Zaya Wade, the 15-year-old transgender daughter of former pro basketball player Dwyane Wade and stepdaughter of his current wife, the actress and activist Gabrielle Union, was born a male named Zion and came out as trans in 2020. Since then, Zaya (who has more than 600,000 Instagram followers) has appeared at catwalk shows, modeled in fashion campaigns, and even photographed her own stepmother for the cover of Self magazine.
Zaya, to borrow a phrase from the younger generation, is getting paid. But is she being pressured by her father to medically transition to female in order to get paid even more? Her mother, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, thinks so and is suing Dwyane Wade to prevent Zaya from legally changing her name and undergoing gender-reassignment surgery until she turns 18.
