Liev Schreiber is sharing a glimpse into raising trans daughter Kai Schreiber.
“Kai was always who Kai is,” Liev, 57, shared in an interview with Variety published on Thursday, May 8. “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.”
Liev and ex Naomi Watts welcomed Kai, now 16, in December 2008. (The former couple also share Sasha, 17, while Liev is a dad to 20-month-old daughter Hazel Bee with Taylor Schreiber.)
The actor chose to open up about his daughter’s identity before attending Ali Forney Center’s A Place at the Table Gala on Friday, May 9, in New York City. The nonprofit provided a youth shelter and services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Kai is such a fighter,” Liv said when gushing about his child. “It’s important that she goes, ‘Hey, I am trans,’ and, ‘Look at me,’ and, ‘F*** you. F*** off.’”
While Kai doesn’t appear to have a public social media profile, she recently made her professional modeling debut at Valentino’s presentation during Paris Fashion Week.
When some critics claimed Kai only got the gig because of her parents, Liev clapped back at any and all haters.
“I don’t really have many thoughts for the haters,” he told TMZ at the time. “I’m going to put it like this: What if you were a professional actor and your child decided they wanted to do something in this world? Did they have a choice of what you did?”
When it comes to raising kids who may be trans, Liev admitted that he doesn’t “know the answer for your child” as every individual has different experiences and backgrounds growing up.
At the same time, every adult or parent can offer love and comfort to a child on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
“I guess if I would say anything to someone who’s having trouble with their trans teen or their adolescent trans kid, it’s, ‘Teenagers are a f***ing headache. They’re hard.’ It doesn’t matter whether they’re trans or not because you’ll come out of this,” he said with a laugh. “But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They’re such a pain in the ass so much of the time, and Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come.”
In regards to the political climate – where the Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on trans service members in the U.S. military – Liev said he “doesn’t like to dwell on it” too much.
“To some degree, I feel like I don’t want to overcook that fear or that anxiety,” he said. “There’s enough in the world to be anxious and afraid about.”
