Zaya Wade Stuns in White Halter Top & Green Pants after Legal Name Change
As Zaya Wade's caption decreed, there was "not a cloud in the sky" as she posed wearing a white peplum halter-top and retro green sweatpants in a March 2, 2023, Instagram post - a court-ruled update of her gender had been made official a few days earlier.
Zaya Wade was called a beauty and told she is "glowin'" in the comments. Her dad, Dwyane Wade, reacted with a sparkles emoji. During his NAACP President's Award acceptance speech with Gabrielle Union, he said he had watched his daughter handle media scrutiny with grace.
He spoke about how proud he was to see his daughter walk out the door "as herself," thanking her for "showing him that there is more than one way to communicate effectively." His role as a father is not to create a version of himself in his daughter but to facilitate her hopes, wishes, and dreams.
Zaya Wade Has Been Issued with Name & Gender Assignment Change
PEOPLE reported that per documents they saw on February 24, 2023, the name the 15-year-old has been going with since 2020, Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, is now legally recognized.
Dwyane Wade devoted a significant chunk of his 2020 ESPN documentary, "D. Wade: Life Unexpected," to Zaya's story.
The Los Angeles Superior Court ruling also allows the model to update her gender markings on documents to correspond with her gender identity. That day, Zaya wore a black zig-zag-edged dress in an update captioned, "running late."
Zaya Wade Has Her Parents' Continuous Support since Her Coming out as Transgender
Dwyane has full custody of his children with Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, Zaya, and Zaire. As a curtsy, she was informed when the retired NBA player petitioned the court in August 2022 to recognize their transgender daughter's gender as "female."
While Zaya Wyde, unfortunately, does not have the backing of her biological mother, her dad and stepmom Gabrielle Union have listened to her and let the well-read teenager lead them on the journey.
Dwyane Wade devoted a significant chunk of his 2020 ESPN documentary, "D. Wade: Life Unexpected," to Zaya's story and the family's support of her. He told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" that Zaya, born Zion, had known she was three that she was not a boy.
The NBA great said, "It was a process for us to sit down with our daughter and find out who she is and what she likes and not put something on her - we decided to listen to her, and she's leading us on this journey."