Caitlyn Jenner is an American television celebrity and Olympic gold medalist with a net worth of $100 million. After spending the first 65 years of her life as former Olympic gold medalist decathlete Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner is most known for becoming a voice for the transgender community.
Early Life:
Caitlyn Marie Jenner was born William Bruce Jenner on October 28, 1949, in Mount Kisco, New York. Esther Ruth and William Hugh Jenner are her parents, and she is of English, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, and Irish ancestry. Jenner graduated from Newton High School in Newton, Connecticut, in 1968, after attending Sleepy Hollow High School in New York.
Jenner suffered from dyslexia but was able to attend Graceland College on a football scholarship. However, due to a knee injury, she was forced to cease playing. Jenner’s Graceland coach saw her potential and urged her to convert to decathlon training. In Des Moines, Iowa, she placed fifth in the Drake Relays decathlon.
Decathlon Career:
Jenner represented the United States at the 1972 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Jenner was in fifth place with one event remaining and needed to close a 19-second gap in the men’s 1500 meters. On her final lap, she finished 22 seconds ahead of the other runners, qualifying her for the team.
Jenner finished ninth in the decathlon at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, following the trials. Jenner married flight attendant Chrystie Crownover and moved to San Jose, California after graduating from college in 1973. Jenner made ends meet by selling insurance at night and training during the day at the San Jose City College and San Jose State University tracks.
Following an American championship win in the men’s decathlon event in 1974, Jenner was featured on the cover of Track & Field News in August 1974. The next year, she won the French national title and a gold medal at the Pan American Games. She was breaking world records at this stage. Jenner competed in 13 decathlons between 1973 and 1976, winning only one.
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On the opening day of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Jenner set five personal records in the men’s decathlon. Jenner won the gold medal and set a new world record of 8,618 points at that year’s Olympics. Jenner accepted an American flag from a spectator after the event and carried it during the victory lap, starting what is now a regular custom among successful Olympians.
Jenner became a national hero after winning gold and being named the top amateur athlete in the United States by the James E. Sullivan Award. In 1976, she was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Daley Thompson broke Jenner’s 1976 world and Olympic records by four points at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Jenner’s brother Burt sadly died in a vehicle accident shortly after her Olympic victory.
Post-Olympics:
Jenner gained even more popularity and prosperity as a result of the publicity that her Olympic victory provided. She appeared on the covers of magazines such as Sports Illustrated and Playgirl. She became a spokesperson for Wheaties cereal and other products such as Tropicana, and she had little success in tiny TV and film parts.
Jenner had a recurring role as Officer Steve McLeish in the TV series CHiPS in 1981. From 2007 to 2016, she starred in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the TV miniseries documentary I Am Cait. Jenner’s appearance in the 19th season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians was revealed in November 2019 “I’m a famous person… I have to get out of here!”
Transition to Caitlyn:
Jenner revealed that she possessed the soul of a woman and was a trans woman in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “20/20” in April 2015. Jenner unveiled her new name and persona to the public later that year, and in July 2015, she legally changed her name to Caitlyn Marie Jenner.
Jenner completed her transition by having sex reassignment surgery in January 2017. Jenner now speaks movingly about her experience, and in June of 2015, she formally announced her transition on the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine. Jenner launched a Twitter account after her transition, which quickly grew to 1 million followers in a Guinness World Record duration of 4 hours and 3 minutes.
Caitlyn Jenner became a high-profile voice for the transgender community after sharing her story with the public. For her bravery and for sharing her tale with the world, she has been praised and awarded. Following the Vanity Fair announcement, the E! Network produced an eight-part series detailing Jenner’s transition.
The subject of transition is irrelevant to the Jenner children. When their father told them individually about the transition prior to surgery, they were already aware of their father’s new identity as a woman, and they all feel both happy for him and inspired by Caitlyn’s bravery.
Personal Life:
Jenner married Chrystie Crownover three times, the first time from 1972 to 1981. They have a son and a daughter together. Jenner was married to Linda Thompson from 1981 to 1986, and the couple has two boys.
Jenner and Kris Kardashian married on April 21, 1991, after only five months of dating. Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner are their two daughters. Jenner was also a stepparent to Kris’s children from a previous marriage, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Robert, who all star in “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Kris filed for divorce in September 2014, and the couple divorced in December of that year.
In February 2015, Jenner was involved in a tragic multi-car incident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Jenner’s SUV collided with Kim Howe’s car, killing the actress and animal rights activist.
Although no criminal charges were filed, Howe’s stepchildren and the drivers of the other automobiles involved filed three civil lawsuits. Both settlements kept the financial specifics under wraps.