Zaya Wade is doing a whole lot more than just following in her famous parents’ footsteps—she’s carving her own path, one runway and beauty campaign at a time. At 17, Zaya balances high-school classes with runway bookings, trans advocacy, and co-founding Translatable with her father. But now, Zaya has been crowned a next-gen beauty icon by none other than MAC Cosmetics.

Naturally, that recognition doesn’t come lightly. Zaya just landed a major gig as one of the faces of the $2.1 billion beauty brand’s “Born Famous” campaign. She’s in pretty exclusive company, too—joining Amelia Gray (yes, 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.

And Zaya sat down for a few interviews during the campaign rollout, where she opened up about her identity as a second-gen beauty star. She shared beauty tips she picked up from her mom, Gabrielle Union, and let fans in on her love for lip gloss. But MAC hit her with a curveball that no one saw coming.

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. That answer said it all—Zaya’s fully focused on building her own world, not reliving someone else’s.

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: “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—and letting go.

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 as gay, 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.