At just 17 and a half, model Kai Schreiber this month won the first major award of her career. During New York Fashion Week, Schreiber received the Breakthrough of the Year award at The Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards, making a small piece of LGBTQ history as the first transgender model to win the award in the category.
“I have been graciously welcomed into this beautiful world of fashion, and I’m so excited that I get to learn more about it every day and call it my job,” she said in an emotional acceptance speech, wearing a lime-green Valentino minidress and paying tribute to the transgender models who opened doors before her. “This would not have been possible without my sisters, who paved the way for me in this industry. I carry them with me into every room I walk into.”
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Kai Schreiber receives the Breakthrough of the Year award, 2026
(Photo: Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images for The Daily Front Row)
Kai Schreiber at 7 For All Mankind’s spring-summer 2027 show in New York
(Photo: Victor Pagan/Getty Images)
She then thanked her parents, actors Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, “for their unconditional support and dedication to making sure I’m happy and that I pursue my dreams. I’m so lucky to have you supporting me.” She also offered an emotional tribute to Valentino, the first fashion house to cast her. “You were the ones who introduced me to the fashion industry and continued to believe in me,” she said.
Kai Schreiber and Naomi Watts at The Daily Front Row Fashion Media Awards, 2026
(Photo: Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images for The Daily Front Row)
Schreiber’s award did not come out of nowhere. As one of the latest members of the new generation of celebrity offspring entering fashion, she was embraced by the industry relatively quickly. Her runway debut came in March 2025, when she walked in Valentino’s fall-winter 2025-26 show in Paris. Soon afterward, she was selected to front a campaign for the fashion house, photographed by Glen Luchford.
Runway debut: Kai Schreiber at Valentino’s fall-winter 2025-26 show
(Photo: Francois Durand/Getty Images)
Since then, Schreiber has walked for Mugler, Michael Kors, Iris van Herpen, Celine, Fendi, Moschino and others. In addition to her Valentino campaign, she has appeared in campaigns for H&M and Haus Labs. Last winter, she fronted the lookbook and campaign for Israeli-American designer Jonathan Simkhai, and she has appeared on the covers of magazines including Harper’s Bazaar Italia, Another Magazine and Britain’s The Face.
‘I always wanted to grow up and be a beautiful woman’
Schreiber was born in New York in December 2008, the younger child of actors Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, who are British and American, respectively. The two were together from 2005 to 2016 and also have an older son, Sasha. Before turning to modeling, Kai tried acting. In 2016, she and her brother took part in the voice cast of The Jungle Book, but her heart was set on the runway.
Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber and their children Sasha and Kai on the red carpet, 2015
(Photo: Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
“I want to be a supermodel. Period,” she told Interview magazine in June 2025. “I’ve been practicing my walks in the kitchen for years; my mom can show you all the videos I made her take. Grappling with my gender identity from a young age probably had something to do with it. I always wanted to grow up and be a beautiful, glamorous and influential woman, like Marilyn Monroe.”
Kai Schreiber and Naomi Watts at Balenciaga’s fall-winter 2024-25 haute couture show
(Photo: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga)
Marilyn Monroe is not her only inspiration. In an interview with Them, she cited transgender models and actors Alex Consani, Hunter Schafer and Hari Nef as figures she admires. “As a trans girl, I will always look up to the older generation, especially in the fashion world. It’s important for all of us to have a sense of community, especially when we are under such a hostile attack. The dolls are running it,” she said, using a term sometimes used within the transgender community to refer to trans women.
Bleached eyebrows and a bow tie on the red carpet, 2025
(Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Behind Schreiber’s developing career is a supportive family. Watts and Schreiber separated a decade ago, but they continue to co-parent their children and publicly support their daughter. Watts attends fashion shows, photographs Kai from the front row, posts about her achievements and openly expresses her pride. Even before Kai launched her modeling career, mother and daughter frequently attended Paris Fashion Week together as guests of Balenciaga.
Kai Schreiber and Naomi Watts at Balenciaga’s fall-winter 2026-27 show
(Photo: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga)
On Mother’s Day last year, for example, Watts posted a message celebrating her children. The Instagram gallery included childhood photographs of the two alongside more recent pictures with their mother and father. “My heart is so full. Thank you, Sasha and Kai, for making me a mother,” she wrote.
The post came shortly after Kai publicly spoke about being transgender and about the support she receives from her family. Alongside a selfie video posted on social media, she wrote: “I’m so grateful for the support I receive as a young trans girl. But there are so many boys and girls like me who aren’t blessed with a supportive family. It is our job to stand by them and support those beautiful young souls.”
‘Kai is a real fighter’
The growing attention surrounding Kai Schreiber comes at the intersection of several stories that could each stand on their own: the daughter of two movie stars, a 17-year-old model rapidly entering fashion’s top tier, and a young transgender activist stepping into the public eye at a time when transgender representation is facing fierce opposition from right-wing governments and conservative organizations.
‘Kai has always been who she is.’ Liev Schreiber and his daughter on the red carpet, 2025
(Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix)
Liev Schreiber has spoken more directly about his daughter’s gender transition. “Kai has always been who she is,” he told Variety in May 2025. “The most profound moment was when she asked us to change her pronouns. To be honest, it didn’t feel like that big of a deal to me, and that’s only because Kai had been so feminine for such a long time.”
Kai and Sasha Schreiber coordinate in black and white, 2024
(Photo: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Level33 Entertainment)
Schreiber also went beyond his own family’s experience, explaining why he believes his daughter’s visibility has broader significance. “This is actually a community of people who don’t have great resources, who don’t have access to help, who don’t get protection and care from their families. Kai is a real fighter. It’s important that she says, ‘Hey, I’m trans,’ and ‘Look at me.’”
He has also defended her when critics argued that being the child of celebrities helped her enter the fashion and entertainment industries. “It’s her life and she does what she wants with it. I’m very proud of her. I thought she did an amazing job in the show she walked in.”
Kai Schreiber and Naomi Watts on the red carpet, 2025
(Photo: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
Schreiber, who was born and raised by a Jewish mother and a Christian father, passed Jewish traditions on to his children. In February last year, he attended an event for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service, where he spoke about his identity. “The Star of David is not just a symbol. It represents thousands of years of faith, resilience, survival and identity. Wear it with pride and strength,” he said from the stage. After the October 7 attack, Kai posted a photo on social media wearing a Star of David necklace as a sign of solidarity and support for Israel. After receiving a wave of hostile comments and harassment from pro-Palestinian users, she removed the post.
Blending contemporary aesthetics with nostalgia
Although being transgender is a central part of the public conversation surrounding her, Schreiber also spends plenty of time in interviews talking about clothes and personal style, like any other teenager her age. In her Interview magazine conversation, she described her look as a blend of contemporary aesthetics and Y2K nostalgia, with low-rise pants, miniskirts, chokers and boots.
Kai Schreiber and Naomi Watts at Balenciaga’s fall-winter 2025-26 haute couture show
(Photo: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga)
“Most days I dress very basic, but chic basic, if that makes sense. I love my low-rise jeans and my black cardigan. That’s my default outfit,” she said. “If you present yourself in a unique and cool way, people are immediately drawn to you and want to know more about you. If everyone walked around wearing the same outfit, fashion wouldn’t exist.”