(Photo from Tommy Dorfman’s Instagram)
Actress Tommy Dorfman, best known for her role as Ryan Shaver in Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why,” has confirmed that she is transgender. In an interview with TIME magazine, she clarified that she is not coming out but rather clarifying who she really is.
“It’s funny to think about coming out because I haven’t gone anywhere,” Dorfman said. “I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically. Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”
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The actress said she hasn’t and won’t change her name as it holds a deep meaning to her. The Hollywood star was named after her mother’s brother “who passed a month after I was born,” she said. She feels it’s a way to honor the uncle “who held me as he was dying.”
“I love my name, I want to keep my name and give new life to my name. I’m really proud of the person that I was, too. I think that’s important to acknowledge. I’m proud of who I’ve been for the last however many years,” Dorfman said.
The actress, who is set to direct an adaptation of Mason Deaver’s “I Wish You All the Best,” said she is not coming out but instead, clarifying her gender and how she sees herself. When comparing her journey to others who had recently come out as trans, she doesn’t consider hers to be a “transition.”
“I’ve learned as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative. With this medical transition, there has been discourse about my body, and it began to feel overwhelming.”
