Hunter Schafer is an American actress, fashion model, and transgender rights activist, born December 31, 1998, in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is best known for playing Jules Vaughn in HBO’s Euphoria (2019–present) and Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023). Before acting, she built a modeling career with brands like Dior, Prada, and Miu Miu, and she first gained national attention in 2016 as a teenage plaintiff challenging North Carolina’s “bathroom bill.”

Quick Facts Table

Early Life & Education

Hunter Schafer’s early life is central to understanding her later activism and public persona. She was born on December 31, 1998, in Trenton, New Jersey, to parents Katy and Mac Schafer; her father worked as a Presbyterian minister. The family later relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Schafer spent most of her childhood alongside her younger siblings.

Schafer was assigned male at birth and began her gender transition during her early teenage years, an experience she has since discussed openly in interviews with outlets such as Allure and GQ. She attended Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh before transferring to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she completed the school’s competitive High School Visual Arts program, graduating in 2017.

During her time at UNCSA, Schafer excelled academically as well as artistically. In 2017, she was named one of 722 semifinalists nationwide for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, a recognition reserved for high-achieving American students. Her original ambition was not acting but fashion design; she had enrolled at Central Saint Martins, a prestigious arts college in London, intending to study clothing design before her career took an unexpected turn.

How did Hunter Schafer become an activist?

In 2016, while still in high school, Schafer joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina‘s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, widely known as the “bathroom bill,” which barred transgender people from using restrooms matching their gender identity. She became a plaintiff in the case and published a personal essay in Teen Vogue describing her own experience as a transgender teenager. This activism led to her inclusion on Teen Vogue’s “21 Under 21” list in 2017, alongside an interview with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Career Journey: A Timeline

Hunter Schafer’s career unfolded in three overlapping phases: modeling, acting, and creative direction.

2017: Entry Into Modeling

After graduating high school in 2017, Schafer moved to New York City to pursue modeling rather than immediately enrolling in fashion school. Within a short time, she was walking runways and appearing in campaigns for major houses including Dior, Prada, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang, Maison Margiela, Versace, Miu Miu, and Rick Owens. Her androgynous look and openness about her trans identity made her one of the fashion industry’s most talked-about new faces of that era.

2019: Breakout Role in Euphoria

Schafer’s career changed dramatically when she was cast as Jules Vaughn in HBO’s teen drama Euphoria, created by Sam Levinson and produced with executive involvement from Zendaya’s team and A24. Notably, this was Schafer’s first-ever acting role; she had no formal training in the craft before landing the part. She worked closely with Levinson to shape Jules’s backstory, drawing on elements of her own transition experience to inform the character.

The show became a cultural phenomenon, and Schafer’s performance earned widespread critical praise. She has since said in interviews that the speed of her rise was disorienting, describing how her public profile grew rapidly within weeks of the show’s premiere.

2020–2021: Writing Credit and Recognition

In 2020, Schafer co-wrote and helped produce a special bridge episode of Euphoria titled “F*** Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob,” released in January 2021. The episode, which explores Jules’s psychology through an extended therapy-session format, received strong critical reception, including a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This marked her first professional writing credit.

That same year, Time magazine named her to its “Time100 Next” list, recognizing 100 emerging global leaders, with her tribute written by Euphoria co-star Zendaya. She also voiced the character Ruka in the English dub of Mamoru Hosoda’s acclaimed Japanese animated film Belle (2021).

2022–2023: Directing Debut and Film Breakthrough

Schafer expanded into directing in 2022, making her directorial debut with the music video for Girl in Red’s song “hornylovesickmess.” The following year, she directed the video for Anohni and the Johnsons’ track “Why Am I Alive Now?”

In 2023, Schafer made her feature-film breakthrough playing Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, and Viola Davis. Lawrence has said he cast Schafer partly because of her natural authenticity, describing her audition as warm and genuine—qualities he wanted for the character. The film grossed over $337 million worldwide for Lionsgate. That same year, Schafer became the new face of Mugler’s Angel Elixir fragrance, further cementing her standing in high fashion.

2024–2026: Expanding Film Portfolio

Schafer continued building her acting résumé with roles in the psychological horror film Cuckoo (2024), alongside John Malkovich and Gemma Chan, and a cameo in Yorgos Lanthimos’s anthology film Kinds of Kindness (2024), starring Emma Stone. She also completed work on David Lowery’s Mother Mary for A24, co-starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. She was reportedly considered for the role of Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Two before the part went to Florence Pugh.

Major Achievements and Notable Work

• First trans actress to originate a major trans character on mainstream television through her role as Jules Vaughn in Euphoria
• Teen Vogue “21 Under 21” honoree (2017) for LGBTQ+ activism
• Time100 Next honoree (2021), recognized as an emerging global leader
• Modeling campaigns for Dior, Prada, Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, and Mugler
• Feature film roles in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) and Cuckoo (2024)
• Music video director for Girl in Red and Anohni and the Johnsons
• Co-writer of an acclaimed Euphoria special episode (2021)

What is Hunter Schafer known for?

Hunter Schafer is primarily known for playing Jules Vaughn on Euphoria, a role that made her one of the most visible transgender actresses in mainstream television. Beyond acting, she is known for her modeling work with luxury fashion houses and her long-standing advocacy for transgender rights, which predates her entertainment career.

Personal Life

Schafer has spoken candidly about her identity throughout her career. She has described her gender dysphoria beginning around ninth grade and has stated publicly that she is proud to be a transgender person. Regarding her sexuality, she has used varying descriptions over time, at one point identifying as closer to lesbian and later describing her orientation as bisexual or pansexual.

In terms of relationships, Schafer was romantically linked to musician and Euphoria co-star Dominic Fike, with the relationship first reported in February 2022. The two have been on-and-off publicly linked in subsequent years, though Schafer generally keeps details of her personal relationships private.

She has also spoken openly about mental health challenges tied to fame, describing a period of isolation in Los Angeles during COVID-19 production delays for Euphoria Season 2 as particularly difficult. Schafer has said the dual pressures of visibility as a transgender public figure and rapid fame forced her to grow up quickly and be intentional about how she moves through the industry.

Is Hunter Schafer married?

No, as of the latest available information, Hunter Schafer is not married. She has been previously linked romantically to Dominic Fike but has not publicly confirmed an engagement or marriage.

Net Worth and Industry Influence

Estimates of Hunter Schafer’s net worth vary across sources, generally ranging between $2 million and $6 million, reflecting income from acting, modeling contracts, brand ambassadorships (including Mugler and Shiseido), and directing work. Because celebrity net worth figures are compiled from indirect financial data rather than verified public filings, these numbers should be treated as estimates rather than confirmed figures.

Beyond direct earnings, Schafer’s industry influence is significant. She is widely credited with helping normalize transgender representation in both high fashion and mainstream Hollywood productions, paving the way for greater visibility of trans talent in major studio films and television. Her willingness to co-write and shape her own character on Euphoria also set a precedent for actors from underrepresented communities having creative input into their own portrayals.

Legacy and Current Status

As of 2026, Hunter Schafer continues to work across acting, modeling, and creative direction. She remains active in the Euphoria franchise and has expanded into feature films with A24 and major studios such as Lionsgate and Searchlight Pictures. Her career trajectory—from teenage activist, to fashion model, to award-recognized actress and director—illustrates a multidisciplinary approach to entertainment that she has described as not wanting to be confined to one career path.

Her legacy so far rests on two intertwined pillars: visible representation of transgender people in mainstream media, and artistic versatility spanning acting, writing, directing, and fashion. Industry observers and entertainment publications frequently cite her as part of a new generation of performers reshaping how Hollywood casts and portrays LGBTQ+ characters.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)