Caitlyn Jenner, born Bruce Jenner in 1949, built her first public reputation on the decathlon, winning gold at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Her 2015 announcement that she identified as a woman made her the most prominent athlete to come out as transgender, and it turned her into a lasting cultural figure far beyond sport.
An athlete shaped by the decathlon
Jenner's competitive path began at Newton High School in Connecticut, where she lettered in football, basketball and track and became an East Coast champion in waterskiing. After first entering the decathlon in 1971, she finished 10th at the 1972 Munich Games before relocating to California to train alongside individual-event specialists. Her 1976 Montreal victory, with a then-record score of 8,618 points, became the foundation of her public profile.
From televised sport to reality television
After Montreal, Jenner worked as a network sports commentator, appeared in television commercials, lectured and published several books. Her 1991 marriage to Kris Kardashian later drew her into the reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which ran from 2007 to 2021. The couple divorced in 2014.
A public transition and its reception
In April 2015 Jenner said she identified as a woman, and two months later asked to be called Caitlyn Jenner. The reality series I Am Cait, documenting her transition, premiered in July and ran for two seasons. Her visibility drew wide praise for raising awareness of transgender people, as well as sustained scrutiny of her public statements and choices.
The 2021 California recall campaign
In April 2021 Jenner, a Republican, announced a run for governor of California in the recall election later that year. Her campaign struggled, and at one point she suspended activities to appear on Celebrity Big Brother in Australia. She finished with a poor showing in the election. Her memoir, The Secrets of My Life, had been published in 2017.