Hunter Schafer has revealed that she underwent gender-affirming bottom surgery in December 2025, describing the procedure as a deeply positive step in her transition. The 27-year-old actor discussed the surgery in an Elle profile published October 19 while promoting her upcoming science fiction series Blade Runner 2099.
Schafer said the decision followed years of thinking about how she wanted to live in her body and how she understood her own gender. She had previously embraced a more expansive view of gender and tried to become comfortable without further medical transition. Over time, she said, that approach no longer matched the way she wanted to move through everyday life.
A Personal Decision About Her Transition
Schafer told Elle that she now thinks of herself plainly as a woman and a girl. She described the surgery as the right choice for her while also stressing that transgender people do not all make the same medical decisions.
That distinction is important because gender-affirming care can take many forms. Some transgender people pursue surgery, while others do not. Schafer presented her experience as a personal decision rather than a model that other people should follow.
She also said her understanding of queerness has changed as she has grown older. Schafer described valuing the freedom to change, expand and discover new things about herself rather than feeling tied to a single way of describing her identity.
The disclosure was unusually personal for an actor who has often tried to keep interviews centered on her work. Schafer has previously spoken about not wanting every discussion of her career to begin and end with her being transgender.
Recovery Included Strict Limits on Movement
Schafer also described the physical limits she faced during recovery early in 2026. She rented a large apartment where friends and relatives could visit while she spent much of her time lying down.
Her daily movement was sharply restricted. Schafer said she was limited to about 150 steps a day, a small amount compared with normal daily activity.
The recovery period gave her an unusual amount of time at home. In the Elle interview, she contrasted that experience with her tendency to seek out adventures and active projects when she is working or spending time with friends.
Schafer did not publicly provide extensive medical details about the procedure. Her comments focused instead on how she felt about the decision, the recovery period and the relationship between her body and identity.
Passport Dispute Remains Part of Her Public Story
The new interview also comes after Schafer drew attention in 2025 to a dispute involving her U.S. passport. After her previous passport was stolen, she applied for a replacement and said the new document was issued with a male sex marker even though she requested a female marker.
The Associated Press reported at the time that the change came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a federal definition of sex as male or female and directing agencies to apply it to official documents. The State Department then stopped honoring requests to change passport sex markers from one sex to another and stopped issuing new passports with an X marker.
Schafer said the passport did not change how she saw herself, but she warned that the policy could create practical problems when traveling. She also said she spoke publicly about the issue because she wanted people to understand how the federal policy was affecting transgender Americans in daily life.
Her remarks were not framed as a request for sympathy. Instead, she said she wanted to document what was happening and make others aware that administrative rules could have direct consequences for people whose existing records had long reflected another sex marker.
Schafer's Acting Career Continues to Expand
Schafer remains closely associated with Jules Vaughn, the character she has played on HBO's Euphoria since the series began. The show's third season premiered on April 12, 2026, with Schafer returning as a series regular alongside Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie and other members of the ensemble.
HBO said the third-season premiere reached 8.5 million U.S. viewers during its first three days of availability. The season marked Schafer's return to the role that launched her acting career after several years in which she expanded into film work.
She also appeared in Mother Mary, the David Lowery film released by A24 in April 2026. The cast includes Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, FKA Twigs and Kaia Gerber, with Schafer playing Hilda.
Her next major project is Blade Runner 2099, a Prime Video limited series set in the world of the Blade Runner films. Schafer stars as Cora opposite Michelle Yeoh, with the series scheduled to premiere November 25.
The role places Schafer at the center of a large science fiction production and gives her another opportunity to move beyond the character that first made her widely known. In her Elle interview, she also discussed enjoying the physical nature of action work and the way it allowed her to focus on movement rather than overthinking a scene.
Speaking About Identity Without Being Defined by It
Schafer's latest comments show the balance she continues to navigate between discussing her transgender identity and resisting the idea that it should define her entire public career. She has spoken openly when she believes an issue is important, including the passport dispute, while also asking audiences to see her as an actor and artist with a broader body of work.
Her disclosure about surgery follows that same pattern. She chose to discuss an intensely personal part of her transition, but she described it in individual terms and did not suggest that her experience represented every transgender person.
For Schafer, the procedure appears to have marked an important personal change at the same time her career has entered another phase. With Euphoria season three already released and Blade Runner 2099 approaching its November premiere, her public conversation now includes both a major personal disclosure and one of the largest leading roles of her career.