Zaya Wade not only celebrated her 18th birthday in full glam, but she also used the milestone to champion LGBTQ+ Advocacy.
In addition to ushering the teen into adulthood, the event, “The Venus Ascension Ball,” also celebrated the one-year anniversary of her organization, Translatable. Translatable is a digital platform aimed at providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to express themselves, connect with others, and receive support, according to several sources.
The event brought together family, friends, and supporters. Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, and little sister Kaavia James were all in attendance.
Tickets were $20, with all proceeds going to support Translatable. Corporate sponsors included MAC Cosmetics, H&M, the Utah Jazz, and Folx Health. The Trans Wellness Center partnered as the nonprofit beneficiary, and MAC Cosmetics contributed a $100,000 donation in Zaya’s honor.
How did Zaya describe the night? As “indescribable,” of course. “It was indescribable,” Zaya said. “Imagine an explosion of love and light wrapped up into one magical night. You’re not even close to what it felt like yet.”
Zaya Wade publicly came out as transgender in 2020, when she was just 12 years old. Her announcement was met with widespread support and sparked important conversations about gender identity. Since then, she has used her platform to advocate for the rights and visibility of transgender and queer communities.
The 18-year-old has fully embraced her identity, transforming it into a powerful force as a sought-after face for major brands like MAC Cosmetics, Miu Miu, and Chanel, to name a few.
Zaya’s father, Dwayne Wade, in a recent TIMEOUT podcast episode, had his daughter on as a guest. The NBA legend told viewers that, their relationship goes far beyond the transgender conversation.
“The trans conversation is not the entire conversation with us,” he said. “This is 10 percent of our relationship. We have regular conversations about anything. Chicken fingers, French fries, mustard…I tell you guys all the time, I always create moments with my village, with my people, especially my kids. I find these moments to create with them. I date them all the time.”
He continued, “And so I find these little small moments to date my kids. But that’s the moments when you get to know them. And then they get the chance to get to know you outside of the father figure and the child figure that’s in the home. And so when we get out of the home, we get in the car, we go to restaurants, we go to different places, we go to parks, the shield is off. And now we’re just two people trying to get to know each other.”
Photo: Zaya Wade Instagram; Translatable Instagram; Ebony Lane Instagram
