Hunter Schafer Began Transitioning at 14 — She Kept It a Secret from Her Family

At age fourteen, “Euphoria” Jules actress took off the mascara before being picked up from school. Around that period, her transition journey began, and she later became one of the first trans models to walk for big brands.

Hunter Schafer is an actress starring on the popular HBO TV show "Euphoria" and portrays the role of Jules, a transgender individual. Her role in the series is her first acting debut.

She admitted to The Times in August 2019 that she found the audition process for the show daunting more after learning that her first scenes would be brutal.

PORTRAYING JULES

It included portrayals of violent, abusive sex with a much older man and cutting herself. Schafer said she was worried, but after reading the scripts, she realized it would turn out fine:

"It was quite the first impression of the show. And, yeah, I was a little concerned. But then I got the scripts for the rest of the episodes, and that's when it clicked for me that this would be a cool thing to be a part of.

The 22-year-old added she liked where the story was heading. Notably, Schafer revealed there are a lot of similarities between her and Jules:

“There’s a lot of me in Jules. I do think blurred lines between an actor and a character make a deeper character.”

Schafer also divulged she does not wholly immerse herself entirely into her role and instead tries to notice how her characters can affect her own life:

"I already spent a lot of my life trying to be someone I'm not. And even if it is my job title, I'm not interested in doing that again for long periods."

BEING SIDELINED

Schafer grew up in a quiet suburb of Raleigh in North Carolina. When asked what it was like growing up in that environment, she shared it was not her favorite place in the world.

The fashion model was a resident there when they passed House Bill 2, which excluded trans people from public bathrooms. Schafer expressed that it was hurtful to have been sidelined from society because of a legislature.

HER TRANSITION

The LGBTQ activist started to transition when she was a teenager and kept it from her family. Schafer revealed she used to get mascara from friends, put it on in the bathroom at school, and remove it before being picked up.

One time, she bought $20 heels from Sears and would sneak them into her backpack to wear at school. Schafer shared only her close friends knew except for people in the community.

She described the entire process as drawn-out because she was still trying to figure things out. Schafer disclosed in 2016 that she had always had a persistent need to express femininity since she was a toddler.

PARENTS’ REACTION

She came out to her parents as a gay boy in the seventh grade. Her father, Mac Schafer, is a pastor, and her mother, Katy Schafer, also works in the ministry.

Mac shared that he found it difficult to process that his child was merely gay before learning that she was transgender. Meanwhile, Katy said they would love their child no matter what.