Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, first saw fame as an Olympic gold medalist whose image was plastered on the Wheaties box.
Some success in films and TV followed, but it was appearances on the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians" reality TV show that introduced Jenner to a younger generation.
Jenner shocked the world in 2015 by announcing her transition publicly. Bruce became Caitlyn, spawning another reality TV series, “I Am Cait.”
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A Republican supporter of President Donald Trump, Jenner's political views are common knowledge, but here are five things you might not know about the Olympian-turned-reality star.
1. Jenner auditioned for the role of Superman — After winning the gold medal for the decathlon in the 1976 Olympics, Jenner was offered broadcasting and acting jobs for commercials. Bruce even auditioned for the lead role in “Superman,” according to Vanity Fair. The part ultimately went to Christopher Reeve.
2. Young Bruce was dyslexic — Failing second grade left the student with feelings of low self-esteem, so it helped encourage Jenner's interest in sports. “My greatest gift was being dyslexic,” Jenner told Esquire in 2012. “If I had not been dyslexic, I wouldn’t have needed sports.”
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3. Jenner thought about suicide during her transition — After undergoing a tracheal shave, a procedure to reduce the appearance of the Adam's apple, Jenner was so upset that TMZ snapped a photo of her leaving the doctor's office that she contemplated suicide.
“I could not sleep that night. I’m up at 3 a.m. walking up and down my hallways . . . thinking, ‘Damn, all this sh** is going to come out tomorrow and it’s going to be horrible,”’ Jenner told host Bill Simmons on a 2016 episode of HBO's "Any Given Wednesday." "And I said, ‘You know what, easy way, go in the other room, you got a gun, let’s just end it right here.’"
Jenner said she ultimately realized suicide was not the answer.
4. She had been dressing as a woman since a child — At about age 8 or 9, Jenner would wear her mother’s or sister’s clothes and walk around the home “scared to death that somebody was gonna catch me,” Jenner told WBUR. She didn’t know why she felt that way, and it was “a long time after that that I finally kinda tried to figure out who I was.”
5. Athletics run in the family — It was no surprise to Jenner’s parents that their son would be great at sports. Jenner’s father William competed in the U.S. Army Olympics in Germany in 1945, winning a silver medal in the 100-yard dash. Jenner’s grandfather ran in several Boston Marathons.
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