Kai Schreiber may be the daughter of celebrities Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, but for now, she’s a trans high school student trying to make it through intensifying hostility towards the trans community. In a new interview, the sixteen-year-old paid homage to the trans figures who’ve come before and looked ahead to her budding career.
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“When you see any trans person, know that you are witnessing a miracle.”
This year, Kai made her Paris Fashion Week debut on the catwalk for Alessandro Michele’s Valentino runway show, and she has also signed onto IMG Models agency. In a conversation with Interview Magazine, she described how coming out as trans inspired her interest in fashion.
“I want to be a supermodel. Period,” she said. “I’ve been practicing my walks in the kitchen for years; my mom can show you all the videos I forced her to film.
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“Struggling with gender identity from a young age most likely had something to do with it. I always wanted to grow up and be a beautiful, glamorous, influential woman, like Marilyn.”
While Marilyn and The Devil Wears Prada provided mainstream fashion icons to emulate, Kai is more so grateful to the trans models who have paved the way.
“As a young trans girl, I’m always going to look up to the older generation of transgender people, especially in fashion,” she said. “People like Alex Consani, Hunter Schafer, Hari Nef, Dara, Richie Shazam, Colin Jones, and so many more.
“It’s so great that there’s a strong community of us in the fashion world; it’s really a doll takeover. It’s important to all of us to have a sense of community, especially when we’re under such hostile attack.”
For now, Kai is looking forward to finishing high school so that she can begin her modelling career in earnest. “School has never really been my strong suit,” she said, referring to the prospect of college. “I see myself in the fashion industry. It’s always been my dream. I’m not sure if college is for me, but we’ll see when it rolls around. I like to go with the flow.”
Since Kai came out as trans, both her parents have been proud supporters. Last month, Kai hosted the “Mother Daughter Holy Spirit” fundraiser event for the Trans Justice Funding Project alongside her mother, Naomi Watts.
Liev Schreiber reflected on his daughter’s coming out in a recent interview with Variety. “Kai was always who Kai is,” he said. “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 is such a fighter,” he added. “It’s important that she goes, ‘Hey, I am trans,’ and, ‘Look at me.’”
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