Congratulations are in order for Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya Wade, whose name and gender change were legally granted three years after she came out as transgender.
According to new legal documents, an L.A. County judge just signed off on the new legal identity for Dwyane’s transgender 15-year-old.
Dwyane’s kid is now legally Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade and the judge also ruled in favour of her official gender change from male to female.
Of course, Dwyane and his current wife, Gabrielle Union, have been calling her Zaya for years — she came out as trans back in 2020. Her petition for the name and gender has been making its way through the courts since last August.
The legal change came with some family drama as the retired NBA star and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade were at odds over the move. Dwyane said the change was in their child’s best interest and ripped Shiovaughn’s opposition as “nonsensical.”
Dwyane is on the record saying the change will allow Zaya feel confident and enjoy an honest life.
The former NBA star, 41, first revealed that his eldest daughter is transgender while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in February 2020. (Dwyane shares Zaya and son Zaire, 21, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, son Xavier, 9, with ex Aja Metoyer and daughter Kaavia, 4, with wife Gabrielle Union.)
“First of all, me and my wife, Gabrielle Union, we are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, and we’re proud allies as well,” the three-time NBA Championship winner shared at the time, recalling that Zaya spoke to him and the Bring It On actress about her gender identity when she was 12 years old.
For years, Union and Dwyane have been a strong support system for Zaya, who told her dad and stepmom that she wanted to celebrate Pride 2022 not with a big celebration but by helping others.
“The biggest thing is my daughter said, ‘We want to be able to help other families.’ So throughout our foundations, we try to make sure we are helping the LGBTQIA+ community,” the former Miami Heat star exclusively told Us at the time. “That’s how we celebrate.