( CNN ) Talk about gender transitioning may be swirling around Bruce Jenner , but the 1976 Olympic gold medalist has kept quiet . Who can blame him ? Though the mainstream is increasingly aware of the various ways some people are modifying their gender presentations -- even in our Instagrammed , reality-show age -- it remains rare for people to do their transitioning in public . It 's even more uncommon for someone already in the public eye to go through the process . If the rumors are true , Jenner may become an exception . His mother , Esther , recently spoke to The Associated Press about hobbies he intends to continue enjoying ; `` family sources '' and `` an insider '' have spoken to TMZ and People magazine , respectively , providing droplets of gossip about Jenner . That part is no surprise . Jenner 's ex-wife , Kris , is the matriarch of the Kardashian clan -- no strangers to growing up and showing off in public . However , while Esther Jenner and Kris ' daughter Kim Kardashian have both publicly offered strong support for Bruce Jenner , neither has used the words `` transgender '' or `` transitioning '' with the media . CNN 's repeated attempts to get comment from Jenner , his agents and his mother have gone unanswered . E ! , which runs `` Keeping Up with the Kardashians '' and is reportedly working on a documentary with Jenner , has told CNN `` we 're still not commenting . '' And Jenner himself has said nothing publicly . Even the decathlon winner 's website , brucejenner.com , consists of a cover page with a generic photo of runners at the starting line , a reference to him as `` the world 's greatest athlete '' ( as Olympic decathlon winners are sometimes called ) and a small note that content is `` coming soon . '' He reportedly does have an interview with Diane Sawyer in the works . There are a handful of relatively well-known people who have transitioned . They have also remained private during the process . Here are a few examples . Renee Richards . As Richard Raskind , Richards was a successful eye surgeon and , in her younger days , a highly regarded amateur tennis player . Her transition was carried out in private but became very public when she was outed by a San Diego TV reporter after a mid-'70s tennis tournament , which prompted the U.S. Tennis Association to ban her from the U.S. Open . As Michael Weinreb wrote in a 2011 Grantland profile , `` Until that moment , she had no intention of playing in the U.S. Open . Until that moment , Richards , already a well-respected eye surgeon , insists she had never really dreamed of a professional tennis career . '' Richards won the right to play in the Open -- she lost the 1977 doubles final -- and became a sought-after coach , most notably with Martina Navratilova . A documentary about her life , `` Renee , '' premiered in 2011 . Lana Wachowski . The older of the Wachowski siblings , creators of the `` Matrix '' trilogy and the newly released `` Jupiter Ascending , '' began modifying her gender presentation in the early 2000s . During Wachowski 's transformation , friends and representatives publicly denied that the process was underway . As late as 2007 , when the Wachowskis were making `` Speed Racer , '' columnist Roger Friedman quoted producer Joel Silver as saying , `` It 's all untrue . '' The insular Wachowskis had a no-press clause in their studio contract , so the chatter was not confirmed by the pair themselves . Wachowski came out as transgender in public in 2012 . The pair was the subject of a major New Yorker profile in September 2012 . `` My biggest fears were all about losing my family . Once they accepted me , everything else has been a piece of cake , '' Lana Wachowski told the magazine . `` I know that many people are dying to know if I have a surgically constructed vagina or not , but I prefer to keep this information between my wife and me . '' Chaz Bono . The child of Sonny and Cher came out as a lesbian in 1995 . In 2008 , he began his gender transition , a process that was noted by his publicist in 2009 . Bono 's transition was the subject of a film , `` Becoming Chaz , '' in 2011 . Since then , Bono is probably best known for competing on `` Dancing with the Stars . '' He stays active in the entertainment business , promoting his weight loss on `` The Doctors '' and appearing in the forthcoming film `` Dirty . '' Alexis Arquette . One of the acting Arquettes -- sibling of Rosanna , Patricia and David -- had roles in such films as `` The Wedding Singer '' and `` Pulp Fiction '' before transitioning in the early 2000s . The experience was the subject of a 2007 film , `` Alexis Arquette : She 's My Brother . '' Since then , Arquette has appeared in the TV series `` Californication '' and the films `` Here & Now , '' `` Getting Back to Zero '' and `` Blended . '' Arquette has said she wants the focus to be on her art , not her body . `` When people ask me about my privates , I say : 'Unless you want to have sex with me , there 's no point asking me . Unless you want to discriminate against me , I do n't know why it would be an issue , ' `` she told Out 's Michael Musto in January . `` Why would you treat someone differently ? You 're gon na hold the door for me just because I have a vagina ? It 's nice to hold the door for everyone . ''
Bruce Jenner is the subject of gender-transitioning rumors . Very few high-profile people have gone through the process .