CHLOÉ HAYDEN
Autism doesn’t change anything. It simply gives a word to something that we’ve known all along.
Chloé Hayden
Chloé Hayden was thirteen when doctors told her she was autistic. She went home and searched the internet, hoping to learn what that meant for her life.
The results scared her. Almost everything focused on problems and on ways to help autistic kids hide their autism. Nobody was talking about young women. Nobody sounded like her.
Years later, she would play Quinni Gallagher-Jones on Netflix's Heartbreak High - an autistic character brought to life by an autistic actress. Quinni has crushes, close friends, hobbies she loves, and rough days. That's the character Chloé wished she'd seen when she was young.
Growing up in Australia, she often felt that other people were following rules she had never been given. She had a strong vocabulary from an early age, but found social situations hard to read. Noise, busy environments and some clothing could cause serious discomfort. She also ate a limited range of foods and struggled with sudden changes.
School became the most difficult part of her childhood. Chloé changed schools about ten times and experienced bullying and social exclusion. By her early teens, she was deeply anxious and had stopped speaking to most people outside her family. Soon afterwards, she left mainstream school and began learning at home.
The change gave her space to recover. She could learn in a safer environment and no longer had to spend every day hiding her natural reactions. Chloé later described this period as the beginning of a different life - one in which she could discover who she was instead of trying only to survive.
Animals, especially horses, also gave her a place where social performance mattered less.
The results scared her. Almost everything focused on problems and on ways to help autistic kids hide their autism. Nobody was talking about young women. Nobody sounded like her.
Years later, she would play Quinni Gallagher-Jones on Netflix's Heartbreak High - an autistic character brought to life by an autistic actress. Quinni has crushes, close friends, hobbies she loves, and rough days. That's the character Chloé wished she'd seen when she was young.
Growing up in Australia, she often felt that other people were following rules she had never been given. She had a strong vocabulary from an early age, but found social situations hard to read. Noise, busy environments and some clothing could cause serious discomfort. She also ate a limited range of foods and struggled with sudden changes.
School became the most difficult part of her childhood. Chloé changed schools about ten times and experienced bullying and social exclusion. By her early teens, she was deeply anxious and had stopped speaking to most people outside her family. Soon afterwards, she left mainstream school and began learning at home.
The change gave her space to recover. She could learn in a safer environment and no longer had to spend every day hiding her natural reactions. Chloé later described this period as the beginning of a different life - one in which she could discover who she was instead of trying only to survive.
Animals, especially horses, also gave her a place where social performance mattered less.
Horse riding had been part of her life since childhood. Around horses, people cared about how she rode and how she treated the animal. She did not have to study every expression, copy other people or hide the movements that helped her regulate herself.
During her teenage years, Chloé created an online platform under the name Princess Aspien as she wanted to find another people who understood her experience and soon her platform grew into a place where autistic people could describe themselves in their own words.
That work eventually opened the door to acting.
During her teenage years, Chloé created an online platform under the name Princess Aspien as she wanted to find another people who understood her experience and soon her platform grew into a place where autistic people could describe themselves in their own words.
That work eventually opened the door to acting.
Viewers responded strongly. Young autistic people wrote to Chloé saying that Quinni had helped them understand themselves and feel less alone. In 2022, she received the AACTA Audience Choice Award for Best Actress, and that same year Marie Claire Australia named her Rising Star of the Year.
That same year, Chloé published Different, Not Less, a book combining personal experience with practical guidance for neurodivergent young people.
That same year, Chloé published Different, Not Less, a book combining personal experience with practical guidance for neurodivergent young people.
In a TEDxSydney Youth talk, she explained why autism cannot be understood as a simple line from “less autistic” to “more autistic.” Each person has a different combination of abilities, needs and experiences.
Today, Chloé has built a full and varied adult life. She married Dylan Rohan in 2024 and continues to work as an actor, author, speaker and disability advocate.
She created Glimmer, a business offering sensory-friendly clothing, accessories and communication tools.
She created Glimmer, a business offering sensory-friendly clothing, accessories and communication tools.
In 2025, Chloé became the first guest curator of the Powerhouse Museum’s Powerhouse Materials series. Her selection connected textiles with touch, memory, animals, fashion and country life.
She is also an ambassador for Yellow Ladybugs, an organisation supporting autistic girls, women and gender-diverse people.
In 2026, Chloé was named Young Victorian of the Year for her contribution to community and public service, including her work as an autistic advocate and public voice.
As a kid, she learned to watch everyone around her, copy their behavior, and hide anything that seemed strange. Her trajectory began to change when she entered environments where she did not have to spend all her energy pretending.
Homeschooling gave her space. Horses gave her calm. The internet gave her people who understood. Acting gave her a job where her real experience actually mattered.
She built her career by finding a way to talk publicly about how she sees, feels, and experiences the world - and in doing that, she made the thing that had been missing from her own childhood: an autistic woman on screen who's visible, complicated, and fully herself.
In 2026, Chloé was named Young Victorian of the Year for her contribution to community and public service, including her work as an autistic advocate and public voice.
As a kid, she learned to watch everyone around her, copy their behavior, and hide anything that seemed strange. Her trajectory began to change when she entered environments where she did not have to spend all her energy pretending.
Homeschooling gave her space. Horses gave her calm. The internet gave her people who understood. Acting gave her a job where her real experience actually mattered.
She built her career by finding a way to talk publicly about how she sees, feels, and experiences the world - and in doing that, she made the thing that had been missing from her own childhood: an autistic woman on screen who's visible, complicated, and fully herself.
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