Hunter Schafer (born December 31, 1998) is an American actress and model. She first made headlines in 2016 with her activism against the North Carolina bill HB2. In 2017, she started modeling for many worldwide fashion brands. She made her acting debut as transgender high school student Jules Vaughn in the HBO teen drama television series Euphoria (2019–present).[2] Since then, she has had roles in Belle (2022), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), Cuckoo (2024), and Kinds of Kindness (2024).
Schafer said she started expressing femininity as a toddler. In seventh grade, Schafer came out to her parents as a gay boy, but started experiencing gender dysphoria in eighth grade. In ninth grade, she came out as a transgender girl and began transitioning after being diagnosed with dysphoria.[9][10][11] She had also questioned if she had a non-binary identity.[7] She stated that the Internet helped her cope with her gender identity, as she turned to YouTube and social media to learn about people's transition timelines.[9]
Schafer first made headlines in 2016 when she became the youngest name listed as a plaintiff on the ACLU and Lambda Legal's lawsuit,[12][13]Carcaño v. McCrory, against North Carolina's bill House Bill 2. The bill prevented trans people from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity, instead deciding bathroom usage based on their assigned sex at birth. The lawsuit led to the bill's repeal.[11][14][15] She also made a film protesting the bill, which was released by the online magazine Rookie,[15] and wrote about the bill in a widely-shared essay for Teen Vogue.[16] For her activism, including her activism against HB2, Teen Vogue listed Schafer on its "21 Under 21" list in 2017, and granted her an interview with Hillary Clinton.[17][18]
In early childhood, Schafer developed skills in visual arts, including watercolor painting; in high school, she used these skills to design clothes. The inspirations for her visual style were Tim Burton and Skottie Young. She posted watercolor and photography works on her Instagram account, which became popular. Her clothing designs, which often incorporated political activist messaging, were profiled by Huffington Post in 2017.[19] She contributed illustrations and comic art to Rookie,[15][20] as well as essays.[21] She went to Needham B. Broughton High School and transferred to the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she graduated from their High School Visual Arts program.[22] In 2017, Schafer became a semifinalist in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.[23]
After high school, Schafer planned to attend Central Saint Martins, an arts college in London, England where she was accepted, to study clothing design for nonbinary people.[15][25] She also wanted to open a studio and gallery for trans artists in New York, using grant money she had received from Teen Vogue for her 21 Under 21 listing.[12] However, she decided to focus on acting, after she received a role on the HBO series Euphoria.[7][20][32]
In 2019, Schafer was cast in Euphoria as a transgender high school girl, Jules Vaughn, marking her acting debut.[20][33] She joined the show after finding a casting call for transgender girls on Instagram, which required no previous acting experience. A few days later, her modeling agency told her she received the audition.[20][32] She did her final audition in Los Angeles, and filmed the show's pilot there a month later.[34] She then moved to Los Angeles to film the first season.[16] At the time, it was rare for a trans character to be on television (GLAAD found there were 17 trans characters on television in 2017 and 2018), as well as for a trans actor to play them.[15] She worked with show's creator, Sam Levinson, to make sure Jules' trans experiences were accurate.[35] Jules was praised by Vulture for not being a victim of violence like most trans women on screen; her character stands up for herself, rather than being a passive victim of the men around her.[36] Schafer also worked with the show's costume designer, Heidi Bivens, to make Jules' wardrobe.[7]
For the role, she received a Shorty Award, an MTV Movie & TV Award, and a Dorian Award.[37][38][39]The Advocate listed her as one of many transgender actors not nominated at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.[40] In 2020, Queerty named Schafer among the 50 heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".[41][42] Schafer co-wrote a special episode of Euphoria that was released between its first and second seasons in 2021, titled "Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob". The episode, which features Jules in therapy describing her experiences in womanhood, was praised by critics.[43][44][45]
In 2021, Time named her to its Next list of "100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future", with a tribute written by Euphoria co-star Zendaya.[46] Also in 2021, Prada announced Hunter as their new house ambassador, and in 2022 she became the global brand ambassador for Shiseido Makeup.[47][48] In 2022, Schafer starred in the English dub of the Japanese animated film Belle.[49] She also made her directorial debut[50] when making the music video for Girl in Red's song Hornylovesickmess,[51] and then directed the video for Anohni and the Johnsons' song Why Am I Alive Now?.[52] She became the new face of Mugler's Angel perfume in 2023.[24]
In 2019, Schafer said she used she/her pronouns, but used the proper title of "Mx. Schafer."[15] In 2016, she stated, "I do like people to know that I'm not a cis girl because that's not something that I am or feel like I am."[10] However, in 2024, she said she would like to talk about her trans identity less, as she had moved on from the most difficult parts of her transition and just wanted to "be a girl"; she lamented that her identity had become the centerpiece of her career, giving her offers for "tons of trans roles", which she started declining.[66]
In 2019, Schafer said that she was "closer to what you might call a lesbian",[67] and in 2021, she stated she was "biorpan or something".[68] She was in a brief relationship with Spanish singer Rosalía for about five months in 2019, which she confirmed after speculation with GQ in 2024. They remained close friends and Schafer considers Rosalía to be "family no matter what".[69] Schafer dated her Euphoria co-star Dominic Fike from February 2022 to c. July 2023.[70][71]
In August 2022, Schafer liked and commented "!!!!!" on an Instagram post that blamed non-binary people who "fought to have trans identities no longer considered a medical condition that requires dysphoria" for negative social attitudes and legislation targeting the trans community. This prompted backlash from queer fans, with many accusing Schafer of endorsing transmedicalism.[72][73] Commenting on a later Instagram post, Schafer denied being a transmedicalist or holding hatred towards non-binary people, saying that she merely felt there was "an in-balance [sic] in the visibility and space-taken up between non-binary folks and binary trans women (particularly those of color and/or those who have resulted [sic]tosex work as a means of survival) that i think deserves attention/ re-evaluation (as far as resources and platforms go) within the LGBTQ+ community".[74]
