Caitlyn Jenner is an American television personality, transgender rights activist, and retired Olympic decathlete who won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympic Games. She was formerly known as Bruce Jenner before she came out as transgender in 2015. She is known to be the most prominent openly transgender athlete.

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Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY

• Caitlyn Marie Jenner was born as William Bruce Jenner on October 28, 1949, in Mount Kisco, New York.
• She was born to William Hugh, an arborist, and Esther Ruth (née McGuire).
• She had a younger brother named Burt, who was killed in a car accident shortly after her historic win at the Olympic Games.
• At a young age, Caitlyn was diagnosed with dyslexia.
• Even though she struggled in academics, she excelled at sports.

EDUCATION

• Caitlyn attended two high schools: Sleepy Hollow High School in New York for her first two years, then Newtown High School in Connecticut for her third and fourth years when she started her career as an athlete.
• She graduated high school in 1968.
• In high school, she was an outstanding athlete in various sports, such as football, basketball, water skiing, and track and field.
• She emerged as a water skiing champion in the Eastern States competition in 1966, 1969, and 1971.
• Caitlyn then attended Graceland College (now Graceland University) in Iowa, where she was granted a football scholarship. 
• After getting a knee injury, she was forced to stop playing football.
• Months later, Caitlyn switched her focus to playing basketball and training for track and field.
• L. D. Weldon, a track coach in Graceland, saw her potential and persuaded her to train for the Olympic decathlon.
• In 1970, Caitlyn joined her first decathlon in the Drake Relays decathlon, which took place in Des Moines, Iowa. She finished in fifth place.
• In 1973, she obtained her degree in physical education from Graceland College.

OLYMPIC WIN

• In 1972, Caitlyn secured third place at the Olympic trials and then finished in 10th place at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.
• Shortly thereafter, she moved to California to undergo extensive training.
• Four years later, Caitlyn broke the record while running and won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 
• For her Olympic win in the decathlon, she scored 8,634 points setting a new world record, which was broken by British athlete Daley Thompson in 1980.
• Following her win, Caitlyn was named Associated Press Athlete of the Year and was awarded the Sullivan Award, an honor given to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.

POST-OLYMPIC POPULARITY

• After her history-making triumph in the Olympics, she gave up vaulting but ran with the momentum of her skyrocketing popularity.
• She swiftly capitalized on her fame with endorsements deals, media appearances, magazine covers, and speaking engagements left and right.
• She first famously appeared as the “Wheaties Champion” on the Wheaties cereal box.
• From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, she made appearances in several television and film projects.
• She also became a sports commentator and co-authored several books, including “Decathlon Challenge: Bruce Jenner’s Story” (1977), “Bruce Jenner’s Guide to Family Fitness” (1978), and Bruce Jenner’s the Athletic Body: A Complete Fitness Guide for Teenagers (1984).
• In 1986, she found her first success in motorsports, finishing in fourth place in the IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) Camel GT series.
• She also became head of Bruce Jenner Aviation, an aircraft brokerage firm.

PERSONAL LIFE

• Before she came out as transgender, Caitlyn had been married three times.
• From 1972 to 1981, she was wed to Chrystie Scott (née Crownover), with whom she has two children: Burt and Cassandra.
• On January 5, 1981, Caitlyn tied the knot with actress Linda Thompson, with whom she has two sons: Brandon and Brody.
• In 1986, she and Linda separated and eventually divorced.
• On April 21, 1991, Caitlyn married Kris Kardashian, with whom she has two daughters: Kendall and Kylie.
• They separated in June 2013. Their divorce finalized in December 2014.
• In February 2015, Caitlyn got involved in a near-fatal four-car collision on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. 

REALITY TV STARDOM

• Caitlyn had been shown in many primetime television programs and game shows in the 1990s but it was her appearance in the reality television series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” that catapulted her to more widespread fame together with her wife and stepdaughters.
• The show, which premiered in 2007, followed the day-to-day life of her then-wife Kris Jenner, her children, Kendall and Kylie, and stepchildren Robert Jr., Kim, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, who are Kris’s children with her first husband, Robert Kardashian.

GENDER TRANSITION

• In April 2015, Caitlyn revealed that she identifies as a woman in an exclusive TV interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20.
• During the interview, she used pronouns “he” and “we” while talking about her personal history and life before transitioning.
• Caitlyn’s mother and other family members released statements of support for her coming out.
• On June 1, 2015, Caitlyn announced on Twitter that she has started to identify as Caitlyn using the pronoun “her.”
• For its July 2015 cover story, Vanity Fair debuted a photograph of Jenner as Caitlyn professionally taken by Annie Leibovitz.
• On July 15, 2015, Caitlyn made her first public appearance at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, where she was given the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.
• In 2015, Caitlyn stated that her sexual attraction has always been towards women, and never men, clarifying the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity.
• From 2015 to 2016, she starred in her own reality program “I Am Cait” where her gender transition took center stage. She was an executive producer of the show.
• With her popularity and story, she became a spokesperson for the transgender community.
• Caitlyn completed sex reassignment surgery in January 2017.
• In April 2017, she published her autobiography entitled “The Secrets of My Life.”

ADVOCATE FOR TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

• Caitlyn, a Republican, also got involved in the political aspect of lobbying for transgender rights.
• In April 2017, she voiced her support for same-sex marriage.
• In April 2021, she announced that she was running for governor of California, but did not win.
• In September 2021, she also expressed that she was in favor of the Texas Heartbeat Act, which made abortions after the six-week mark illegal.

Caitlyn Jenner Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Caitlyn Jenner across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Caitlyn Jenner, who is an American television personality, transgender rights activist, and retired Olympic decathlete who won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympic Games.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Caitlyn Jenner Facts
2. Caitlyn’s Chronicles
3. Describing Jenner
4. Post-Olympics Timeline
5. Track Terms
6. Know The Kardashians
7. Agree or Disagree
8. Truth Transition
9. Then and Now
10. Olympic Legends
11. Curiosity Corner

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Caitlyn Jenner most known for?

From William Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner, this decathlete won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal with 8,618 points — an unprecedented score! But it was even more groundbreaking when she publicly revealed her transgender identity in 2015. This courageous move made her the most prominent athlete who has come out as trans.

What sport did Bruce Jenner win?

On July 30, 1976, Bruce Jenner emerged triumphant as he crossed the finish line of his decathlon event and secured a gold medal at the Montreal Summer Olympics. Now known to many today by her new name Caitlyn Jenner, this Olympic champion achieved an extraordinary feat that will not be forgotten in history.

How old was Caitlyn Jenner when she transitioned?

In the summer of 2015, 65-year-old Bruce Jenner revealed their true identity to the world as a transgender woman and introduced us to Caitlyn Jenner. She graced the cover of Vanity Fair in June 2015 and discussed her transition experience on television two years later.

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