Caitlyn Jenner rose to prominence as an athlete in the 1970s. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, she won a gold medal and set a new world record, and after her career ended, she worked in the entertainment industry.
Caitlyn Jenner is currently in the news for coming out as transgender and undergoing hormone therapies for gender change. Her decision was brave, and Jenner has since become a role model for many.
At the same time, the former world-class athlete believes the “old Bruce” still lives within her. This is everything there is to know about Caitlyn Jenner!
Caitlyn Jenner was born William Bruce Jenner on October 28, 1949, in Mount Kisco, New York. She battled with dyslexia as a child, but athletics proved to be a lifeline for her. Caitlyn had a lot of success in athletics throughout her childhood since she was a natural athlete in various disciplines.
Jenner excelled in football, basketball, and water skiing in high school. Track and field, however, would become her primary passion.
Conversely, Caitlyn obtained a football scholarship from Graceland College in Iowa from the start. But once there, a knee injury forced her off the field and into track and field.
Caitlyn was a skilled athlete named Most Valuable Player of her high school basketball, football, and track teams. At the same time, she was already struggling with gender identification at that stage in her life.
“When I look at guys, I think, ‘He’s comfortable in his skin,’” Jenner said. “And I thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t that be a nice way to live?’” I often think to myself, “Oh my God, how lucky are they to be able to wake up in the morning and be themselves?” But I’m trapped in the center.”
Caitlyn Jenner’s undergraduate track coach, L.D Weldon, persuaded her to begin training for the Olympic Decathlon, a combined athletic event of ten track and field disciplines. The coach was an expert in the difficult track event and saw Jenner as the ideal candidate.
Caitlyn won the Kansas Relays out of nowhere in 1971. She made the US Olympic squad a year later, finishing 10th in the Olympic decathlon in Munich.
That was a significant accomplishment, but Jenner believed she could go even better. So she embarked on a rigorous training regimen, putting in eight hours daily, every day, for the next four years.
Jenner was well prepared for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.
On July 30, 1976, she won the Olympic Decathlon at 26 and set a new world record with 8,618 points.
Jenner’s Olympic gold medal was significant since the United States was going through a difficult moment due to the aftermath of Vietnam, Watergate, and other vital issues. They were considered as a larger-than-life American superheroes and became a symbol since they were macho with long lionlike flowing hair at the time.
She was dubbed the world’s most remarkable athlete. But, despite becoming a symbol of manhood, they felt like women when they got the gold medal.
Caitlyn told ABC, “I see a confused person at that time, running away from my life… with big-time fear.” “I was terrified to death.” I had no idea what my future contained at the time.”
“That’s me.” “That’s her,” she continued, referring to her gender identification. “[You can be a woman] and still kick butt.”
Caitlyn Jenner became more than an American hero due to her Olympic success. It also meant that fame was unavoidable, and everyone wanted a piece of her when she returned to the United States.
Jenner received numerous sponsorship deals, establishing herself as a national brand. She also appeared in commercials, television shows, and even movies.
However, she was a distinct person behind the Bruce Jenner brand at the time.
Jenner was selected by the Kansas City Kings in the seventh round of the National Basketball Association draft in 1977. But nothing mattered as she stood on stage, taking in the fame, chants, and cheers.
“I’d walk off the stage feeling like a liar.” “And I’d say, ‘F*ck, I can’t tell my story,’” she remembered. “There’s so much more to me than those 48 hours in the stadium,” she says. It was aggravating. You become enraged at yourself…. They had no idea I was empty on the inside. “It’s empty inside.”
Caitlyn Jenner married college sweetheart Chrystie Scott seven years before her Olympic glory in 1971. She worked as a flight attendant during the day and sold insurance at night, and she was wholly committed to assisting her then-husband in achieving their Olympic ambition.
Burt, their first kid, was born in 1978, and Cassandra, their second child, was born two years later. The couple had previously split since Chrystie was pregnant with Cassandra.
Jenner told ABC that Chrystie was probably “the first to know “their gender identification difficulties.
“I didn’t put much thought into it back then,” Caitlyn explained. “I said, ‘These are my problems.’” This is what I have to deal with.’ And they think I do a little cross-dressing, a little this, a little that, ‘it’ll be good, we’ll figure all this stuff out.’”
Despite her issues with gender identification, Jenner kept it to herself. She married Linda Thompson in 1981, and they had two kids, Brody and Brandon Jenner. The couple split five years later.
Caitlyn later revealed that her difficulties with gender identification were largely to blame for the couple’s breakup. Even though their marriage had ended, Thompson said she would always be there for Caitlyn.
“I hope his transition will inspire others struggling with their identities. I pray that humanity has evolved and been educated enough to exercise kindness toward those we may perceive to be ‘different,” she said.
Caitlyn Jenner opted to seek professional therapy after her divorce from Linda because she suffered from depression. In the late 1980s, she also began taking estrogen and had a nose operation and electrolysis to remove facial hair.
Furthermore, she had begun to develop breasts, despite her earlier intention to complete her transition before her 40th birthday. On the other hand, Jenner opted to call it quits at 39.
Caitlyn was having identity issues. Unfortunately, at the same period, Caitlyn was battling with her identity, knowledge, and respect for transgender individuals and persons transitioning was not at the same level as now, making it much more difficult for her because she was a celebrity.
But if Caitlyn Jenner was – and still is – anything, it was brave. She decided to inform her older sister Pam about her gender dilemma, which was the first time anyone in the family had heard about it.
Several of her family members, however, had difficulty comprehending her.
She and Kris Jenner married in 1991. They had been married till 2015. Caitlyn Jenner and Kris Jenner had their most famous children, Kylie, and Kendall Jenner.
Kris and Caitlyn’s marriage lasted over two decades. Their family became extremely prominent after they were cast in reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2007, in which Caitlyn also appeared. Nonetheless, she felt like a phony for acting like a male.
Kris and Caitlyn divorced in 2013. She resumed her transition four months later without alerting her children.
Jenner was concerned about her family’s reaction to the news because they were unaware of her plans.
“That night, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s over.’” My heart is racing… Caitlyn Jenner recalls, “And I thought it wouldn’t be the easiest thing to be right now.”
Kris and Caitlyn’s divorce was finalized in 2014. She told her entire family about her change. She received overwhelming support from all of them.
Caitlyn Jenner has accepted her new life, which is vastly different from her previous one as of today. Kendall and Kylie still refer to her as “dad.” Despite the uncertainty, she said she had no problems with it.
“I know we talked a few years ago, and you said you were fine with us still calling you dad. “How do you feel about that now?” Caitlyn’s daughter, Kylie, said in a video posted to her YouTube channel:
“I consider it one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” “This community can be pretty tough at times, especially when it comes to pronouns, and everyone has an opinion,” Caitlyn responded.
“But I’ve always felt that I have to do it my way because it works for me, and everyone else can do it their way because it works for them.” Some could say, ‘You’re the mother,’ but I’m not. I’m the father, I’ve always been the father, and I’ll be their father till they die or I die.”
Caitlyn Jenner feels that “Bruce” lives inside her even though it has been more than five years since she transitioned. She still enjoys things that Bruce wanted, like auto racing and flying planes, as she did before her change.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Caitlyn Jenner has a net worth of roughly $100 million.
