allman. The couple welcomed Elijah in 1976 before separating in 1979.)
While recounting the story of Chaz’s birth in his memoir, Cher recalls Bono expressing his desire for a son. “‘Remember Cher, I want a boy!’ He told me, laughing all the way,” Cher wrote.
After giving birth to Chaz, Cher said Bono doted on their little one. “Sonny came in the next morning and told me we had a seven pound eight ounce baby girl, and she was beautiful,” she wrote. “He didn’t mind at all that he wasn’t a boy. I named him Chastity Sun, ‘Chastity’ because that was my name in the film we had just made and ‘Sun’ after his father.
Cher, now 55, first came out as gay before undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2009, having been outspoken for years about motherhood after Chaz.
“In the beginning, having a problem with Chaz being gay was just the opposite of me, and it sort of disappeared,” Cher recalled to CNN in 2020. Then we talked about it. [whether Chaz was] Transgender for many years. And [he] Will say, ‘No, I don’t want to [transition]. And then he went and said, ‘Okay, I want to do this.’
There’s only one goddess of pop — and she only needs one name: Cher. The legendary singer (born Cherylyn Sarkisian) has had more than five decades in her mega-successful career, spanning the worlds of music, TV, film and fashion. He’s just one Tony Award away from being an EGOT winner. […]
Cher admitted it “wasn’t easy,” adding, “I remember calling, and the old (voicemail) message … was on the phone, and it was so hard.”
“But you don’t really lose them. They’re just in a different form,” added Chaz – who became the first transgender person to come out. Dancing with the stars in 2011 – is now “so incredibly happy”.
Cher: A Memoir – Part I Hit shelves on November 19.
