American television personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Previously identifying publicly as male, Jenner revealed her identity as a trans woman in April 2015, publicly announcing her name change from Bruce to Caitlyn in a July 2015 Vanity Fair cover story. Her name and gender change became official on 25 September 2015. She has been called the most famous openly transgender woman in the world. From 2015 to 2016, Jenner starred in the reality television series I Am Cait, which focused on her gender transition.
As an athlete and superstar Bruce Jenner won the U.S. Gold Medal in the Decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Jenner, an all-round sports figure raced powerboats and mountain bikes, receiving awards for water-skiing in 1966, 1969 and 1971. Jenner’s willingness to try anything once has led to broadcasting, acting and owning her own business. In 1996, Jenner participated in a two-week road rally through Africa driving a Hummer all-terrain vehicle.
As a dyslexic child Jenner suffered problems in the classroom. In third grade her biggest fear was reading in front of the class. Losing all interest in school work, Jenner became a star athlete to overcompensate for low self-esteem. Frustrated by poor grades, Jenner would challenge the smart boys to races. A pole vaulter and high jump champion at high school, also winner of the water-skiing championships in the large Eastern U.S. competition, Jenner was given a full scholarship to Graceland College in Iowa by the Mormon Church where the college coach felt that Jenner’s athletic strengths were in participating in many track and field events. He encouraged the young athlete to practise for the decathlon.
In 1972, Jenner finished in tenth place in the Olympic decathlon in Munich. Going all out training for the 1976 Games in Montreal and living on $9,000 a year, Jenner sold insurance and drove an old ’63 Volkswagen. Along with wife Chrystie, Jenner lived in a $145-a-month apartment. By 1976, Jenner’s whole life revolved around the Olympics, obsessed about winning and trained eight hours a day. The hard work paid off: On 30 July 1976, Jenner won the Decathlon event with the highest points ever received in the category at that time. General Mills placed Jenner’s image on their Wheatie’s Cereal Box and the flag-waving Jenner became forever etched on the American consciousness. Jenner was uncomfortable with such a patriotic image since the Vietnam war and protest demonstrations were still fresh to the American public. Today, American sport figures immediately wrap themselves in the American flag when running their victory lap around the track.
After conquering the Olympics, Jenner set out to make up for lost time by participating in activities others only read about in newspapers and books. Earning a pilot’s license in 1978 and buying a 1978 Beechcroft Bonanza A-36, Jenner became an entrepreneur with the Bruce Jenner Aircraft company, brokering private planes to executives. Jenner became a member of the ABC broadcasting team by guest hosting TV morning show, “Good Morning, America,” and delivering colour commentary for the ABC sports division. Having authored several books and travelling the lecture circuit as a motivational speaker, Jenner became a pitchman for fitness products on TV info-mercials. In 1980, Jenner starred with the Village People in the disco turkey of the year, “Can’t Stop the Music.” Amazingly Jenner’s career survived the flick, but filmmakers were not phoning Jenner’s agent offering the next movie role.
With a first marriage to Chrystie, Jenner had two children; one born in 1978 and one in 1981. The children were born after Jenner’s Olympic success and Jenner soon became an absent parent. Jenner’s subsequent divorce became a media mess in the California courts in 1981. At the time, Jenner was dating a former girl-friend of Elvis Presley, Linda Thompson after the pair met at a celebrity tennis tournament in 1980. In 1981, Jenner married Linda and they had two children, Brandon in 1982 and Sam in 1984. Thompson filed for divorce in 1986 because of her spouse’s frequent absences from the home front. Jenner met third wife, Kris, the former wife of Robert Kardashian, attorney and confident of O.J. Simpson, at Magic Johnson’s charity Golf Tournament in 1990. The couple met on a blind date arranged by baseball player Steve Garvey’s wife, Candace. It was love at first sight and they married five months later at Terry Siemel, the president of Warner Brothers home in 1990. The couple had their first child together in 1995, Kendall Nichole, and their second child on 10 August 1997, Kylie Kristen. The Jenner’s lived in a house in Beverly Hills with their ten children. Kris ran the Jenner business venture with infomercials selling Jenner products in 17 languages. Jenner become more involved with her children, changing diapers and getting them ready for school.
Trim and tanned, Jenner travelled around the country on the lecture circuit displaying relentless enthusiasm in motivational speeches to company executives. Jenner liked to be seen as impeccably groomed when making appearances before the public. For philanthropy, Jenner actively raised funds for dyslexia foundations.
Bruce Jenner and wife, Kris were good friends of Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson. Since the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, the Jenner’s have cut ties to the Simpson family.
Following her divorce in 2015, Jenner came out in a television interview as a transgender woman on 24 April 2015, initially preferring male pronouns until her transition was more complete. On 1 June 2015, Jenner revealed her new name, Caitlyn, and her use of female pronouns officially.
Jenner has since undergone cosmetic surgery, and completed sex reassignment surgery in January 2017. She said she has never been sexually attracted to men, but has instead always been sexually attracted to women.
Link to Wikipedia biography