Judge grants Chaz Bono legal name, gender change

Chaz Bono is officially a man and has his new name.

A judge Thursday granted a request to change the name and gender of the 41-year-old writer, activist and reality TV star, The Associated Press reports.

Chaz Bono was born as a girl named Chastity to Sonny Bono and Cher and underwent a gender-change operation in March 2009 shortly before his 40th birthday.

Bono was represented in court in Santa Monica, Calif., by attorney Kristina Wertz of the Transgender Law Center. Wertz says the judge's order is an important step in Chaz Bono's transition and will allow him to reflect his new identity on a variety of official documents.

Wertz said in a statement, "Chaz couldn't be happier."

"It's hard for me to articulate how this feels - when you've lived your whole life in a body and having everybody relate to you as something you don't feel," Bono told People last December. "When that finally gets righted, it's just amazing. I finally get to live my life the way I've always wanted to."