A video of Ninh correcting her grandmother's use of the pronoun "he" garnered over 12 million views.
YouTuber Kevin Ninh, better known as FlawlessKevin, is popular for her engaging lifestyle content that blends fashion and beauty with thoughtful LGBTQ+ discourse.
In June 2025, Ninh publicly came out as a transgender woman, embracing her truth with honesty and pride in a web series created to document her transition: Diaries of a Doll.
Her vulnerability received a wave of support from millions of followers online, but it was a video of her coming out to her grandmother that truly touched hearts.
"I wasn't able to come out to my mom as she passed from ovarian cancer in 2018, so having my grandma have such a positive experience fulfilled that motherly support for me," Ninh, 29, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
"I also think it's cool how a woman in her 80s, from a generation and culture that was more traditional, understood and supported it in seconds."
Ninh admits she wasn't too surprised since her grandmother had always been supportive of her being gay.
For the 82-year-old, the most important thing is that her grandchildren grow up to be happy, successful, and kind -- regardless of their sexual identity.
As a 15-year-old, Ninh recalls being met with uncertainty from her late mother after coming out as gay. Although the moment was difficult, time and understanding eventually brought them closer, and they built a beautiful relationship before she died.
"I always considered transitioning, but the thought of that always scared me," Ninh admits. "Not everyone who's trans has to medically transition, but I thought about how long the journey would be mentally, physically, and financially, and wasn't sure if that was the path for me."
"I settled in my femininity, eventually identified as non-binary, but over time I felt less comfortable with traditionally male markers such as he/him pronouns, sir, and Mr," she explains. "It wasn't until the thought of transitioning excited me more than making me nervous - that's when I knew I was ready."
Ninh was also inspired after seeing the transgender character Cho Hyun-ju in the second season of Squid Game. Ninh saw a reflection of herself in Hyun-ju, and the global support for the character gave her confidence that the people around her might be accepting, too.
The person Ninh was most nervous to come out to was her father. It wasn't that she doubted his support, but she knew how he was as an immigrant, Gen X parent who rarely showed affection.
"But I'm so blessed and grateful that everyone in my family loves and supports me and not a single person has any issue with me being trans," Ninh shares.
Diaries of a Doll is a web series that Ninh created to document her transition journey. She has been sharing her life online for over 13 years, so this was something she naturally felt compelled to share with her audience.
"Growing up, I would watch creators I looked up to and their transition journey, and so I wanted to be that role model for the next generation myself," she says.
In her first two diary entries, Ninh revealed that she finished her first appointment for hormone replacement and began taking estrogen pills in late March 2025.
Amid her journey, Ninh is also eager to step into her acting era, driven by a lifelong love for storytelling and creating online skits. In 2023, she was cast as a contestant, named Player 187, in Netflix's Squid Game: The Challenge.
"I want to take it to traditional media and be that queer POC representation I've always wanted to see; just like when I saw the trans character on Squid Game for the first time," she explains.
After taking acting classes for the past two years, Ninh feels ready to step into that world. As a longtime horror fan, being in a Final Destination or Scream film would be a dream - maybe even an American version of Squid Game.
"Of course I'd stick to doing content, but I want to be able to look back at my life and say I did it all," Ninh says.
With each new experience, she continues to evolve, picking up lessons and skills along the way. Every accomplishment, connection, and chapter in her life reinforces how much she's grown and how much her inner strength keeps building.
"Now more than ever, I identify as a woman ... I'm at a point in my life where I'm at the most in tune, confident and at peace with myself I've ever been," Ninh tells PEOPLE.
"A lot of it had to do with just living life. Stepping outside of my comfort zone and experiencing new things, places, and people. I learned a lot about myself when I opened up to the world."