Caitlyn Jenner was a big deal in the 1970s as an athlete. She won a gold medal and set a new world record at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. After sports, she got into entertainment.
But now, Caitlyn is known for something else. She came out as transgender. This means she identifies as a different gender than the one she was assigned at birth. She’s been taking hormones to transition to her true gender. It was a brave decision, and many people look up to her.
But even with all the changes, Caitlyn still feels like a part of her old self, named Bruce, is still there. She’s become a role model for many, but her journey is ongoing. That’s the story of Caitlyn Jenner.
Caitlyn Jenner was born on October 28, 1949, in Mount Kisco, New York. When she was young, she had trouble with reading, called dyslexia. But she found her strength in sports. She was really good at many sports when she was a kid.
In high school, Jenner did well in football, basketball, and water skiing. But track and field became her favorite.
She got a scholarship to play football at Graceland College in Iowa. But then she hurt her knee and couldn’t play anymore. So, she started doing track and field instead.
Even when she was young, Jenner struggled with understanding her gender identity. She admired how some people felt comfortable being themselves.
In college, Jenner’s coach, L.D. Weldon, encouraged her to train for the Olympic decathlon. It’s a big event with ten different track and field events. Her coach thought she would be perfect for it.
In 1971, Caitlyn Jenner surprised everyone by winning the Kansas Relays. Then, in 1972, she joined the US Olympic team and came in 10th place in the Olympic decathlon in Munich.
But Jenner wanted to do even better. So for the next four years, she trained really hard. She practiced for eight hours every day.
When the Olympic Games happened in Montreal, Canada, in 1976, Jenner was prepared. On July 30, 1976, at 26 years old, she won the Olympic decathlon and set a new world record with 8,618 points.
This was a big deal for the United States, as the country was going through some tough times with problems like Vietnam and Watergate. Jenner was like a superhero to many Americans, seen as very masculine with long hair.
They were celebrated as the best athlete in the world. But even though they were seen as very masculine, Jenner felt like a woman when they won the gold medal.
“I was confused and scared at that time,” Caitlyn Jenner told ABC. “I was running away from my life with a lot of fear. I didn’t know what my future held.”
“That’s who I am,” she added, talking about her gender identity. “You can be a woman and still be strong and successful.”
After winning big at the Olympics, Caitlyn Jenner became a hero in America. She became very famous, and everyone wanted to be part of her life.
She got a lot of endorsement deals and appeared in ads, TV shows, and even movies. But behind the famous person that everyone knew as Bruce Jenner, there was a different person.
In 1977, Jenner was chosen in the seventh round of the NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings. But even with all the fame and applause, Jenner felt like something was missing.
“I felt like a liar,” she said. “There was so much more to me than what people saw in the stadium. But I couldn’t talk about it. I felt empty inside.”
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Seven years before Caitlyn Jenner’s Olympic success, she married her college sweetheart Chrystie Scott in 1971. Chrystie worked as a flight attendant while Caitlyn sold insurance at night. She was very supportive of Caitlyn’s dream to go to the Olympics.
Their first child, Burt, was born in 1978, and two years later, they had a daughter named Cassandra. But by the time Cassandra was born, Caitlyn and Chrystie had already separated.
Caitlyn told ABC that Chrystie was probably the first person to know about her struggles with gender identity. Caitlyn didn’t talk much about it back then. She just mentioned her issues and hoped they could work things out.
Despite Caitlyn’s gender identity struggles, she kept them to herself. In 1981, she married Linda Thompson, and they had two sons, Brody and Brandon Jenner. But they got divorced five years later.
Later, Caitlyn revealed that her gender identity struggles played a part in her divorce from Linda. Despite the divorce, Linda said she would always support Caitlyn.
“My hope is that Caitlyn’s transition will inspire others who struggle with their identities, and my prayer is that humanity has evolved and been educated enough to exercise kindness toward those we may perceive as ‘different,” she said.
After Caitlyn Jenner divorced Linda, she started to feel depressed. So, she decided to get help from professionals. In the late 80s, she began taking estrogen, had a nose job, and did electrolysis to remove facial hair.
She even started to grow breasts, planning to fully transition before turning 40. But she stopped the process when she was 39.
Caitlyn was struggling with her identity. But back then, people didn’t understand or respect transgender people like they do now. This made it even harder for Caitlyn because she was famous.
But Caitlyn is brave. She told her older sister Pam about her gender crisis, the first family member to hear about it. But some family members had trouble understanding.
In 1991, Caitlyn married Kris Jenner. They stayed married until 2015 and had two famous children, Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
Their family became even more famous when they got their own reality show, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” in 2007. Caitlyn was also part of the show. But she still felt like she was living a lie as a man.
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In 2013, Kris and Caitlyn separated. Four months later, Caitlyn continued her transition without telling her children.
She was worried about how her family would react since they didn’t know her plans.
“That night I thought, ‘oh, it’s, like, over. Heart’s pounding… and I thought wouldn’t the easiest thing to be right now,” Caitlyn Jenner recalled.
In 2014, Kris and Caitlyn’s divorce was finalized. Caitlyn then told all of her children about her transition. She got a lot of support from them.
Now, Caitlyn Jenner has embraced her new life, which is very different from before. Sometimes Kendall and Kylie still call her “dad.” But she’s okay with that, even though it can be confusing.
“I know we talked a few years ago and you were okay with us still calling you dad. How do you feel about that now?” Caitlyn’s daughter, Kylie, asked her in a video on her YouTube channel.
“I feel it was one of the best decisions I made. Sometimes this community can be tough, especially when it comes to pronouns, and everybody’s got an opinion,” Caitlyn replied.
“But I really felt from the beginning that I’ve got to do it my way that works for me, and everyone out there can do it their way that works for them. Some people would say, ‘You’re the mother’, but I’m not. I’m the dad, I’ve been the dad the whole way, I will be their father until the day they die or I die.”
Even though it’s been more than five years since Caitlyn Jenner transitioned, she still feels like “Bruce” lives inside her. Just like before her transition, she still enjoys things that Bruce liked, such as car racing or flying planes.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Caitlyn Jenner has a net worth of around $100 million.
Caitlyn Jenner is fearless and a role model for many. Please share this article on Facebook with friends and family!
