Chaz Bono has been through a lot, and being the child of a major music star and actress in Cher hasn’t made things much easier.

He’s always been in the public spotlight, and that can be difficult even at the best of times.

However, few stories are more inspirational than Chaz’s is. In 2011, at age 39, he began his transition to the male gender.

Cher has always been supportive of her beloved son, though things weren’t easy in the beginnin.

In fact, Cher had problems with her son being gay at first. According to Chaz, she went “ballistic” when she found out.

Came out as a lesbian

At age 18, Chaz came out to both parents as a lesbian.

“As a child, I always felt there was something different about me.

I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley,” Chaz wrote in his book Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families.”

Transition into a man

It wasn’t until 2010 that Chaz officially became a man, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change.

In the documentary Becoming Chaz, which was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on Oprah Winfrey Network, viewers got the chance to follow Chaz’s transition into a man.

Cher recalled calling Chaz and his old voicemail message was still on the phone. For her, it was difficult, but as hours and days went by, she slowly started to remember that nothing will change Bono essentially.

“You don’t really lose them. They just are in a different shape,” she said.

Chaz Bono today

It marked the first time a transgender man had starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender, according to Advocate