Back in 2007, Dwyane Wade welcomed his son, Zion, within a 2–3-week span of LeBron’s Bryce and Melo’s Kiyan. And like most parents do, he saw a mini-Flash in him. He remembered once, “All our kids gonna grow up hooping together. ‘Oh we on! Boy we gonna have 3 babies! We on!'” But just 13 years later, as Zion walked to his father and stepmother Gabriel Union, he announced his decision: “I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth and I wanna be referenced as ‘she’ and ‘her’. I’d love for you guys to call me Zaya.” As a father whose childhood did not prepare him to navigate this situation, Wade asked Zaya to lead the way and teach them.

However, that was also the first time that Dwyane realized that his dream of living the NBA life twice through her might not become a reality. She had no interest in basketball whatsoever. But that was also the very first time that Wade learned that Zaya was born to pave her own path and not be his reflection. Over the years, that’s exactly what Dwyane has done. As Zaya, once put it, “My dad is who truly inspires me the most. Kids always tend to look up to their parents, but not only did I idolize him growing up and see him as a real person, I realize that he has played such an essential role in supporting me and the ways I choose to present myself to the world.”

Allowed to make her own name out of the spotlight, Zaya, now 17, soon captured the world through multiple ventures: Runway modeling for Miu Miu at the Paris Fashion Week, aiming to be a scientist in STEM, a trans advocate, and co-founder of Translatable with her father. She has not left any stone unturned. And proving that she’s her own one-of-a-kind even if born in a star-studded family, Zaya certainly has deserved the partnerships that she has. One in focus now is her being named as the next-gen beauty icon alongside other star kids, creating their own future.

With MAC Cosmetics launching their “Born Famous” campaign, they announced three Gen Z celebrities that grew up in spotlight but chose to make their own name. Seeing what Zaya has been capable to do, $2.1 billion beauty brand of course brought in her as one of their faces. The campaign introduces MAC‘s latest Lipglass Air Non-Sticky Gloss, a successor of MAC’s classic 90s gloss, Lipglass Air.

Perfectly matching the campaign theme, they even have many funny phrases like “Meet the MAC nepo baby,” “Finally, a nepo baby who works as hard as her mother,” and “You already love her mother.” And what’s best, one of Zaya’s go-to staple is lip gloss. You can see how Zaya fits in, right? Talking of fitting in, there’s one person she would rather not be.

In a clip posted by MAC Cosmetics on Instagram, Zaya straight out of the early 2000s. She was in a hot pink velour track jacket, coordinating miniskirt, graphic baby tee and choker, carrying MAC bags when reporters grab her for some quick questions. When asked, “Zaya, if you could swap lives with your dad for one day, what would you do?” she didn’t hesitate. “I would not swap lives with my dad for one day,” she said straight up with a smile. That answer said it all—Zaya’s fully focused on building her own world, not reliving her father’s.

The pretty exclusive company she is joining includes— Amelia Gray (Lisa Rinna’s daughter) and Francesca Scorsese (Martin Scorsese’s daughter) — in a campaign that’s all about stepping out from the shadows of fame and into their own spotlight. Though the models share famous surnames, the campaign spotlights their individual narratives.

But Zaya’s not doing it alone. father Dwyane Wade might not be her blueprint, but he’s always been her backbone.

Wade’s role behind the scenes

At first, Dwyane Wade thought he had it all figured out. Standing next to Gabrielle Union at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards, he delivered a message that hit home: “Zaya, my role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes, your dreams.” That night, he wasn’t the NBA legend or the Hall of Famer—he was simply Zaya’s dad. And that shift didn’t come overnight. Wade once pictured a future where both his sons followed his path on the court, but parenting, he realized, wasn’t about creating a mini version of himself. It was about listening, unlearning, and learning.

Still, it wasn’t all smooth. When Zaya first began expressing her truth, Wade didn’t pretend to know what to do. He admitted to being scared. Growing up in Chicago’s South Side, he’d never seen this kind of fatherhood modeled for him. “I thought I had two chances at the NBA,” he recalled in a heartfelt interview with The Atlantic. But Zaya had no interest in the game, and when she came out, everything he thought he knew about raising a child got turned inside out.

Then came the turning point. Zaya told him she was scared. And just like that, Wade’s mindset cracked wide open. “I could tell she was terrified,” he said. She wasn’t just opening up—she was trusting him with her safety. And in that moment, Wade understood his job wasn’t to guide—it was to stand beside her.

Now, their connection runs deep. They talk for hours about everything from the silly to the serious. And when she warned him not to cry over her photos, his comment said it all: “Just proud that I get to see this day.” That’s growth—and that’s love. And that’s how Zaya has been making her own name while being surrounded by stars.