Marlon Wayans, Sigourney Weaver, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are among the proud celebrity parents who have spoken out in support of their trans and nonbinary children in recent years.
From reality stars to Oscar winners, many notable figures shared their children’s journeys with the public to promote tolerance and greater acceptance of the trans community. Famous parents like Annette Bening and Cynthia Nixon have become staunch public advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in the wake of troubling political developments, while Wade helped daughter Zaya launch an online safe space for trans kids.
Keep scrolling for a look back at the celebrity parents who have proudly spoken about their children’s identities:
Robert De Niro
The two-time Academy Award winner’s daughter Airyn De Niro — whom Robert shares with model Toukie Smith — came out as trans in an April 2025 interview with Them. Airyn acknowledged that “no parent is perfect,” but credited her mom and dad with raising her away from the “limelight.”
“I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private,” she said. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.”
Airyn said both parents are accepting of her queer identity, which helped her get to a place that allowed her to feel comfortable sharing her story publicly for the very first time.
“I’d want to hopefully be an inspiration for at least one other person like me who is Black, who is queer, who’s not a size extra small,” she said. “I’d want to see more trans women, more Black women who are maybe bigger-bodied or don’t fit the mold of super thin or heroin chic.”
Rosie O’Donnell
The former Rosie O’Donnell Show host confirmed in March 2025 that she’d moved from the U.S. to Ireland partially to protect her child Clay, who uses they/them pronouns.
“Although I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child,” she explained on TikTok at the time.
O’Donnell said she planned to stay with Clay in Dublin until the political situation — particularly President Donald Trump’s administration — changes in the U.S.
Rosie O’Donnell revealed she frequently speaks to friend Lyle Menendez as he serves a life sentence in prison for the 1989 murders of his parents, Joe and Kitty Menendez. “[We speak] about two or three times a week,” O’Donnell, 63, told Page Six in an interview published on Saturday, April 26. The former talk show […]
“I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home, and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country,” O’Donnell told viewers. “And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back. It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political, as we all know.”
O’Donnely later exclusively told Us Weekly that Clay, who was diagnosed with a form of autism, was coping well with the family’s move.
“There’s a great, great school there. And Clay has done very well. And they were really welcoming,” the actress told Us. “And I love the little town, the little village. It’s in the heart of Dublin, but it’s still a village where you know the name of the grocer and you know the name of the cashiers. People are unbearably kind in a way that shocks me every single day.”
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Wade’s daughter (and Union’s stepdaughter), Zaya Wade, came out at age 12 in 2020 and has since become an activist for other trans youth. Zaya partnered with her father in 2024 to launch the new media platform Translatable, where LGBTQ+ kids are offered a safe space to share their experiences online.
“She didn’t ask for this extra excitement in life,” Wade told People of Zay. “She just wanted to be a kid and do kid things and live her life and be selfish and worry about herself. That’s what you’re supposed to do at her age, worry about you. But she’s thinking about a larger community, and so I’m damn proud of her as a father.”
Union spoke about the importance of Zaya’s activism during a 2025 appearance on The View.
“We protect [Zaya’s] freedom, and her humanity and her rights, that she’s allowed to blossom,” she insisted. “When we get compliments on what she stands for, and who she represents, it’s not just the LGBTQIA community. Like, elderly people come up to me and [say], ‘I wish my parents gave me the freedom to live my full truth and reach my full potential’ … She’s inspiring so many to live their complete truth, and we are more than proud.”
Marlon Wayans
Marlon Wayans. Savion Washington/FilmMagic
Marlon first spoke about Kai’s transition in a November 2023 interview on The Breakfast Club, where he credited his child’s journey with helping his own “transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance.”
During an April 2025 appearance on Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson’s podcast “IMO,” Marlon said that Kai’s experiences taught the whole family about the meaning of “unconditional love.”
“What I’ve learned as a parent is for you to stop loving your child because of their choice and their life, that’s a poor reflection on you,” he insisted.
Marlon continued, “Listen, I’m not here to judge. I am not God. Only God can judge … I’m going to love my baby and I’m a father. I’m always going to defend them. I’m always going to protect them. I’m always going to respect them. There’s nothing anybody can ever tell me. I could lose fans — good! I lost people that are small-minded, small-hearted and self-loathing, so goodbye.”
Marlon shares Kai with former partner Angelica Zachary.
Cher
LGBTQ+ activist Chaz Bono first discussed his transition in a two-part Entertainment Tonight special in 2009, where he revealed he’d started gender-affirming medical care one year earlier.
Cher admitted in a 2013 interview with The Times that she had “a hard time” with Chaz coming out, though she always respected and loved him.
“I didn’t have a hard time in the beginning when Chaz came to see me and told me, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I said, ‘Well, if you’re miserable, then you’ve got to do it,’” Cher remembered. “But then as it was starting to happen, you know, it’s a strange change for a mother to go through.”
Harry Langdon/Getty Images Cher has romanced a number of Hollywood A-listers — and she’s not afraid to talk about it. “The reason I go out with young men is because men my age or older — well, now they’re all dead — but before they just never, they were always terrified to approach me and […]
The “Believe” singer recalled one particularly fraught moment, “I went into full protective mother mode. I was so negative about it because it really is the last frontier that people don’t understand. It’s hard for them to get it. But he was so brave. I’m just proud he’s done this to help others going through the same ordeal.”
After facing criticism for using Chaz’s deadname in her 2024 book Cher: The Memoir — Part One, Cher explained that she’d cleared it with her son first.
“This memoir is based on my (sometimes imperfect) memory,” Cher explained. “In this memoir, I refer to my son Chaz as Chas, the name he went by during the years covered in this book. Chaz has granted his blessing for this usage. In the next volume, at the appropriate point, I will refer to my son as Chaz.”
Jamie Lee Curtis
Curtis shared in 2022 that her and husband Christopher Guest’s daughter Ruby had come out as trans one year earlier.
“It was scary — just the sheer fact of telling them something about me they didn’t know,” Ruby told People at the time. “It was intimidating — but I wasn’t worried. They had been so accepting of me my entire life.”
In the same interview, Curtis likened accepting Ruby’s identity to learning “a new language.”
“It’s learning new terminology and words. I am new at it,” she said at the time, “I am not someone who is pretending to know much about it. And I’m going to blow it, I’m going to make mistakes. I would like to try to avoid making big mistakes.”
Curtis subsequently dedicated her Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Ruby by referring to the Academy Award statue with they/them pronouns.
The legendary actress has become a huge public supporter of trans rights, telling NBC’S Today in 2023 that “there is no debate to argue” about the community.
“Trans people have been here forever and aren’t going anywhere. There is no ideology here,” she said. “It’s simple — trans rights are human rights. Anything stating the contrary is wrong.”
Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
The Breakfast Club star learned her son Beckett was trans in his early teens. (Sheedy shares Beckett with her ex-husband, actor David Lansbury.)
“Beck doesn’t hide anything,” she told People in 2022. “And I feel very comfortable talking to anyone whose kid is just beginning the process of transition. Parents need to educate themselves. It’s natural to have fears about your kids, no matter what. But in this case, Beck is in a really great place in his life. I give him the room to run, and I just really try to just watch.”
Sheedy mentioned that she “learned a lot” from Beckett and expressed hopes that he will “be able to do what he wants to do with his life and have the freedom to make his own choices.”
“So far, he’s been able to do that,” she affirmed.
Heather DuBrow
The Real Housewives of Orange County star first spoke about her and husband Terry Dubrow’s son Ace’s identity in honor of International Sons Day in March 2023.
“We love you, our youngest son, Ace ❤️,” she wrote via Instagram. “Our job as parents is to give our kids a safe and supportive environment so they can grow up as healthy, happy, confident, independent humans.”
Heather added, “Since Ace is a 12 year old child, with a long life ahead of him – we will let him tell his own story someday if he chooses to do so. All we can say is Ace, we love you so much and we are proud to be your parents. Your brother and sisters love and support you too.”
The Housewives icon subsequently told GLAAD that documenting Ace’s story on RHOC may “help some other families and start conversations in other people’s homes.”
“Representation is very important. If someone doesn’t see something, it’s not familiar to them and they don’t understand it,” Heather noted.
Alexis Bellino
Heather’s former RHOC costar Alexis spoke out in defense of then-14-year-old son Miles in 2022 after receiving “questions and comments” about his appearance. Alexis — who shares Miles with ex-husband Jim Bellino — wrote via Instagram that Miles “asked” her to speak out on his behalf.
“I cannot imagine the strength and courage it took for my baby to [come out], but I’m extremely proud of him and I want everyone to understand that love doesn’t change in these situations. It’s unconditional love,” Bellino wrote.
Alexis celebrated Miles’ “freedom” in wanting to open up to the world after taking nearly two years for self-discovery.
“My son lights up every single time a stranger calls him ‘he.’ My son runs with the boys. My son can actually FEEL. My son can live life now with his true self,” she wrote. “This is my same child with his kind heart that gave his only water bottle to his thirsty friend in kindergarten. This is my same child who gives every spare dollar on him to the homeless person on the street. I’m so proud of Miles for wanting to stop the hate, and for being brave enough to step forward at such a young age.”
Busy Philipps
In 2021, the former Dawson’s Creek actress shared on her podcast “Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best” that then-12-year-old child Birdie chose to use they/them pronouns. Philipps added that Birdie initially came out to her as gay at age 10. (She shares Birdie with former husband Marc Silverstein.)
“Bird was like, ‘I don’t give a f***. You can talk about how I’m gay and out. You can talk about my pronouns. That would be cool with me. That’s great.’ So I said, ‘OK, I can talk about it on the podcast,’” Philipps said in 2021.
Philipps offered an update in December 2023 by telling Page Six that Birdie subsequently “decided that her pronouns are she/her.”
“[That’s] what’s so incredible about what gender-affirming care can be. That you allow kids to figure out who they are,” Philipps argued.
Cynthia Nixon
Nixon celebrated the Trans Day of Action in June 2018 alongside son Seph. (Nixon shares Seph with ex-husband Danny Mozes.)
The And Just Like That… star later invoked her son while arguing against Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s criticism of the trans community in 2020.
“It was really painful for [Seph] because so much of his childhood was tied up with Harry Potter,” Nixon told The Independent. “We’re a Harry Potter family. The books seem to be about championing people who are different, so for her to select this one group of people who are obviously different and sort of deny their existence, it’s just … it’s really baffling.”
Nixon added, “I know she feels like she’s standing up for feminism, but I don’t get it.”
The acclaimed actress introduced herself as “the mother of a proud trans man” while rallying with NYU students in support of gender-affirming care in February 2025.
“My wife [Christine Marinoni] and I, our lives are filled with the most amazing, beautiful, brave trans people, young and old, but especially young,” she told fellow protestors.
Sigourney Weaver
Weaver shared on the “Smartless” podcast in December 2022 that her child Shar Simpson is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. (Weaver shares Shar with her husband, stage director Jim Simpson.)
“We have a wonderful [child] who’s now 32 — I don’t know how, [they] still look 12. … In fact, they’re nonbinary and they teach,” the Avatar star told hosts Will Arnett, Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman.
Shar works at the Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab as an adjunct assistant professor.
“They are someone who is excited about AI and not frightened about it. They were not at all interested in doing what I do. That made my husband and me very happy,” Weaver told The Sunday Times in July 2023.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron. Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
The Academy Award winner told The Daily Mail in 2019 that daughter Jackson first spoke about her identity when she was 3.
“I thought she was a boy, too, until she looked at me when she was 3 years old and said: ‘I am not a boy.’ So there you go,” Theron recalled. “I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive. They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide.”
“My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be,” she went on to say. “And I will do everything in my power for my kids to have that right and to be protected within that.”
Dwyane Wade, Khary Payton and more celebrities have supported their LGBTQ+ kids’ journeys. During a February 2020 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wade opened about his daughter Zaya coming out as transgender, noting that he takes his “roles and responsibilities” as her father “very seriously.” Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters […]
In a subsequent interview with Pride Source, Theron said it was necessary to speak publicly about Jackson’s pronouns because her daughter was getting older.
“My daughter’s story is really her story, and one day, if she chooses, she’ll tell her story. I feel like as her mother, for me, it was important to let the world know that I would appreciate it if they would use the right pronouns for her,” she said. “I think it became harder for us the older she got that people were still writing about her in the wrong pronouns, and also I was still talking about her in the press using the wrong pronoun. It really hurt her feelings. I don’t want to be that mom, and that was really why I said what I said a while back.”
Theron concluded, “I haven’t really talked about it ever since, again, because outside of just asking that respectfully of the press – and the world, hopefully – the rest is really private and it’s her story, and it’s really up to her to decide if she wants to share that.”
Annette Bening and Warren Beatty
The iconic Hollywood couple have supported son Stephen Ira since he identified as trans at age 14. Beatty referred to Stephen as “a revolutionary, a genius, and my hero” in a 2016 Vanity Fair profile, while Bening spoke to AARP in 2019 about her son handling his transition with “style.”
“He’s managed something that’s very challenging with great style and great intelligence. He’s an articulate, thoughtful person, and I’m very, very proud of him,” she said.
While Bening rarely speaks about her personal life, she told The View in January 2024 that she “needed to enter that ring of speaking out” in light of political anti-trans rhetoric and subsequent policies.
“At the beginning, I felt very protective of his privacy, because he’s the son of these two famous people,” Bening said. “So I felt very protective, and I felt it was his right to say what he wanted to say publicly, or not. And now, as time has gone on — especially now with what’s happening, unfortunately, in the political process, [with how] trans people are being used — fear and ignorance is being stoked against trans people in the most frightening way. It’s so unfair.”
