Tommy Dorfman has come out as a transgender woman. Learn more about the Atlanta native who shot to fame on ’13 Reasons Why.’
Tommy Dorfman, 29, is owning her true self. The actress came out as a trans woman in a July 22 interview with Time, where she opened up about her transition. “For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman — a trans woman,” said Tommy, who now goes by she/her. The 13 Reasons Why star went on to tell the publication, “It’s funny to think about coming out, because I haven’t gone anywhere. 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.”
Tommy also revealed in the interview that despite transitioning, she intends to keep her birth name, which honors her mom’s brother who died shortly after she was born. “I love my name, I want to keep my name and give new life to my name,” Tommy said.
So who is Tommy Dorfman? From her close friendship with Kaia Gerber to her memorable role on 13 Reasons Why, HollywoodLife has rounded up five key facts to know about Tommy.
1. Tommy Dorfman is BFFs with Kaia Gerber.
Cindy Crawford‘s look-a-like daughter Kaia Gerber is often seen out-and-about with Tommy. The pair were last seen stepping out for dinner in Los Angeles on July 31, 2020 — face masks on, of course — while apart of each other’s “quarantine bubble.” Pre-quarantine, the duo also showed off their beach hangout in Jan. 2020! Posing in their swimsuits for a mirror selfie, Tommy captioned the pic “portrait of a respectful gay hand.”
2. Tommy is an actress.
Tommy is best known for her role as Ryan Shaver on Netflix’s popular drama 13 Reasons Why alongside Brenda Strong, Ross Butler, and Dylan Minnette. She also played Bobby in The CW’s Jane The Virgin and Nick on American Princess. Most recently, she is credited for appearing in Freeform’s mini-series Love in the Time of Corona. “We were filming at my house, which was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be just from a practical standpoint of rolling out of bed and getting to work,” Tommy said to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY about the project. “No commute, which was great. It ended up being really intimate, and it was a space we’ve individually spent a lot of time in together just as friends,” she added.
3. Tommy is Andi Dorfman’s cousin
Tommy isn’t the only famous Dorfman! She’s a cousin of attorney Andi Dorfman, 33, who starred in the 10th season of The Bachelorette. She made an appearance in the Bachelor universe again during her runner-up Nick Viall‘s season and the pair made headlines for going on a jog back in June 2020.
4. Tommy is from Atlanta.
Tommy was born on May 13, 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating high school, she packed her bags and headed to New York for college, where she enrolled at Fordham University. Tommy studied drama, earning her B.A. in Theatre Arts in 2015.
5. Tommy now identifies as a trans woman.
Tommy said in her Time interview that she decided to announce her transition to a trans woman publicly so that she could stay true to herself. “I’ve been living in this other version of coming out where I don’t feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it,” she said. “But I recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like?”
Tommy also revealed in the interview that she was no longer with husband Peter Zurkuhlen, whom she married in Nov. 2016. ” I love him so much, but we’ve been learning that as a trans woman, what I’m interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we’ve had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends,” she said. Tommy had previously come out as non-binary in 2017.