Hunter Schafer says she had gender-affirming bottom surgery
Hunter Schafer confirmed that she underwent bottom surgery last year.
During a conversation with Elle magazine about her upcoming film Blade Runner 2099, the actress revealed that she'd undergone the gender-affirming procedure, saying: "I just had bottom surgery in December, which was amazing, and I love it so much."
Gender-affirming surgery is a medical procedure which alters a person's sex organs to match their gender identity, with 'bottom surgery' referring to the genitals.
While not every trans person undergoes gender-affirming surgery, Schafer noted that for her a medical transition was the right decision.
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Describing what the recovery process was like, the Hunger Games actress revealed that she'd rented out a large apartment, which allowed her family and friends to visit while she recovered.
"I think my limit was 150 steps per day," she recalled. "Which is nothing."
Explaining why she decided to go through with the procedure, the Euphoria star said that she had wanted to embrace the 'gender-expansive part of myself' but ultimately found herself 'hitting a wall again and again'.
"For a long time I’ve embraced the gender-expansive part of myself, and I really wanted to try to make that previous body work, because I thought there was something really cool and badass about it," she said.
Schafer went on to add that while she'd always seen her gender identity as something more 'expansive' – "It’s about possibility and expansion and growth." – she's now landed somewhere 'flatter'.
"I’m a woman. I’m a girl," she added.
This isn't the first time Schafer has spoken about her experience being trans and working as an actor, telling GQ in 2024 that she had rejected roles for trans characters as she didn't want her identity to overshadow her work.
"I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do," she explained.
"Especially after high school, I was sick of talking about it. I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on."
Acknowledging that her stance was a 'privileged' one, Schafer admitted that while she did feel guilt for not using her platform as 'one of the most famous trans people in media', it was the right decision for her.
"I really do believe that not making it the centerpiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further," she added.
"And I think getting further and doing awesome [stuff], in the interest of ‘the movement,’ will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time."
Brenna Cooper