Lea Salonga Talks Being a Parent to Trans Son, Nic Opens Up About Coming Out

Lea Salonga is opening up about being the mother of a trans son.

The Tony-winning Broadway actress has one child with her husband Robert Chien. Their 18-year-old son Nic Chien came out as transmasculine at age 14.

“Every child that comes into this world is different,” Lea told People. “You have to meet your kid where they are.”

“Homework needs to get done… I’m glad that this kid can cook and do his own laundry and doesn’t forget to feed the cat! But really, the one thing that I’ve learned is that you have to raise your child the way your child needs to be raised,” she added. “As a parent, I want to set my child up for success. The grown-ups in the room need to help kids feel safe and strong and ready to conquer the world on their own terms.”

Nic also opened up about coming out.

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“I am still figuring it out,” Nic told People. “It took a while. A lot of crying! A lot of, ‘You gotta tell me how you feel’ and a lot of, ‘I don’t know what I’m feeling.’”

Nic says of having very accepting parents, “This was the most ideal situation for me.” He admits that it was still “rough.”

Lea has also shared advice for parents of queer children.

“Being a kid is hard enough, being a queer kid is exponentially more difficult,” she told Us Weekly. “I only wish that the world be kind.”

“My son and every single trans kid out there, they are bravely trying to navigate the world as who they are, despite an environment that seems hostile to their existence, so I have to lift up every single kid that has to do this,” she added.