Hunter Schafer

Biography

An American fashion model, actress, artist, and LGBT rights activist.

Schafer was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to parents Katy and Mac Schafer. Her father is a Presbyterian minister, and their family moved between churches and congregations in New Jersey, Arizona, and finally Raleigh, North Carolina. She has three younger siblings: two sisters and a brother.

While in high school, Schafer protested against the North Carolina Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. On April 21, 2016, while she was a high school junior, Schafer was added as a plaintiff in the Carcaño v. McCrory lawsuit against the bill. In her senior year, Schafer was a semifinalist in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. She graduated from the High School Visual Arts program at the North Carolina School of the Arts in 2017, having transferred there from Needham B. Broughton High School.

Schafer planned to attend Central Saint Martins, an arts college in London, England, but deferred her enrollment after high school to focus on her career.

In 2019, Schafer was cast in the HBO series Euphoria, marking her acting debut. Aside from her leading role in the series, she also co-wrote an episode with the show’s creator Sam Levinson and served as co-executive producer. Additionally, she collaborated with him so that her character and the show’s story reflected her experience.

In an interview with Dazed, she says that her sexuality is closer to what people would call lesbian.

Two years later she further clarified, “I am like bi or pan or something.”