Liev Schreiber Speaks Out About Trans Daughter: 'Kai Is a Fighter'

While speaking with Variety on Thursday, the actor -- who shares Kai with ex Naomi Watts -- praised his 16-year-old daughter, and discussed his own advocacy work for the transgender community.

Schreiber, 57, said Kai did not technically come out to him and Watts, alluding that he and the actress already knew about their daughter's true identity. However, he did recall the moment Kai asked her parents to use she/her pronouns.

"Kai was always who Kai is," he told Variety. "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."

The Ray Donovan alum went on to gush over how his daughter has proudly stepped up in her community.

"Kai is such a fighter," he said. "It's important that she goes, 'Hey, I am trans,' and, 'Look at me.'"

Schreiber opened up to the outlet about his and his daughter's plans to attend the upcoming Ali Forney Center's A Place at the Table Gala, a fundraiser in New York City which helps raise awareness and funding for homeless LGBTQ+ youth.

The Perfect Couple star shared why it's important for him and Kai to help out those in the community who are in need.

"This isn't just about representing the trans community," Schreiber said. "This is actually a community of people who don't have great resources, who don’t have access to help, who aren’t being protected and looked after by their families. These are people who are being rejected. These are people who are experiencing the harshest version of humanity that we can offer, and some of them are not surviving it."

"We got to bear that in mind when we go out there and glam ourselves up and get ready to be seen, you know?" he added. "That what we're doing is actually raising money for a community that desperately needs it."

Schreiber went on to share his advice for his parents who have children coming out as trans -- or rather, navigating parenting teens in general.

"I don't know the answer for your kid," he admitted. "I don't know what it’s like for you to be a trans dad. I don't know how you were brought up. I don't know what religion you encountered or what your spirituality is. And for me to tell you what I think about my kid feels like an overstep."

"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 headache. They're hard,'" he said with a laugh. "It doesn't matter whether they're trans or not because you'll come out of this. But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They're such a pain so much of the time."

"Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come," Schreiber added of his daughter, who made her modeling debut in March when she walked the Valentino Ready to Wear runway show in Paris Fashion Week. (See photo, above.)

Meanwhile, amid the Trump administration's attacks on the transgender community, the Tony winner shared why he tries not to focus on it.

"I don't like to dwell on it too much," Schreiber said. "To some degree, I feel like I don’t want to overcook that fear or that anxiety. There's enough in the world to be anxious and afraid about."

While this interview appears to mark the first time Schreiber has discussed Kai being transgender, the Defiance star and Watts have publicly expressed their support for their daughter.

Following Kai's modeling debut, both Schreiber and Watts, 56, took to social media to praise Kai.

"That’s my @maisonvalentino baby! I’m squealing with pride. Ilysm @kaischreiberrr ❤️," Watts captioned an Instagram carousel featuring photos and videos of Kai appearance in the runway show.

In his post of a photo of Kai, Schreiber wrote, "Ladies and gentlemen the one, the only, the indomitable @kaischreiberr!"

In addition to Kai, Schreiber and Watts -- who split in 2016 after 11 years together -- also share 17-year-old son, Sasha. Schreiber married Taylor Neisen in July 2023, and the pair welcomed a daughter the following August. Watts, meanwhile, tied the knot with actor Billy Crudup in 2023.