Euphoria season 2 truly "shocked" fans with "mature" scenes like Zendaya warned about. Now it's been renewed for season 3 after viewership went up by 100%. It's hard to look away from the gritty teen drama — not only because of its intense scenes, but also because of its trope-breaking characters like the transgender teen Jules played by Hunter Schafer. Jules' backstory — transitioning at the young age of 13 because of a supportive father — certainly moved the viewers. Naturally, with the interest in her character, fans have also become curious about Schafer's personal life. Here's what you should know about her.
How Did Hunter Schafer Become Famous?
Schafer was born in New Jersey to a conservative family. Her father Mac Shafer is a Presbyterian minister. Growing up, they moved between churches in Jersey, Arizona, and North Carolina. In high school, the Euphoria star was already an outspoken activist — protesting against the North Carolina Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. By senior year, she became a semifinalist in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. In 2017, after graduating from the High School Visual Arts program at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the actress initially planned on attending Central Saint Martins, an arts college in London. However, she ended up focusing on her career.
In 2017, Schafer landed the "21 Under 21" list of Teen Vogue for her HB2 activism. She was even granted an interview with Hilary Clinton. She eventually started modeling for major fashion houses like Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang, Versace, and the departed Thierry Mugler. After taking the modeling industry by storm, Schafer made her acting debut in Euphoria in 2019. Despite being a newbie, the actress' performance was praised by the critics. They even called out the Emmys for not including the 23-year-old in the nominations.
Is Hunter Schafer Trans Like Her 'Euphoria' Character Jules?
Yes, Schafer is a trans woman like her character Jules. She uses the pronouns she/they. "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," she once said on North Carolina public radio. "I'm proud to be a trans person." However, in 2019, she told Dazed that her sexuality is "closer to what you might call a lesbian." She corrected the statement in 2021 after a viral tweet identified her as a lesbian. "As much as I wish this were true I would like to vaguely clarify that unfortunately, I am like bi or pan or something," she replied to the tweet.
The actress had "a pretty intense experience" coming out as trans in high school. It's what led to her early activism for LGBTQIA+ rights. In high school, she was added as plaintiff in the Carcaño v. McCrory lawsuit against North Carolina's anti-trans bathroom bill. "As a transgender teenager who grew up in North Carolina, navigating bathrooms on my own was an extremely difficult journey, particularly at public school," she wrote on i-D. "In early high school (during a more primary stage in my transition), I felt safer using the women’s restroom and locker room."
What Hunter Schafer Feels About Playing Trans Character, Jules In 'Euphoria'
Schafer said that there's a "lot of" her in her Euphoria character, Jules. Since it's her first acting gig, she said it helped her portray the character well. "Blurred lines between an actor and a character make a deeper character," she explained to Harper's Bazaar. "The work of an actor is trying to simulate a full life. Some people might say that doesn’t make me as strong an actor, but that's how I learned." She added that she's trying to "excavate everything" as part of her acting method.
"When your exterior world and your body and your self are not in line with who you are, you turn inward" she said of her process. "And my theory is that I built a really rich inner world until I started feeling like myself in my body. I've been trying to do the work of digging up stuff, but it's going to take a while to excavate everything."
Talking about the touching backstory of her character transitioning "pretty young in the scheme of trans people," Schafer said it was important they brought it up in the script. "It's hard to acquire the resources at that age to move forward with that process and be able to recognize all your needs, mentally and physically," she told Cosmopolitan. "I think her dad being supportive allows her to be where she's at when we first meet her, so it's pretty vital."
Who Is Hunter Schafer Dating?
As many other actresses and actors do, Schafer found love while on set, specifically on set of HBO's Euphoria. Schafer began seeing co-star Dominic Fike, who plays the character of Elliot, while filming the second season of the hit drama. Their characters also had a bit of a romance on screen.
Fike confirmed their relationship in February 2022 by sharing a photo of them kissing on social media. They mostly keep their relationship private, but they have been seen going on dates and have shared some sweet content of each other on social media.
