Zaya Wade is leaving high school, and her father, Dwyane Wade, couldn’t be prouder. Before she crosses the stage in a few months, the 17-year-old took senior pictures, which she posted on her Instagram page. “Senior pics 🖤 try not to cry, dad,” Zaya captioned the post.
“Just proud that I get to see this day 😍” The legendary NBA player wrote in the comments.
Zaya seems well prepared to enter her next phase of life. The late teen has already been building a portfolio and making her mark in the modeling industry. In 2023, the model walked Mui Mui’s F/W 23′ runway show at Paris Fashion Week. One of her latest achievements is covering the February edition of Seventeen magazine. She has also worked with heavy-hitter brands like Puma and Warby Parker.
In addition to ripping the runway, Zaya also advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, empowering youths globally by sharing her truth. The teen was even honored at Out100 as one of the groundbreakers for 2024. Her work spans beyond social media posts—in 2024, Zaya cofounded the nonprofit Translatable with her NBA dad.
“Translatable aims to serve as a community safe space for youth to express themselves through a number of creative outlets,” Zaya said in a video about the project last year. “Here at Translatable, we focus on communities of color, center the most marginalized, and emphasize the importance of parents and family.”
The NBA Hall of Famer also expressed his pride in Zaya’s work in the video mentioned.
“I’m very proud of the daughter I’ve had the opportunity to raise,” Wade added in the video. “She has been my biggest educator and inspiration for what it means to be true to you. That’s why it’s so important to create a collaborative space for the community to participate in conversation and express themselves freely.”
We look forward to seeing Zaya graduate and what she does next.