Chloé Sarah Hayden (born July 23, 1997) is an Australian

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

social-media personality An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

, activist in the

disability rights movement The disability rights movement is a global new social movements, social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunity, equal opportunities and equality before the law, equal rights for all people with disability, disabilities. It is made u ...

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

host, and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. As an actress, she is known for her role as Quinn "Quinni" Gallagher-Jones in the 2022 Netflix reboot of ''Heartbreak High''.

Early life

Hayden was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. She grew up near the city of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, Victoria. At the age of 13, she had attended ten different schools and had severe depression and

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

as a result of severe bullying, leading Hayden to be

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

. She was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

at age 13, and

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

at age 22. Hayden has a younger brother who is also autistic, as well as an adopted brother and sister from Taiwan.

Career

Hayden began posting to her

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in 2016, under the pseudonym ''Princess Aspien''. In 2020, she went viral after she posted a YouTube video criticizing Australian singer

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

's debut film ''Music'' for its portrayal of autism. In November 2021, she was cast as Quinn "Quinni" Gallagher-Jones in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

reboot of ''Heartbreak High''. Her character is autistic and was written with her input. This makes Hayden one of the first autistic actors to portray an autistic main character. Hayden herself says that she loves playing an autistic character as she can freely

stim STIM, ''Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå'' (Swedish Performing Rights Society), is a Swedish collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distribu ...

. In August 2022, Hayden released the book ''Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After'', a part

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, part

self-help book A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from ''Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-im ...

. Hayden stated, "I wrote this book because I wish I had it when I was diagnosed ith autism" Hayden appeared in the ''Women of the Year'' edition of the Australia

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

. Since April 2023, she has hosted the podcast ''Boldly Me'' on

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

, in which she interviews several guests.

Public image and activism

Hayden's performance as Quinni in Heartbreak High was universally well-received, with many commending her for portraying a well-represented autistic character that isn't stereotyped. Hayden wishes to break existing autism stereotypes by talking about her experiences. She has stated, "I see autism as a superpower, if you look at people at the top of their fields, so many of them are on the spectrum." She is a proponent of autism rights and

neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept alo ...

movements. In 2023, Hayden and other fans accused

Marvel Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

of ableism after they were barred from a sensory room during a concert for

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

in February 2023. Marvel Stadium then stated that they would be building a second sensory room and retraining their staff.

Personal life

Hayden became engaged to her boyfriend Dylan Rohan in December 2022. They got married on January 13, 2024. Hayden is

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and vegan.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Writing

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Chole Living people 1997 births 21st-century Australian actresses Actors with autism People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Actresses from Melbourne Australian people of Irish descent Australian disability rights activists Australian Internet celebrities Australian activists with disabilities Australian Christians Veganism in Australia