Actress Tommy Dorfman Calls Her Mom Her Hero, Appreciates Family’s Continued Support

Tommy Dorfman recently talked about her family and the support they continuously gave her during an important time in her life. The actress played Ryan Shaver in the popular teen series "13 Reasons Why." Mid last year, she came out as a trans woman,

According to the actress, the announcement made her feel more authentic to herself. Meanwhile, Dorfman revealed that she had no plans to change her name, Tommy. The name was apparently bestowed on her by an uncle, who died after she was born.

Dorfman revealed that her family, especially her mother Cathy, always had her back and supported her throughout her journey. Earlier this week, the "Fluidity" star took to social media to celebrate her mother for Mother's Day and called her her "hero."

Dorfman is receiving all the love and support from her family. On Friday, the actress spoke to People at the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards and shed some light on how she was brought up and the support shown by her family while she tried to be true to herself.

When asked about her source of inspiration, the 29-year-old said, "I mean, my family in so many ways. Just accepting me and fostering a space for me to be gender creative and fluid as a kid." She also talked about the lack of representatives of trans women on-screen during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Dorfman said, "There really weren't very many, if any, trans women on television in the '90s, in the early 2000s—at least positive representation of that. So I didn't have something to point toward, and I felt really grateful to be working in a field that gives me a wide range of things to do and people to talk to people to speak to. I can hopefully be that for a small percentage of people or large."

On the recently concluded Mother's Day, the "13 Reasons Why" star took to Instagram to celebrate her mother, Cathy. Dorfman posted several photos of both of them in similar outfits, along with a touching caption.

The 29-year-old wrote, "I love you, mom. Can't imagine this life without you. Thank you for showing me what it means to be a woman, independent and self-assured, righteous and forgiving, loving, kind, and resilient. You are my hero every day."

The actress and her mother were a part of Coach's Mother's Day campaign, "I Got It From My Mom." The campaign had the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Noah Beck in attendance. While talking to InStyle, Dorfman revealed that she was grateful to "celebrate the love a cis-mother has with her trans daughter" on a larger scale. She added that she would always be thankful for the experience.

Dorfman disclosed her transition to a trans woman in July 2021. In an interview with Time, the 29-year-old revealed that she transitioned years ago but decided to announce it to the public recently. A decision that reportedly left the actress feeling even more "authentic" to herself.

Talking to novelist Torrey Peters, she said, "For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman—a trans woman." Dorfman described the act of coming out as "funny" because she didn't go anywhere. The actress preferred to call the act a "reintroduction."

She 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."

The "Insatiable" star further revealed that she didn't intend to change her name and would continue referring to herself as Tommy. The name was apparently given to her by her uncle, who passed not long after she was born.

She said, "I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying. This is an evolution of Tommy. I'm becoming more Tommy." Dorfman added that despite the change, she was still really proud of who she was.

"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," she said.