Liev Schreiber Opens Up for First Time About Trans Daughter Kai: “It’s Important That She Goes, ‘I Am Trans, Look at Me’”

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The actor speaks candidly about parenting, advocacy, and the power of visibility ahead of the Ali Forney Center gala in New York.

Liev Schreiber is speaking publicly for the first time about his daughter Kai, offering a rare and thoughtful reflection on her gender identity, their evolving relationship, and the importance of trans representation and support in the face of growing political hostility.



“Kai was always who Kai is,” the Ray Donovan star said in a new interview. “But I suppose the most profound moment was her asking us to change her pronouns. To be honest with you, it didn’t feel like that big of a deal to me only because Kai had been so feminine for so long.”

Kai Schreiber walks in the Valentino Fall RTW 2025 fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 9 in Paris, France.
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Now 16, Kai has not only found her voice but also stepped confidently into the public eye. In March, she made her modeling debut walking for Valentino during Paris Fashion Week. Since then, she’s starred in a campaign for the fashion house, joined her father and his wife Taylor Neisen in public appearances, and embraced a more visible role within the LGBTQ+ community.







This weekend, she’ll join Schreiber at the Ali Forney Center’s “A Place at the Table” Gala in New York City — an event that raises funds and awareness for homeless LGBTQ youth. The center currently serves over 2,200 young people through its drop-in facility and 13 transitional housing sites.











“This isn’t just about representing the trans community,” Schreiber noted. “This is actually a community of people who don’t have great resources, who don’t have access to help, who aren’t being protected and looked after by their families. These are people who are experiencing the harshest version of humanity that we can offer — and some of them are not surviving it.”









Schreiber’s passion for advocacy isn’t performative. It’s rooted in a father’s love and in his recognition of the privilege and platform he and Kai now hold.



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Naomi Watts and daughter Kai Schreiber at the Dior Pre-Fall 2024 show at the Brooklyn Museum on April 15, 2024 in New York City.
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“We’ve got to bear that in mind when we go out there and glam ourselves up and get ready to be seen,” he said. “What we’re doing is actually raising money for a community that desperately needs it.”





Kai, he adds, “is such a fighter. It’s important that she goes, ‘Hey, I am trans,’ and, ‘Look at me.’”




Though Schreiber chooses his words carefully when asked to offer guidance to other parents, he’s quick to emphasize that support doesn’t mean having all the answers.







“I don’t know what it’s like for you to be a trans dad,” he said. “I don’t know how you were brought up. I don’t know what religion you encountered or what your spirituality is. And for me to tell you what I think about my kid feels like an overstep.”







That said, he does offer a more universal insight with a laugh: “If I would say anything to someone who’s having trouble with their trans teen or their adolescent trans kid, it’s this: Teenagers are a headache. They’re hard. It doesn’t matter whether they’re trans or not. But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They’re such a pain so much of the time, and Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come.”





Schreiber is also aware of the broader social and political climate, including the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold President Trump’s controversial ban on transgender service members in the military.




“I don’t like to dwell on it too much,” he said. “To some degree, I feel like I don’t want to overcook that fear or that anxiety. There’s enough in the world to be anxious and afraid about.”


Still, his message is clear: visibility matters. So does allyship, especially from those with a platform.






For more information about the Ali Forney Center or to support their mission, visit aliforneycenter.org.



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