Redefining Identity: Why the Children of Celebrities Are Coming Out as Transgender

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Redefining Identity: Why the Children of Celebrities Are Coming Out as Transgender

 

In late April, Airyn De Niro, formerly known as Aaron, stepped into the public eye not as the child of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, but as her own person—a transgender woman. In an interview with LGBTQ+ publication Them, she explained, “There’s a difference between visible and being seen. I’ve been visible. [But] I don’t think I’ve been seen yet.”

 

Robert De Niro, a father of seven, voiced his support unequivocally. “I loved and supported Aaron as my son and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter,” he said. “I don’t know what the big deal is…I love all my children.”

 

In Hollywood, the revelation met with little surprise. Airyn joins a growing number of children of celebrities who identify as transgender or non-binary, including those of Sting, Cher, Elon Musk, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and Cynthia Nixon. While the reasons for such deeply personal decisions are varied and complex, some observers suggest that growing up in the unique pressure-cooker environment of fame may contribute to the search for self beyond inherited identity.

 

Sascha Bailey, son of renowned photographer David Bailey and model Catherine Dyer, described this impulse succinctly: “By becoming trans, you can break out of the predefined role you were born into and create a new space for yourself. You become something unique and you are rewarded for it.”

 

Now 30, Sascha once considered transitioning to a woman but reversed course after falling in love and confronting the potential sacrifices involved, such as losing the opportunity to become a biological parent. “It is important that people should be able to change their mind—if they want to—without people attacking them,” he said.

 

Sascha has since chronicled his experience in a book, Try to Hit the Pool: Modern Man and the Behavioural Sink, exploring the tension of growing up in the shadow of fame. “Whatever you do in life, people are watching. If you go into the same profession as your parents, you are called a nepo baby. But if you work in Starbucks, people will take photos of you and ask, ‘Why are they working in Starbucks?’” he explained. “It can feel like people want to take something from you because you have something that they don’t have. You are vulnerable, and it can feel hard to make real friends, to form bonds.”

 

Charlotte Falconer, a former teacher and child counsellor, agrees that gender identity can become a way for children of celebrities to reclaim their individuality. “The world of being a ‘celebrity’s child’ will come with attention drawn away from them to their parents,” she said. “So, this type of gender expression may be coming from a place of need; a place that parents may not be aware of or able to meet. Creating a gender difference is often something that can’t be ignored.”

 

Others, like psychotherapist James Esses, take a more critical view. “The children of celebrities have the luxury of time and money to indulge in a never-ending fixation on their self-identity,” he said. “There is a reason why swathes of children from war-torn regions or facing abject poverty are not coming out as ‘trans.’ It’s because they have more pressing issues.” According to Esses, fame can amplify affirmation to such a degree that changing one’s mind becomes a daunting prospect. “We know that ‘coming out’ as ‘trans’ is often met with celebration and positive reinforcement, and with celebrity culture, these things are on steroids,” he said.

 

For some families, this dynamic leads to regrets. A spokesperson for Bayswater, a UK support group for parents of trans-identifying youth, noted that many initially believed that name and pronoun changes were harmless. “What they tell us is that they never expected it to lead to requests for cross-sex hormones or surgery. Another theme we are increasingly seeing is desistance, which is more complicated for a child whose parents have publicly taken a position on their child’s identity.”

 

Sascha found that out the hard way. “The fallout was massive,” he recalled after deciding not to transition. “Some of my friends abandoned me.” Yet the experience has given him a voice. “I started to get messages from parents and people who were transitioning and detransitioning saying that my story had made them reconsider things,” he said. “It is important for people to know there are options, whatever you want to do.”

 

 

As for Airyn De Niro, she seems both humbled and dazed by the spotlight. “I’m not used to all these eyes on me,” she wrote on social media, thanking those who had shown support. For better or worse, the gaze that once belonged solely to her famous father now includes her too—this time, on her own terms.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-05-14

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

I wish all these persons well, but I still flinch a bit when the NY Times writes "He went on vacation with his husband" or "She opened the restaurant with her wife."

[howlee101]

It's Hollywood....and it's the latest vogue thing to do.  Keep the "celebrities" in the conversation. I'm sure those on this forum will somehow blame President Trump 😏

[JonnyF]

There must be enormous pressure on the children of celebrities to come out as trans. 

 

Every lefty celeb wants a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny. 

 

There must be lots of difficult conversations around Hollywood right now. "Mum, Dad, I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but I'm straight and I feel I was born into the right body".  😄

[Chomper Higgot]

53 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

There must be enormous pressure on the children of celebrities to come out as trans. 

 

Every lefty celeb wants a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny. 

 

There must be lots of difficult conversations around Hollywood right now. "Mum, Dad, I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but I'm straight and I feel I was born into the right body".  😄

“Every lefty celeb wants a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny. ”

 

Do you have a link to substantiate that remarkable claim or is it something you made up?

 

[JonnyF]

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

“Every lefty celeb wants a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny. ”

 

Do you have a link to substantiate that remarkable claim or is it something you made up?

 

 

There are many listed in the OP. The proportion of celebs with trans children is far greater than the general population. 

 

This is also an interesting read.

 

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-latest-celebrity-must-have-a-trans-child/

 

[hotsun]

De Niro is a weirdo. Thats what too much time in california will do to you

[phetphet]

I think there is something to be said for such so called celebrities allowing their children to grow up away from the spotlight, not spoiling them, and allowing them to try and have as normal an upbringing as possible.

 

Two that come to mind are Paul McCartney, who I believe sent his to children to the local government school, and Gordon Ramsey, who has stated his offspring need to make their own way in life, and makes them travel in Economy on family trips. 

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

12 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

There are many listed in the OP. The proportion of celebs with trans children is far greater than the general population. 

 

This is also an interesting read.

 

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-latest-celebrity-must-have-a-trans-child/

 

So that’s a no then.

 

 

[JonnyF]

13 minutes ago, hotsun said:

De Niro is a weirdo. Thats what too much time in california will do to you

 

Yep, it would have been absolutely astounding if he DIDN'T have a trans kid.

 

Megan Fox has got 3. 😄

 

It's like a competition. 

[Quentin Zen]

first, the kids lock down that money.   lock it down!!!!   secure millions now or in the future.   That's step 1 to 99.

 

Step 100 is to tell the world, Look at me!!! I'm my own person!!! I'm not afraid to rebel against injustice, seek boundaries, fight for the minority!!!    oh, hey waiter, the caviar is dry...send it back!!!

 

Then they will proclaim how they are strong, independent, survivors, explorers, and truly unique.   lol.

 

has everything to do with money.  

[Hanaguma]

47 minutes ago, hotsun said:

De Niro is a weirdo. Thats what too much time in california will do to you

Its too bad. The man is a brilliant actor, a once in a generation talent.  

Yet he takes himself waaaay too seriously and mixes up reality with his movie roles. Remember him trying to play "tough guy" talking about Trump, as if DeNiro were actually a mobster instead of just an actor? It is all going to his head. 

[sungod]

Maybe its as simple as they want to take up women's boxing?

[Yagoda]

39 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

Yep, it would have been absolutely astounding if he DIDN'T have a trans kid.

 

Megan Fox has got 3. 😄

 

It's like a competition. 

In their social and cultural mileau, its important.

 

 

[simon43]

Better that celebratory kids are brought up in an orphanage, away from their neurotic, limelight-greedy parents.  That way, they have more chance of growing up 'normal'.  (Waiting for the flames....)

[Woke to Sounds]

It's another thousand percent psyop.

 

💯0

[bubblegum]

Just talking about woke is woke 😆

[Sir Dude]

It's happening because they are all nutjobs with mental health issues and have spent no time in reality... just fashionable for lost kids.

[pacovl46]

This article is so misleading. You don’t just become transsexual because you want to “find your identity”, if you aren’t transsexual, unless you’re an attention seeking poser, just like no straight person ever becomes guy over night. 

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

“Every lefty celeb wants a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny. ”

 

Do you have a link to substantiate that remarkable claim or is it something you made up?

 

“Every lefty celeb wants either to adopt a black orphan or have a trans kid, it highlights their Woke credentials. Look how many have them, it's uncanny.”

 

Does that work any better for you Chomper?

[renaissanc]

The fad will fade away among celebrities, and those who have had their testicles cut off and had done whatever happens to female genitals will regret their choice and will be scarred emotionally for life. They will probably take drugs as a result, and then they will move on to the next Liberal fad. I blame the parents for not guiding their offspring better.