Meet Mulan and Aladdin star Lea Salonga’s trans son Nic Chien: at 19, he’s following his mum into musical theatre and will appear alongside Salonga in Into the Woods

Jun 3, 2025

Meet Mulan and Aladdin star Lea Salonga’s trans son Nic Chien, who’s following in his mum’s musical theatre footsteps. Photos: @euroasiagranite, @nicchien_official/Instagram

Salonga, who’s been consistently supportive of Chien’s journey, had originally wanted to raise her child in her native Philippines where ‘people hold on to their childhood for so much longer’

Broadway legend Lea Salonga is opening up about her relationship with her trans son Nic Chien, 19, who she shares with husband Robert Chien. Speaking to People, the Filipina star got candid about Nic’s transition journey, advising parents to “meet your kid where they are”. Nic was assigned female at birth, came out as transmasculine at 14, and began taking testosterone in January. Throughout the process, Salonga was a pillar of support for her child, although she at first thought he might be non-binary. Calling this response an “OK reaction”, Nic shared that because his family is “very accepting”, he wasn’t “super afraid” to come out.

Lea Salonga at the opening night last April of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, in New York. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Meanwhile, Salonga – who provided the singing voice for Jasmine in the original Aladdin (1992), and for the titular character in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004) – is back on Broadway with Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. The revue features several numbers dedicated to the late musical theatre icon, but the Miss Saigon star has made one her own. “Loving You”, she says, reminds her of her son, and she dresses in a purple jacket for the performance as a nod to Nic’s favourite colour.