Chris Colfer

Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He achieved international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical Glee (2009–2015). Creator Ryan Murphy created the role specifically for Colfer after being impressed by his initial audition for another part. His performance earned critical acclaim, winning the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, as well as three consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor from 2013 to 2015. He was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was named to the Time 100 list of influential people in April 2011.

Colfer was born in Clovis, California, to Karyn and Timothy Colfer, and is of Irish ancestry. As a child, he spent three months confined to a hospital bed following lymph node surgery, an experience he credits with sparking his interest in fictional worlds. When he was seven, his younger sister was diagnosed with severe epilepsy; to cope, Colfer turned to his imagination and began writing fairy tales with early encouragement from his grandmother. After experiencing severe bullying in middle school, he was homeschooled for part of seventh and eighth grade before attending Clovis East High School, where he was active in speech and debate, drama, the Writer's Club, and Destination ImagiNation.

Colfer began his acting career in community theatre productions such as West Side Story and played Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music with Good Company Players. At age eighteen, he starred in the short film Russel Fish: The Sausage and Eggs Incident. During his run on Glee, he wrote, starred in, executive-produced, and novelized the 2012 coming-of-age film Struck by Lightning, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. He also wrote a companion journal book for the film and authored a 2014 Glee episode titled "Old Dog, New Tricks."

As an author, Colfer gained widespread commercial success with his children's fiction series, starting with the 2012 book The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, which reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. The series expanded to include five main sequels and picture books such as The Curvy Tree. He later authored a prequel series starting with A Tale of Magic... in 2019, the young adult novel Stranger Than Fanfiction, and the 2024 space-themed book Roswell Johnson Saves the World. As of September 2025, he has published twenty-one books.

Colfer's other projects include performing in a 2012 staged reading of the play 8, guest-starring on Hot in Cleveland, appearing in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), and voicing the lead character KC in the animated film Robodog. He starred as Boyd in the 2025 horror film The Restoration at Grayson Manor and developed a sci-fi drama project called Indigo. In his personal life, Colfer publicly stated he is gay in December 2009 and has been in a relationship with actor and producer Will Sherrod since 2013. He actively supports anti-bullying efforts, including the It Gets Better campaign and The Trevor Project.