After graduating from university, Dorfman was cast in the role of Ryan Shaver on the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why, which premiered in 2017.[6] Also that year, she helped design a fashion collection with ASOS,[7] and in October was honored with the Rising Star Award by GLAAD.[5]
Dorfman is queer.[8] Dorfman and Peter Zurkuhlen became engaged in April 2015 and married in Portland, Maine on November 12, 2016.[9] In July 2021, Dorfman revealed she and Zurkuhlen had divorced but remain friends.[10]
In November 2017, Dorfman came out as non-binary and began using they pronouns.[11] On July 22, 2021, Dorfman came out as a transgender woman and began using she pronouns.[10] She revealed in an interview that she had already been "privately identifying and living as a woman" for almost a year.[10][12] She chose to retain her birth name of Tommy, to which she feels "very connected" and which honors her mother's brother who died when Dorfman was a month old.[10] In April 2022, Dorfman identified as a lesbian.[13]
In May 2024, Dorfman revealed that she had secretly eloped with girlfriend, Elise Williams, in Malibu, around late 2023.[14][15]
^ abcdPeters, Torrey (July 22, 2021). "Tommy Dorfman Would like to Clarify". Time. Retrieved July 22, 2021. 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.
^Peoples, Landon (November 16, 2017). "Tommy Dorfman's Latest Fashion Statement: Gender". refinery29.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2020. "Growing up, I hated the idea that clothing was gendered. I identify as non-binary," she reveals.
