Hunter Schafer has said she underwent gender-affirming genital surgery in December 2025, telling Elle she now thinks of her gender in simpler terms and sees herself as 'a woman' and 'a girl'.

The Euphoria star, 27, said the operation had previously only been known to her family and close friends, and that the decision to speak publicly has since drawn hostile reactions online.

Schafer made the disclosure during an interview with the magazine in London. After pausing to consider whether to share it, she said: 'I just had bottom surgery in December, which was amazing, and I love it so much.'

Bottom surgery is the term for procedures that alter the genitals to better align with a person's gender identity. Elle noted that, as a celebrity, she may be judged by both queer and cisgender people for the decision.

'Tension' Between Theory and Reality

Schafer said she had long embraced the 'gender‑expansive' part of herself, describing queerness as being about 'possibility and expansion and growth'. She said she had wanted to 'make that previous body work' because she thought there was 'something really cool and badass about it'.

She described where she has landed now as 'flatter', adding: 'I'm a woman. I'm a girl.' She said she reached that point after wrestling with queerness as an idea and philosophy 'versus how it applies and works in real life, in the context of the world that we're living in'. 'I feel like there's always a tension there,' she said.

She said sharing the news might be worthwhile 'for the tension I was talking about between those two worlds', which Elle described as reality and ideology.

Elle reports that Schafer began transitioning at 14 and, three years later, became the youngest plaintiff in a legal challenge to North Carolina's 'bathroom bill'. She walked for fashion houses including Dior, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs and Vera Wang before becoming known as Jules in HBO's Euphoria.

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Recovery, Online Reaction and Next Roles

Schafer said she rented a large apartment for her recovery at the start of this year, with friends and family visiting while she was required to lie down. 'I think my limit was 150 steps per day, which is nothing,' she said.

She also said the period gave her extended time on her own, reflecting that there were 'so many thoughts to think' while she focused on resting and healing after the operation.

In a post on X, Tiffany Justice, who co‑founded the US parental‑rights group Moms for Liberty, described the procedure as creating a 'fake vagina'. Using male pronouns, she set out what she called her 'theory' about trans women and ended with a direct message to the actress: 'P.S. Hunter, it's not.' Her comments were expressed as opinion.

Schafer stars as Cora in Prime Video's Blade Runner 2099, her first leading role on television, which is scheduled for release in November. She appears opposite Michelle Yeoh. She said she likes action work because 'you don't have to think that much'. 'It's just being in your body,' she added.

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