'13 Reasons Why' Star Tommy Dorfman Candidly Opens Up About Being a Trans Woman

@tommy.dorfman, Instagram

Tommy Dorfman is evolving—she is simply "becoming more Tommy." In her July 22nd interview with TIME magazine, the 13 Reasons Why star is reintroducing herself to the world as a trans woman, an identity she's been living for the last year.

"It's funny to think about coming out, because I haven't gone anywhere," she told the magazine. "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."

Dorfman clarified she will not be changing her name because in her eyes this "is not [a] transition" but rather, her journey and evolution to become more herself, "more Tommy." The 29-year-old said she is proud to bear the name Tommy, the same name of her uncle who passed away one month before she was born. "I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying," she explained.

Looking into the future, Dorfman is excited as to how she can "infuse my trans body into film and television." She mentioned that in 2020, she was given her very first opportunity to play a female character in a Lena Dunham script, which she described as both "exciting and validating."

Another area of her life she's had to re-examine is her romantic relationships. "I was in a nine-year relationship in which I was thought of as a more male-bodied person, with a gay man. 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," the actress continued. "So we've had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends. Transitioning has been liberating and clarifying."

Before wrapping up her interview, Dorfman noted that being trans doesn't mean having to undergo a medical transition—but for her, it meant "aligning my body with my soul." It was a crucial part of her journey to becoming more Tommy.

"All I can do now is look to a future where I am, hopefully, just radically honest. That's the person I am becoming."