Is Maya Hawke Gay in Real Life? Details on the 'Stranger Things' Star

June 2024 · 3 minute read

‘Stranger Things’ introduces its first LGBTQ+ character in Season 3. Now, fans want to know if Maya Hawke is gay in real life.

Distractify Staff - Author

[Warning: Season 3 spoilers ahead]

If you’ve already binge-watched (like we did) Season 3 of Stranger Things, then you know one breakout character from the show is Scoops Ahoy employee and Steve’s new best friend, Robin (played by Maya Hawke). The ice cream scooper helped crack a top secret Russian code, fight the evil Soviet men, and helped to save Hawkins … though, we can’t say the same for the Starcourt Mall.

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Robin has totally infiltrated the Stranger Things squad, and we’re so happy for the new addition to the team. One of the best scenes in the series is when Steve and Robin have a heart-to-heart in the mall restroom. When Steve finally confesses to having a crush on his co-worker, she reveals that she likes him, but only as a friend. Robin goes on to reveal that she actually hated Steve as a kid because she had a crush on Tammy Thompson. 

“I wanted her to look at me,” she confessed. “But Tammy Thompson is a girl,” Steve replied. Finally, the former jock realized that Robin just came out as a lesbian. After this scene, fans on Twitter started questioning if Maya was also gay in real life, like her character.

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Fans question if Maya Hawke is gay in real life following her breakout role in Stranger Things.

Stranger Things fans have really related to Maya’s character Robin in the series. Priding the Duffer Brothers on creating diverse characters, some fans even question if the actress is part of the LGBTQ+ community outside of her role on the show.

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wait is maya hawke actually gay tho asking for a friend

— rachel 🌹 (@flazeda) July 7, 2019

Though Maya has remained pretty discrete about her personal life, if you follow the actress on Instagram, you’ll see that she looked pretty cozy with Gus Wenner (son of Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner). The two have numerous pics together on their accounts, simply captioning the photos with a single heart. We think it’s safe to assume they’re an item. 

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As for portraying a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Maya spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about taking on the role. “It’s such an amazing thing the Duffer Brothers did, stopping the whole show … there’s an action going on, and it stops for a seven-minute conversation between two people who really care for each other. It’s really a beautiful thing. I feel really lucky that I got to play that.”

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She added, “The reason she has all these hard walls is that she doesn't feel like she fits in. She feels like an odd one out. She's gay, and nobody knows that.” Played out among the chaos surrounding them, this scene is a highlight of the whole series.

Maya Hawke’s father and mother are #ProudParents.

If the last name did not clue you in, yes, Maya is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. The Hollywood stars were married from 1998 until 2005, and let’s just say she is the spitting image of her famous parents. The former couple were definitely happy for their daughter’s success, showing their love via social media. 

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“My victorious loving mermaid daughter,” Uma captioned a photo of her daughter on a bright pink mermaid pool float. “A weekend of triumph on Stranger Things. Congratulations.” Under a promotional video for the Netflix show, Ethan wrote: “Ladies and gentlemen, get to know MAYA HAWKE. She’s the real thing.” We couldn’t agree more. 

Stream Stranger Things Season 3 now on Netflix.

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