Lilo & Stitch star reveals her son is trans: ‘He knows who he is – and he’s happy’
Lilo & Stich star Tia Carrere voiced a character in the original 2002 film and has returned for the live-action remake. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Lilo & Stich star Tia Carrere voiced a character in the original 2002 film and has returned for the live-action remake. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Lilo & Stitch star Tia Carrere has spoke proudly about her trans son Jude for the first time at the film’s premiere.
The Wayne’s World actress, 58, attended the world premiere of the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch with her son.
In the film, Carrere, who previously voiced Nani (Lilo’s legal guardian) in 2002’s Lilo & Stitch, stars as a character named Mrs Kekoa – a social worker who checks in regularly with Nani – in the 2025 remake.
Speaking to People, Carrere revealed that her son, who she shares with her ex-husband, Simon Wakelin, has come out as transgender.
On if her son would follow in her acting footsteps, she said: “He doesn’t love the spotlight. He’s more introverted, so he definitely won’t go into acting or singing like I did. But he’s a great artist.”
She continued: “He’s very matter-of-fact. He knows who he is, and he’s very happy.”
‘He’s such a sweetheart’
Carrere then went on to share how proud she is of her son: “He’s such a sweetheart, he’s like the therapist to all the other kids. When his friends go out drinking or partying too hard, he’s always the designated driver, that kind of caring friend you can always lean on.
“I did a good job with that. But I don’t want to congratulate myself too much! He’s his own person!”
There is a growing number of celebrities in Hollywood who are proudly supporting their trans children, from Robert De Niro to Cher.
Basketball legend Dwyane Wade has been a vocal supporter of his daughter Zaya, who came out as transgender publicly in 2020, while Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis is also vocally supportive of a trans daughter: Ruby Guest, who came out in 2020.
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon has been open about her son Samuel coming out as trans while he was a university student, and in March of 2023, The Real Housewives of Orange County star, Heather Dubrow, told People magazine that her youngest child is transgender and goes by the name Ace.
A 2023 report found LGBTQ+ people are much less likely to be happy in adulthood when they were not supported at home and school when they were younger.
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