In the past decade or so, many children of Hollywood celebrities have come out as transgender. Some celebrities, such as Charlize Theron and Jamie Lee Curtis, took the news with open arms. Other celebrities, such as Cher, had to go through their own transitional periods of acceptance before coming to terms with their kids’ gender transitions. Then there’s the case of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter Shiloh, who asked to be called by the decidedly masculine name of “John” for a few years during her early childhood and is now as feminine as can be. The most recent celebrity child to come out as transgender is Noah Lee Ritter, who was born Stella Ritter just a few years before the death of her famous father John. Join Facts Verse to see how John Ritter’s daughter looks after her transition.
Stella Ritter Is Now Noah Lee Ritter
Many people know about television actor John Ritter’s tragic and untimely death in 2003. However, fewer people know that the death occurred on the birthday of his and his then-wife’s daughter. Daughter Stella Ritter turned five the day of her father’s passing. No one was prepared for the death, including the actor himself. Upon arriving at the hospital, John though that whatever issue it was that he was suffering from was a mild one. He felt bad for ruining his daughter’s fifth birthday party. Next thing anyone knew, he was gone!
Since John Ritter’s 2003 death, a lot has changed in the life of daughter Stella. Stella was the daughter of John and Amy Yasbeck. Prior to marrying Amy in 1999, John was married to an actress by the name of Nancy Morgan from 1977 to 1996. Throughout their marriage, John and Nancy had three children. All of these children ended up following their father’s footsteps into the entertainment industry, and they’re all doing fairly well for themselves today in the wake of his tragic passing. However, it’s Stella that can be found most often in the headlines, and it’s not because of her career. Instead, the reason that Stella is drawing so much attention from the public is because she’s now Noah Lee.
Stella was born on September 11, 1998. She was assigned female at birth. Given that her parents were both famous celebrities, Stella oftentimes made public appearances during her early years. Everything seemed to be going well. In the years since her father’s passing, less and less has been seen of Stella. We now know that the reason for Stella wanting to stay out of the public eye is because she has gone through a major transition in her life.
It was upon Stella Ritter’s 18th birthday that she finally made the decision to undergo her gender transition. Today, Stella Ritter is Noah Lee Ritter, and the name change also came with a change in pronouns! Given that Noah Lee Ritter waited until his 18th birthday to transition, it’s easy to assume that he didn’t have familial support. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. It appears that Noah Lee has always had the full support of mother Amy Yasbeck. Amy also claims that late husband John would’ve had his daughter-turned-son’s back all the way. Noah Lee Ritter is now 24 years old, and he still does his best to keep out of the spotlight since transitioning at the age of 18. It remains to be seen if Noah Lee will ever feel comfortable enough in his own shoes to join the rest of his family in the public eye.
Noah Lee Likes to Stay Out of the Spotlight
Noah Lee Ritter’s absence from the spotlight is indicative of the fear that many transgender people face regarding potential backlash from the public. It seems that Noah Lee values his mental wellbeing over the celebrity status that his mother and half-siblings favor. Still, he is far from the first child of a Hollywood celebrity to come out as transgender.
Though Amy Yasbeck showed a ton of support for Noah Lee Ritter when he decided that he wanted to change his gender, there have been some other celebrities that had a harder time sympathizing with their children when receiving similar news. One such celebrity includes popular singer Cher, who has been outspoken about the challenges she faced upon learning that her one and only daughter Chastity Sun Bono was becoming a man. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Cher Wasn’t Quite Sure About Her Daughter’s Transition
Cher received that news that daughter Chastity Sun Bono wanted to undergo gender reassignment surgery in the 2000s. Today, Chastity goes by the name of Chaz, and it’d be difficult to tell that Chaz was ever a woman if you didn’t already know. When the tale of Chaz’s transition is shared, maybe people gloss over the fact that Cher initially showed some skepticism about it. Though Cher has always been someone that has supported LGBTQ values, she found herself unsure of how she felt when Chastity became Chaz.
Eventually, Cher was able to put her personal feelings aside and accept her son for who he is. Today, Cher is perfectly supportive of Chaz, though she believes it’s important to express how difficult it was for her to accept the news originally. Cher believes her story may help parents in similar positions. Cher and Chaz are now getting along swimmingly. In fact, it seems that their relationship is stronger than ever. In 2001, Chaz Bono became the first-ever transgender individual to compete on Dancing with the Stars.
Some other notable celebrities with children that have come out as transgender in recent years include Jamie Lee Curtis, Ally Sheedy, and Cynthia Nixon. Jamie Lee Curtis has been married to comedic performer Christopher Guest since 1984, and the couple share two children. One of these children was born Tom, but she now goes by the name of Ruby. Ruby is now in her 20s and underwent gender reassignment surgery fairly recently. Both Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest have kept an open mind through their daughter’s transition, though they claim that their old and senile minds have had a hard time sorting out the pronouns.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Cynthia Nixon Have Trans Kids
Ruby started questioning the gender that she was assigned at birth during her teenage years, and her parents initially didn’t think much of it. Looking back, Jamie Lee Curtis claims that there were several signs that her son had actually been a woman all along. One such sign was the fact that Tom would always choose female avatars in video games. Ally Sheedy is another Hollywood celebrity with a transgender child. Her son Beckett came out as transgender during his teens, and she’s been there for him every step of the way since. Beckett is now a schoolteacher, and it seems that he’s living a fairly happy life in the wake of his gender transition.
Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon is yet another Hollywood celebrity with a transgender child. Like Ally Sheedy, Cynthia has a transgender son. Her son is named Samuel. Cynthia has always been an outspoken LGBTQ candidate. In fact, Cynthia has been more interested in politics and activism than she has in acting in recent years. As one might imagine, Cynthia was well prepared when her son came out as transgender. In 2019, Cynthia Nixon made a bid to become the governor of New York. Sadly, her attempts weren’t as successful as her son’s gender reassignment surgery. More recently, Cynthia reprised her role as Samantha on HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot, which is called And Just Like That… Sex and the City has often gotten a lot of credit for being ahead of it’s time in regards to a lot of social issues. However, Cynthia Nixon believes that the original HBO series wasn’t progressive enough.
All of the aforementioned children of Hollywood celebrities came out as transgender around the time of their coming of age. However, there are also some examples of young transgender children in the Hollywood sphere. One such example comes thanks to Charlize Theron. In 2012, Charlize adopted a son by the name of Jackson. Today, Jackson is 11 years old. Charlize claims that Jackson transitioned from male to female four years ago, at the age of only seven.
How Should You Raise a Kid with Gender Issues?
Prior to Jackson Theron transitioning at the tender, young age of seven, there was the case of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Shiloh is the first biological child of parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Before kids undergoing gender transitions became the new Hollywood trend, Shiloh could be found asking her parents to call her by the name of “John” when she was in single digits. This news was all over the tabloids in 2008, at which time that young girl was only a toddler. Of course, many people began criticizing Brad and Angelina for raising their female daughter as a boy. However, unlike Charlize Theron, it seems that Brand and Angelina didn’t take their young child identifying as the opposite gender seriously.
When young son Jackson told his mom that he felt more like a girl than a boy, Charlize Theron went about officially converting his gender. When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were put in a similar situation many years earlier, they simply wrote the behavior off as a phase. Today, it seems that Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is as feminine as can be, with the teenager recently showing up on the red carpet alongside her mother in a dress and light makeup. She’s also kept her birth name.
More and more Hollywood celebrities are supporting their children in their efforts to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that the late John Ritter’s daughter Stella is now a man named Noah Lee, and that Jamie Lee Curtis’ son Tony is now a woman named Stella? Comment down below?
