Inside Cher's Relationship With Her Son Chaz Bono

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

While there's been much written about the tragic story of Cher's son Elijah Blue Allman, that's also been the case for her other child, Chaz Bono, who's also experienced some tragic moments in his life. Chaz, of course, is Cher's first child, resulting from her marriage to Sonny Bono. 

Born in 1969, Chaz was too young to understand the upheaval that was going on during his parents' marriage at that time. As a pop duo, Sonny & Cher racked up a string of hits in the mid-1960s, highlighted by their 1965 No. 1 smash "I Got You Babe." By the end of the decade, though, they'd made that awkward showbiz transition from next big thing to washed-up has-beens. No longer entertaining thousands in theaters and stadiums, the duo had been reduced to performing in nightclubs, sometimes to as few as four people. Meanwhile, they'd tweaked their act to add a healthy dose of spousal comedy to the mix, which proved to be a genius move when that low point led them to television in 1971 with the premiere of "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour."

The show proved to be a huge hit, propelling Sonny & Cher back to the upper rungs of the showbiz ladder — until their untimely divorce caused their TV partnership to crumble — among the celebrity scandals that completely rocked the 1970s. At that time, young Chaz was at the center of it all, experiencing his parents' triumphs and travails through the lens of childhood. Through it all, Chaz has remained tight with his mom, although there's no question they've experienced their ups and downs over the years. That's abundantly clear when taking a look inside Cher's relationship with her son.

Chaz Bono was all of two years old when he made the first of numerous appearances on his parents' TV show. Back then, of course, Chaz was known as Chastity, having been female at birth (he transitioned to male in his late 30s). 

While growing up on the set of a hit TV variety show may strike most people as an unusual childhood, for Chaz, it was simply life as it was. "You know, most of the memories that I have of that time [are] backstage," Bono recalled during an appearance on CNN's "Piers Morgan Live." "And you know, the way that kids have silly memories of things, I remember that we shot at CBS, and it was right near the Farmers Market, and I used to like to go there and get Mexican food." 

Being trotted out in front of TV cameras and a live studio audience seemed entirely normal to the youngster. In fact, at that point Chaz hadn't come to realize that his parents were famous celebrities, and that their family life was far from typical. "That really actually didn't register at that point," he added. 

Cher had appeared in myriad TV shows and movies — and starred in the 1969 feature "Chastity," from which Chaz got his name — but it was in "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" that her skill as an actor was really showcased, continuously crushing the comedic sketches. Of course, she would go on to become a hugely respected, Oscar-winning movie star, and she passed her love of acting down to Chaz. 

At 13, Chaz was experiencing some difficulties in school — something his mom nervously observed. She felt one solution could be to enroll him in a summertime acting program for kids. For young Chaz, the experience was revelatory. "[His] whole life was changed. It was a transformation," Cher said during an appearance on "Dr. Phil" (via People), marveling at how he took to acting like a duck to water — and demonstrated real enthusiasm for it.

Chaz continued to pursue acting after receiving a scholarship to attend LaGuardia High School, the renowned performing arts institution in New York City. It was there that his talent really emerged. During his senior year, for the first time, he was cast in a male role — Peter Quince in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." That, he told Philadelphia Gay News, proved to be a major turning point, bringing about the realization that "the character made sense to me" in ways that playing female roles hadn't. Looking back, in hindsight he could see that moment as providing the first inkling of a deeply hidden truth about himself that would manifest later in life. "It was a big red flag," he recalled.

Chaz Bono was in his early teens when he first began to realize he was attracted to females. He spent the next few years grappling with his sexuality before coming to the conclusion that he was a lesbian. When he and his partner at the time were outed by a tabloid, he realized he had not choice but to come out to his mother.

So how did Cher take the news? According to Chaz, not well at all — although he also wasn't surprised by her reaction. "I absolutely knew that would be the case. That she would be the worst one," he told the Philadelphia Gay News of how he anticipated his loved ones would react. Chaz had always been a stereotypical tomboy, tendencies that became more pronounced as he grew older — and it irked his mom to no end. "When I thought I was gay, I thought that explained it, and I knew it was something that she wasn't happy with," he added.

Chaz pointed out the irony that his mother — a gay icon — was less comfortable with him being gay than his father, who'd go on to become a Republican politician. "You know, my dad was always understanding with me," he said of Sonny Bono's reaction to the news. "He always seemed to accept me for who I was and always made me feel okay about myself."

Coming out as gay was not the end point for Chaz Bono, but the first step in a larger journey that found him changing his name from Chastity to Chaz and transitioning from female to male. Given how poorly Cher reacted to his coming out as gay, it shouldn't be surprising that things didn't go any better when Chaz sat his mom down and told her that he was transgender.

When he first broke the news, he felt that it seemed to go well. Cher, as Chaz recalled in an interview with Oprah.com, "was unbelievably cool." However, as he began receiving regular injections of testosterone that began to bring about physical changes, he noticed his mother's attitude hardening. "When my voice started to change, I think, is when it really hit her," he said. That was when she began to distance herself, a period when they went for months without speaking.

It wasn't easy for Cher to accept Chaz at first, but she eventually came to terms with it. As she explained in an interview with the Sunday Times (via HuffPost), she was accepting of Chaz's transition when it was conceptual, but watching it play out for real proved jarring. "Oh yes, I had a hard time," Cher admitted. "But then as it was starting to happen, you know, it's a strange change for a mother to go through," she observed, recalling the tipping point came when a call to an old number went to Chaz's voicemail. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm never going to hear that voice again.' I broke down. I found it hard and it was a huge shock," she added.

When examining the stunning transformation of Cher, it's clear that she eventually overcame her initial unease at son Chaz Bono's transition, and has come to fully accept him as a transgender male. In fact, his transition has occasionally enflamed her maternal instincts whenever he's been the subject of transphobic bullying.

Through it all, one thing of which Chaz could always be certain was that his mom would be in his corner whenever online comments grew nasty. "If I'm taking flak in the press or people are being mean on Twitter [now X], Cher will jump to my defense," he declared in a 2012 interview with The Sun. 

According to Chaz, mama bear Cher was not one to let negativity go unanswered when it came to her first child. "She sticks up for me — and what an ally to have," Chaz added. "We are developing a new relationship."

While Cher would likely be the first to admit that her preference would have been for son Chaz Bono to have remained her daughter, Chastity Bono, once that ship had sailed, she was 100% on board. That was abundantly clear when Cher sat down for a 2020 interview with CNN and revealed that her apprehension about losing her daughter had been completely offset by how much transitioning had brightened Chaz's outlook. As she said, Chaz was "so unbelievably happy."

She reiterated that in a 2013 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, gushing about how much their relationship has improved since his transition. "I think Chaz is a real success story, because Chaz is so happy, happier than ever," she said. 

Chaz documented his transition for a subsequent documentary, 2011's "Becoming Chaz." As People reported, after Cher took in a screening, she reportedly told a friend how much she admired her son for his openness and transparency. "Most important to me is that he is very happy," she told that friend. "That's what I care about the most. He has my love and support."

Chaz Bono made TV history when he competed on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2011. While his last dance may not have been among the most shocking eliminations in "Dancing With the Stars" history, it capped off his headline-making stint as the show's first-ever transgender celebrity. 

Understandably, his addition to the show was not without controversy. In his 2012 interview with The Sun, Chaz revealed that he'd been besieged by nasty comments from certain dark corners of the internet, and had even received death threats. "I was expecting a backlash from 'Dancing With The Stars,'" he said, admitting he hadn't anticipated the extent of it. "It was certainly more than I expected."

As always, Cher had his back. Not only did she turn up as a member of the audience to cheer him on, but when Chaz appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Cher surprised the audience by calling in and addressing the online haters targeting her son. "If you got that excess time and that amount of hostility, I'm not so sure that I can say anything to you that would make you change your feelings," she said (via The Hollywood Reporter). "Because those are such feelings of hostility and fear that I don't know that I would have any magic words [that] could make you feel more comfortable and to soothe you into not being terrified of my child dancing on 'Dancing With the F***ing Stars.'"

Since transitioning, Chaz Bono has worn a few different hats, including transgender activist and actor. With respect to the latter, he's demonstrated his versatility by portraying a wide range of characters in film and television. These have included a clergyman on "The Bold and the Beautiful," affable Joey Funkhouser in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and a hoarder in the 2016 movie "Dirty." He's also carved out a niche within the horror genre; in addition to appearing in several fright flicks, he also starred in two different seasons of "American Horror Story," playing a cannibal in one season, and in another, a one-handed MAGA supporter who gets sucked into a cult.

His mother has often expressed her pride in his accomplishments, as was the case when she took to social media to share some photos of a banner featuring Chaz that she happened across. "So Proud Of Chaz," Cher tweeted. "Was Beyond Excited When I Saw This. It's In San Diego, On University Ave, Or St. YEAH."

One of the biggest missteps people make when someone transitions is using the incorrect pronoun. However, it's not surprising when loved ones mess up, particularly if it's a parent who's become accustomed to using one set of pronouns to refer to a child, and then struggles when using different ones.

Cher has certainly not been immune to those types of stumbles when it's come to son Chaz Bono. That came through loud and clear during a 2010 interview with Vanity Fair. "She's a very smart girl — boy!" Cher said, immediately catching her mistake. "This is where I get into trouble," she admitted. "My pronouns are f***ed. I still don't remember to call her 'him.'"

That same year, Cher appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and reiterated that she was still experiencing some difficulty in that department. "I still haven't got the pronouns right," Cher said (via the Advocate). "But [Chaz] says that's not so important."

In 2024, Cher released her long-awaited memoir. Denoted as "Part One," the book covers her childhood, her personal/professional relationship with husband/musical partner Sonny Bono, their eventual divorce, and, of course, the birth and childhood of Chaz.

However, writing about her firstborn child presented a bit of a potential minefield over the possibility of deadnaming, as in using the previous name of a transgender person who's transitioned. Deadnaming is hugely frowned upon within the trans community; however, during the period that Cher wrote about in her book, Chaz was still decades away from transitioning, and was still known as Chastity. Wanting to do the right thing, Cher discussed the matter with Chaz, and a solution was reached.

"In this memoir, I refer to my son Chaz as Chas, the name he went by during the years covered in this book," Cher wrote in a disclaimer, as excerpted by Rolling Stone. "Chaz has granted his blessing for this usage. In the next volume, at the appropriate point, I will refer to my son as Chaz."

In 2017, Chaz Bono began dating Shara Blue Mathes, and things grew serious. The couple began talking about marriage, which led to a 2024 report from InTouch claiming that Chaz had become frustrated with his mother's meddling. "The reason Chaz's romance with Shara has worked is because Chaz went his own way and didn't have his mom poking her nose into his affairs," a so-called "insider" told the outlet, insisting that Cher would only be invited to the nuptials if she butted out and stopped interfering. A subsequent InTouch report went on to claim that Cher would not be invited to the wedding. "They want a simple ceremony with none of Cher's theatrics," a source said. "Cher has tried to be there for her kids. But neither wants anything to do with her. It's devastating."

When the knot was finally tied in March 2026, those reports proved to be way off base. Cher, in fact, was indeed in attendance, proudly positioned in the front row. However, the National Enquirer tried to stir up a little drama by reporting that she "nearly stole the thunder" from Chaz on his big day due to a giant diamond ring she wore, fueling speculation that she and her four-decades-younger boyfriend Alexander "AE" Edwards had secretly gotten married. According to the Enquirer, Cher's rep insisted they had not wed, and wouldn't be doing so. "There [are] absolutely no plans for a wedding in her future," the rep declared.