Believe it or not, more people fall into the LGBTQ+ community than we think. A 2017 Gallup poll concluded that 4.5% of adult Americans identified as LGBTQ. While most of these people fall into the bucket of gay or lesbian, an increasing number of people are choosing to live their truth and come out as either transgender or non-binary.

Despite these numbers, the LGBTQ+ community has struggled for years to gain true acceptance and representation in mainstream media. However, more and more celebrities are openly sharing about their children who idetify as gay or even transgender. So, in the spirit of inclusivity, here are just 7 examples of celebrities whose kids came out as transgender in the past decade.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s oldest child, whose given name is Shiloh, has been a cause of discussion for years because of their choice of gender non-conforming clothing. In fact, Jolie discussed her child’s clothing choices at length in a 2010 Vanity Fair interview. Shiloh officially asked parents Jolie and Pitt to start using the name John and they/them pronouns in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since.

Sade

Sade's only child, son Izaak Theo Adu, came out as transgender in 2016 and completed his gender reassignment surgery in 2019. Izaak shared how supportive his mother was throughout the transition process along with news of a successful surgery. "It's been a long hard road but we did it! We are coming home!"

Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union

Last April, former NBA star’s family made headlines after his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, shared a picture on social media while at the Miami Beach Pride Festival. In February 2020, Dwyane Wade openly shared the full story on his daughter Zaya’s coming out story while on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." He shared that "[Zaya was] originally named Zion, born as a boy, but came home and said, 'Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I'm ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as she and her, I would love for you guys to call me Zaya.'"

Charlize Theron

Actress Charlize Theron is known for more than her recent role in “Bombshell.” In fact, Theron just shared news that her daughter Jackson’s transgender identitiy in April 2019. In an interview with Pride Source, Theron stressed the importance of getting pronouns right for people who identify as transgender.

Cynthia Nixon

“Sex In The City” actress Cynthia Nixon shared a picture of her transgender son at his college graduation back in 2018. Later, in an interview with US Weekly, Nixon commented on how refreshing it is to see how welcoming people are of the LGBTQ+ community: "There was some general, you know, voicings of support. But generally it was not a big deal. I was kind of shocked at what a non-event it was, which is just how far we've come in such a short amount of time."

Cher

Back in 2011, Cher’s son, Chaz Bono, made the choice to not only undergo his transition in 2010 at the age of 40, but he also shared the transition process in his documentary “Becoming Chaz.” According to Cher, the transition not only helped Chaz gain more comfort in his skin, but also brought the mother-son pair closer together.

R. Kelly

Back in 2014, R. Kelly’s middle child decided to publicly share his true identity with the world at the age of 13. While R. Kelly initially didn’t seem on board with his son’s decision, he ultimately came around to the idea. In an interview he said, "No matter what they are or who they are, they're still your kids, you love them, you know? You've got to support them. You want to support them. At the end of the day it's not about me [anymore]. It's about three lovely, lovely kids that I am in love with and that's in love with me."

What can we gain from these celebrities and their transgender children? That love knows no bounds, and ultimately we need to embrace our children regardless of their beliefs, sexual orientation, or other distinguishing characteristics. If a child in your life appears to be questioning their gender identity, visit the Human Rights Campaign website to learn how you can help them.

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