Watch: Dwyane Wade's daughter Zaya throws out first pitch at the Cubs game
Zaya Wade, the daughter of Chicago native and NBA icon Dwyane Wade, threw the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field during the Chicago Cubs’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
The Cubs’ Instagram account posted a video of Zaya making the pitch and sharing a hug with Clark, the team's mascot, shortly afterward.
The post was captioned:
“Zaya Wade is in the building. 👑”
Watch Zaya make the first pitch below:
Since coming out as transgender in 2020, Zaya has been an advocate for queer rights, supported by her father, Dwyane Wade and stepmother, Gabrielle Union.
Zaya has made strides in the fashion industry, modeling Tiffany & Co.'s all-gender bracelets, debuting on the runway for Miu Miu at Paris Fashion Week, and featuring in Miu Miu’s fall/winter campaign, among others.
In an interview with HommeGirls, she said coming out as trans was scary at first.
“I spent a few months deciding if I really wanted to be out there, and at first it was scary,” she said.
“Seeing trans celebrities out there acting and modeling and just doing all the things that they love to do is inspiring in itself. It showed me that we’re here and we can do it. I hope that I’m that for a lot of people.”
Zaya Wade had 665,000 Instagram followers at the time of writing.
Dwyane Wade has been supportive of Zaya
Dwyane Wade is the father of four: Zaire, 22, Zaya, 17, Xavier, 10, and Kaavia. He is also the legal guardian of his 21-year-old nephew, Dahveon Morris.
In an interview with TODAY.com, Dwyane Wade said Zaya is a blessing to his family.
“I was blessed with Zaya [as a daughter], but I got Zaya at 12,” he said. “In terms of a father-daughter connection, I got that later with Zaya. But with Kaavia, it’s been from birth, and she’s so different than Zaya. It’s not even close.”
Dwyane has had custody of Zaya and Zaire since his divorce from their mother, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade.
Zaya is part of a blended family that includes Xavier, Dwyane’s child with Aja Metoyer, and Kaavia, the child of Dwyane and Gabrielle Union.
Wade said focusing on his children has reshaped his perspective on life.
“I’m in love with my kids. To me, nothing comes before them in that space. And so I’m trying to show how much I’m in love with them and how this is going to allow them to be able to grow and evolve and be successful.”