Growing up in Hollywood is a strange experience. On one hand, you’re privileged, rich, and famous, or have famous parents. On the other hand, your life is basically up for scrutiny by the media or your parents go to insane lengths to hide you from the public to protect you. Neither of those options is really great. But you live and you learn and you adapt. So let’s take a look at some celebrity children that managed to live their lives in the most authentic and true-to-themselves way even if it had to be in the public eye.
Elliot Page
December 1, 2020 marked quite a radical change in the public life of Elliot Page. That’s when they chose to come out on Instagram and tell the world that they’re trans. It was a very honest and emotional letter that recognised their privilege of being able to arrive at this place in their life, expressed how happy they are that they’re trans and queer but didn’t shy away from admitting that it’s a scary thing to do for many reasons. It was a great way to be honest and raw and start a conversation about what trans people go through and how it feels. Since their Elliot has become quite an advocate for trans rights and uses their Hollywood fame as a platform to educate, represent, and live their life authentically.
Zaya Wade
Zaya had a very interesting coming out story. She was about 12 when she came to her parents and said, “I want to be called she and her, and you should call me Zaya from now on.” And her parents Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union have embraced that right away. The father was on the Ellen show when he shared that story. And her mother made an Instagram post praising her child. It’s truly an example of how to listen to and respect your children.
Chaz Bono
Cher’s only child first came out as gay in 1995, which was already a huge deal in the 90s. But that wasn’t the end of their journey, in 2000 Chaz came out as trans, which was an even bigger deal. At a time when discussing identity and sexual orientation was not as common, Chaz took a significant step forward. He chose to create a whole documentary to document and share his transition with the world called Becoming Chaz. At the time, trans visibility in the media was practically nonexistent, so doing a documentary on his own experience was truly groundbreaking.
Jamie Lee Curtis & Ruby Guest
Ruby got really lucky in life, not only because her mom is the iconic, Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis, but also because her mom is incredibly supportive and believes that parenting is about unconditional love and acceptance. So when Ruby came out as trans to her parents in 2020, she was met with nothing but overwhelming love. In 2022 Jamie Lee Curtis even officiated Ruby’s cosplay-themed wedding. Ruby and her partner Kynthia dressed up as their favourite characters from games and Jamie Lee Curtis officiated the wedding wearing a costume from World of Warcraft. Now that’s parenting done right.
Jaden Smith
Jaden’s story with identity and sexuality refuses to fit into any boxes. He’s all about self-expression and fluidity. First, he modelled skirts for Louis Vuitton’s womenswear campaign in 2018, then later in 2018 announced that Tyler The Creator is his boyfriend and simply refused to clarify anything beyond that. His fashion sense is incredible, and he’s no stranger to rocking a skirt or a dress, he doesn’t believe that clothes should be gendered and just lives by the motto of “I’ll be whatever I want to be.” And honestly, it sounds perfect.
Charlize Theron & Jackson
Charlize Theron has two children, and at first she thought she had a boy and a girl, that was until Jackson looked at her at the age of 3 or 4 and very firmly let her know that she’s a girl. And that was that, no big coming out story, no drama, just a mother listening and accepting her child fully. Ever since then, she’s just said that she has two beautiful daughters. And the best thing about this is that Charlize didn’t make it a big deal, it’s just a fact of life and nothing more. She’s also very protective of the fact that Jackson’s story is hers to tell if she wishes and is nobody’s business otherwise.
Miley Cyrus
Miley came out to her mother as pansexual when she was only 14. And her mother was accepting and supportive. Since then Miley has come out as queer and gender fluid and talked a lot about how she doesn’t feel like she strictly belongs in any category or under any label, she’s just Miley, and she loves who she is and she expresses herself in ways that feel authentic. She has since been really vocal and supportive of the LGBTQ movement and is all about self-acceptance. Her father has also been supportive throughout all of her life, and to him Miley is just all about love and he loves her no matter what.
Stephen Ira (Annette Bening & Warren Beatty’s Son)
Stepehen came out to his parents during his teenage years and has been quietly transitioning since 2010. At that time, he was 15 years old, and transitioning at such a young age was relatively new and not widely discussed. His parents didn’t make a big deal out of it. They are quietly supportive and just choose to let him share his story however and whenever he feels ready. He’s since posted on YouTube sharing his story and joined trans visibility projects.
Rumer Willis
Rumer didn’t really have a huge coming out moment, she just casually mentioned on a podcast that she’s dated women in the past and she just feels like she’s attracted to who she’s attracted to and didn’t specify her sexuality, she’s not into labels. Her parents Bruce Willis and Demi Moore have been quietly supportive and never really made any big glass announcements because they’ve been accepting and supportive of all their kids and believe that a parent’s job is to let their kids live their lives and be themselves authentically, plus their whole family have always been very close and supportive and nothing has changed since.
Hunter Schafer
Hunter realised she was trans when she was still a young teen and told her parents. Considering the fact that her father was a Presbyterian minister the coming out went well, the parents were cautious but supportive and helped her to take steps in her transition. But growing up in North Carolina wasn’t exactly easy. Her public coming out happened when she was still in high school in 2016, when House Bill 2, also known as the “bathroom bill” was passed and Hunter became an activist pretty much overnight. And she wasn’t even 18 at the time. But since then she’s built quite a career as a model and actress, and her role in Euphoria only amplified her voice and her success as a young trans person.
The Big Picture
Coming out isn’t always fireworks and confetti. Sometimes it’s a quiet conversation. Sometimes it’s a red-carpet moment. And sometimes, it’s a simple “this is me.” But every single one of these stories matters because they show that honesty and love—whether from a parent, a child, or a global superstar—still make the biggest difference.
Living authentically in front of millions? That takes guts. But these celebs remind us that truth always looks good—no matter who’s watching.