Gabrielle Union is an outspoken advocate for her stepdaughter Zaya Wade, who is her husband Dwyane Wade's daughter from a previous marriage.
Zaya told her family that she was a trans girl when she was 12, and her dad and stepmom have been her staunchest support ever since (and, well, before).
"It's our job to be loving, compassionate, protective guides for our children, but their lives are their lives and we have to respect that," Union told BuzzFeed in 2022. "We do not believe in any kind of shaming for existing. That is bizarre, cruel, and harmful."
For her cover story for Marie Claire's Motherhood Issue, Union elaborates on what it means to love a child unconditionally.
"People talk about my parenting decisions. Loving my kid unapologetically out loud? Not putting someone out? The bar is on the damn floor," the actress says.
"There's not a manual. I leaned into love and then asked questions—whether that be doctors, child psychologists, people who have lived experience—I'm leaning into that."
The Bring It On star goes on to explain that there's nothing out of the ordinary in the way she and her husband parent their kids—they simply go off of what feels right to them.
"Nothing we have done as parents feels revolutionary or groundbreaking," she says.
"It just feels like common sense, kindness, compassionate. All the things that you wish your parents showed you when there's some aspect of your life or your personality that may not fit down the middle of the road.
"It's who my child was born to be, who her soul dictates she is. It's my job to keep her safe and protected and educated and loved; and I can love her up in such a way that she can find community that exists outside of us for the rest of her life."
As well as Zaya, who is now 17, Union is also a loving stepmom to Zaire, 23, Dahveon, 21, and Xavier, 11, and mom to Kaavia, 6.
The actress was named as one of Marie Claire's Power Moms alongside fellow actress Deepika Padukone and singer Kali Uchis, among others.
