Zaya Wade & More Transgender Stars Who’ve Shared Their Journeys

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Dwyane Wade trusts his 19-year-old daughter, Zaya, to take initiative and succeed, just like passing her the ball in a game.

In an interview with TopMob News, retired NBA player spoke about how much he’s learning from his daughter, Zaya. He shared that he often thinks about her bravery, explaining that we don’t truly know our own courage until we’re faced with a difficult situation. He founded the non-profit Translatable to provide a supportive environment for LGBTQIA+ youth after Zaya came out as transgender.

Despite a successful 16-year athletic career with three championships, the athlete was deeply moved by his daughter, Zaya. He told TopMob that Zaya has demonstrated remarkable courage and a strong sense of security. He highlighted all the support she’s given to him and his wife, Gabrielle Union, and expressed hope in seeing her thrive and feel safe, something he believes everyone desires.

It’s one of the reasons the model has been so vocal about her gender identity. 

In a March 2023 interview with Dazed, she said the benefits of creating a welcoming online space are far greater than any negativity it receives. She explained that the platform lets her share positivity and empower transgender people worldwide, giving them a voice and inspiring them to embrace who they are without fear.

And, of course, she’s not the only famous face that’s stepped up to share her truth. 

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber’s 17-year-old daughter, Kai Schreiber, has recently gained public attention after confidently walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week.

Kai is incredibly resilient,” her father, an actor, shared with Variety last year. “It’s vital for her to be able to say, ‘I am transgender,’ and to confidently present her true self to the world.’

She’s among a growing number of celebrities using their platform to speak out. As we celebrate Pride month, let’s hear what they have to say.

The influencer openly shared her journey as a transgender woman on TikTok with her “Days of Girlhood” series, covering everything from surgery to the challenges of public opinion. In March 2023, she marked the series’ first anniversary with a cabaret performance to raise money for The Trevor Project.

Before starting her transition, she always saw herself as someone who preferred to follow others. Now, she feels confident and ready to take on a leadership role, telling TopMob News she’s eager to develop those skills.

Dylan added, “And thank god we finally got here, because I never want to go back!” 

Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts’ daughter has always been certain of two things: her passion for fashion and her identity as a girl.

Kai confidently stated in an interview with Interview Magazine in June 2025, “I want to be a supermodel, and that’s it.” They revealed they’ve been preparing for years, even practicing their walk at home. “My mom has tons of videos of me practicing that I made her film!”

Looking back, I realize my journey with gender identity started very early on. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of becoming a truly radiant, captivating, and powerful woman – someone like Marilyn Monroe, to be honest. That vision of femininity really resonated with me and shaped my aspirations.

And what’s great about her trans experience is that she has felt the support of her parents.

Liev shared with Variety in May 2025 that Kai has always been true to herself. He described Kai as a resilient person and emphasized the importance of her openly stating her identity as a transgender woman and proudly presenting herself to the world.

Growing up in Alabama, the actress from Orange Is the New Black was severely bullied as a child because she didn’t conform to traditional expectations for boys. She shared with ABC News in 2014 that this discrimination led to a suicide attempt when she was in the sixth grade.

Laverne recalled feeling overwhelmed by her attraction to other boys, to the point where she felt hopeless and didn’t want to go on living.

The actress only felt a true sense of peace and acceptance after moving to New York and embracing her identity as a woman, something she began to explore with the support of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

She once explained to The Advocate that she felt like she’d spent her whole life avoiding a part of herself. Instead of accepting who she was, she’d been constantly struggling against it, trying to change or compromise.

Though her song “For You I Will (Confidence)” seems to be about conquering fears, the musician personally dealt with her own struggles before publicly coming out as a transgender woman in 2017.

In a 2020 interview with Today, Teddy shared that they often looked in the mirror and wished they were a girl. They explained that for a long time, they suppressed these feelings, never allowing themselves to truly explore them. This ultimately led to significant anxiety and compulsive behaviors.

And since transitioning, the singer said she feels “a lot more connected” to herself.

Honestly, the last few years have been about truly finding myself. I finally feel like I’m emerging from the shame I experienced as a trans person, and I’ve been actively working through my OCD and anxiety too. It’s been a real journey of self-discovery and healing.

Before publicly announcing her transition in 2021, the actor known for 13 Reasons Why had been quietly living as a woman for a year.

In an interview with Time, she explained that staying silent about her experiences can mean losing control of how her story is told. She sees her journey as a process of growth and change, demonstrating the fluidity of gender – how it can be a dynamic, vulnerable, and continuous evolution.

For the actress, coming into herself also meant realizing she wanted different kinds of romantic relationships.

Tommy, who finalized a divorce from Peter Zurkuhlen in 2022, shared that they were previously seen as a masculine person during their nine-year relationship with a gay man. While they still care deeply for him, Tommy realized that their needs as a trans woman weren’t aligning with what he was looking for. They’ve had open and honest conversations and now consider each other friends.

Elliot Page, known for his role in Juno, publicly came out as transgender in December 2020 after privately dealing with gender dysphoria for years. In a social media post, he shared his happiness while also expressing his fears. He explained that despite feeling joyful and acknowledging his privilege, he worried about potential invasion of privacy, hate, mockery, and even violence.

He shared a message of support for transgender people, saying he recognizes their struggles with harassment, self-doubt, abuse, and violence. He expressed his love and promised to work towards a more positive future for them.

Elliot has consistently shared his experiences, including his recovery from chest surgery. In a May 2023 shirtless selfie, he wrote about how difficult summers used to be, explaining that he’d struggle with discomfort and constantly try to hide his chest. He expressed immense joy at being able to simply enjoy the sun now, saying he never imagined feeling so comfortable and happy in his body.

The Umbrella Academy star also detailed his transition in his 2023 memoir, Pageboy.

Laura Jane Grace, the singer of Against Me!, realized she experienced feelings of gender dysphoria from a young age. In a 2014 interview with Magnet magazine, she explained it as a deep-seated need to express her true self. She described a growing anxiety that wouldn’t subside until she could be alone and privately express her identity as a girl, and this pattern continued throughout her life.

Laura explained that she turned to drugs and alcohol to numb her emotions and escape from her difficult life, which led to years of struggling with depression. It wasn’t until she reached her thirties that she accepted her feelings were persistent and, in 2012, came out as transgender.

She explained that she’s taking things one day at a time, trying to understand what’s happening in her life and how to move forward. While admitting she’s still struggling emotionally, she also expressed relief and positivity, noting she’s finally overcome a major obstacle that had been holding her back for a long time.

I’ve been following Chaz Bono’s journey for a long time, and it’s incredibly inspiring. He was assigned female at birth, but he’s always shared that he inherently knew he was a boy. As Cher and Sonny Bono’s only child, his story has been very public, and it’s amazing to see him living authentically.

The musician remembered feeling immense pressure to conform to new expectations as they entered puberty, but also felt deeply disconnected from their changing body. Speaking with Oprah Winfrey in 2014, several years into their transition, they explained how they went from being a typically athletic child to developing curves, which was incredibly upsetting. It was a difficult time because their physical development didn’t align with their internal sense of self.

His experience was chronicled in the 2011 documentary Becoming Chaz.

It’s challenging enough to grow up with public attention, but it’s even harder when you’re also discovering who you are as a person, particularly when it comes to gender identity. Despite this, Zaya, the daughter of retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, has handled everything with grace and strength.

After coming out as transgender, she received a lot of hurtful comments telling her to conform to traditional feminine standards, like growing her hair long. She explained to People magazine in 2022 that this kind of criticism is meant to tear you down, but it’s important not to let it affect you.

Zaya decided to share her story publicly because she believes the good it can do far outweighs any negativity she might face online. In an interview with Dazed in March 2023, she explained that being open allows her to spread positivity and inspire other transgender people to live authentically and without fear, with the support of her family, including her dad and stepmom, Gabrielle Union.

Gigi, who calls herself the “Queen of Coming Out,” has been sharing her experiences with gender identity on YouTube for years. She first identified as a gay man and later transitioned to identifying as a pansexual woman. In a 2019 interview with NBC News, she said coming out as transgender was the most difficult part of her journey, explaining that she knew it would be a long and challenging process with many steps along the way.

The influencer explained she’s sharing her story to support anyone else going through a similar, unusual experience.

Gigi shared that she’s happy to connect with and support people online, offering advice based on what she’s learned. She believes the benefits of doing so far outweigh any drawbacks.

I’ve been following Jazz’s story for years, and I was so amazed by her bravery. She really started making a difference when she was just six years old, sharing her experiences with gender dysphoria on national television with Barbara Walters back in 2007. It was groundbreaking! Since then, she’s continued to be incredibly open and honest about everything – the good and the challenging – through her show, I Am Jazz, even documenting her gender-confirmation surgeries. It’s been inspiring to watch her journey and see the impact she’s had on the trans community.

She remembered feeling unsure about how much to share publicly, noting that many well-known transgender individuals don’t discuss their surgeries. Ultimately, she decided she wanted to help people understand the experience directly, sharing what it was like to go through it herself, as she explained in a 2021 interview with Variety.

The former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant began her gender transition immediately after filming for the show’s third season concluded. She had already been undergoing hormone therapy for about a year when the season aired in 2011.

In a 2016 interview with Self, she remembered realizing at age 25 that she wouldn’t feel complete until she transitioned. She explained that going through hormone therapy – specifically, lowering her testosterone and raising her estrogen – unexpectedly gave her a much deeper understanding of her emotions than she’d ever experienced before.

She explained that she appreciates being able to live her life and focus on the present, rather than constantly criticizing herself. She emphasized that being uncomfortable with who you are can be incredibly damaging to your mental health.

The actress has openly shared her experiences, even tweeting live updates during her tracheal shave procedure.

Hari, the first transgender woman signed by IMG Worldwide modeling agency, explained to Vogue in 2014 that she could have spent three years living at home in Boston while transitioning—including voice training and gender reassignment surgery—before starting her career in fashion or film. However, she didn’t want to wait. She said, ‘I wanted to be in the world.’

Oh my gosh, I just love Michaela Jaé Rodriguez! It’s amazing how bravely she lives her truth. Unlike some other LGBTQ+ stars who went through their transitions publicly, Michaela actually stepped away from acting back in 2012. She needed that time to herself, to really focus on her journey, and I totally respect that. It just shows how strong and authentic she is!

She explained to Playbill that she needed time for personal growth—to improve both mentally and physically. She wasn’t ready to share that journey with the public yet, so she took time to focus on herself and sort things out.

As someone who follows inspiring stories, I’ve been so moved by this Broadway star’s journey. She’s shared that finding her confidence has been key, and she really wants to show everyone that trans women are capable of achieving anything they set out to do. It’s a powerful message about self-acceptance and limitless potential, and I think it’s something we can all relate to.

When Kim Petras was 16, in 2007, her desire to live as her true self gained attention in Germany. She sought medical approval for gender confirmation surgery as a teenager and received it a year later. After the surgery, she told The Telegraph, “I’ve always felt like a woman—I was just born in the wrong body.”

For years, I watched this incredible athlete wrestle with who she truly was, keeping her deepest feelings hidden from everyone she cared about. Then, in April 2015, she bravely shared her truth with Diane Sawyer. It was such a powerful moment when she simply stated, ‘Yes, for all intents and purposes I am a woman.’ As a longtime admirer, it felt like a huge weight lifted, and I was so incredibly proud of her courage.

I was so moved when Caitlyn first appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. It felt like a monumental moment, and reading her words – that she wasn’t doing this for attention, but simply to live her truth – really resonated with me. It was incredibly powerful and inspiring.

She explained that she’d regret it deeply if she reached the end of her life still keeping this secret and having done nothing about it. She didn’t want to feel like she’d wasted her life or failed to address something important to herself.

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2026-06-06 15:18