Dwyane Wade

Biography: Wade was born on January 17, 1982 in Chicago, where he was raised until 2000, when he headed to Marquette University in Wisconsin Three years later, the basketball star led the school’s Golden Eagles to the NCAA Final Four in 2003. In June of that year, the athlete was the No. 5 draft pick in the NBA, where he committed to the Miami Heat. Wade would go on to play for the team for 16 years.

One year after joining the Heat, the Illinois native headed to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he earned a bronze metal along with the rest of Team USA. Wade continued to play for Miami until 2016, winning three championship rings in the process: one in 2006 and two in succession in 2012 and 2013.

That same year, the NBA champion made his way to the Chicago Bulls before going on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2017 to 2018. Ultimately, Wade ended his NBA career with his original team, the Miami Heat, from 2018 to 2019.

In addition to being a high-profile athlete, Wade expanded his reach to attach his name to other ventures, including founding a wine company, Wade Cellars, and creating Proudly — a brand of baby products — with his wife, Gabrielle Union, whom he married in 2014.

Wade is also a father of four. He shares son Zaire, born in 2002, and daughter Zaya, born in 2015, with ex-wife Siovaughn Funches, as well as son Xavier, born in 2013, with ex Aja Metoyer. He and Union are parents of daughter Kaavia James, who was born in 2018. The retired shooting guard is also legal guardian of his nephew Dahveon Morris, who was born in 2001.

In November 2022, Wade’s rocky relationship with Funches made headlines when she filed a petition to reject daughter Zaya from legally changing her name and gender. (Zaya came out as transgender in 2020.) In the filing, obtained by Us Weekly, Funches further claimed that the professional athlete was “positioned to profit” from their daughter’s legal request.

Wade, for his part, slammed his ex-wife in a lengthy post via Instagram, writing, in part, “While none of us are surprised by Siohvaughn’s attempt to fight Zaya’s identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I’m very disappointed that she continuously find ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children.”