Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham (/ˈliːnə ˈdʌnəm/; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series. She started her career writing, directing, and starring in her semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. She has since written and directed the 2022 films Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy.

In 2013, Dunham was included in the annual Time100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, Dunham released her first book, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned". In 2015, along with Girls showrunner Jenni Konner, Dunham created the publication Lenny Letter, a feminist online newsletter. The publication ran for three years before its discontinuation in late 2018.

Dunham briefly appeared in films such as Supporting Characters, This Is 40 (2012), and Happy Christmas (2014). She voiced Mary in the 2016 film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Aside from Girls, she has played guest roles on television in Scandal and The Simpsons (both 2015). In 2017, she portrayed Valerie Solanas in American Horror Story: Cult.

Dunham's work and her outspoken presence on social media and in interviews have attracted significant controversy, praise, criticism, and media scrutiny throughout her career.

Filmography (66 Appearances)

I Wish You All the Best

2025

Too Much

2025

Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell

2025

Treasure

2024

Judy Blume Forever

2023

Sharp Stick

2022

Honeydew

2021

Music

2021

The Stand In

2020

Miranda July: Where it Began

2020

Visible: Out on Television

2020

A Little Late with Lilly Singh

2019

The Kelly Clarkson Show

2019

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

2019

This Changes Everything

2019

Half the Picture

2018

A Goodbye to Girls

2017

100 Years

2017

My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea

2016

My Art

2016

Don't Think Twice

2016

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

2016

Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour - Live

2015

Everything Is Copy

2015

Sky

2015

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

2015

7 Days in Hell

2015

Thank You and Sorry

2015

Travel Man: 48 Hours in...

2015

The Late Late Show with James Corden

2015

It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise

2015

Happy Christmas

2014

This Is Comedy

2014

Late Night with Seth Meyers

2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014

Cover Girl

2014

This Is 40

2012

Side by Side

2012

Girls

2012

Scandal

2012

Finding Your Roots

2012

Supporting Characters

2012

Billy on the Street

2011

American Horror Story

2011

The Innkeepers

2011

Mildred Pierce

2011

PressPausePlay

2011

Tiny Furniture

2010

Conan

2010

Gabi on the Roof in July

2010

The House of the Devil

2009

Family Tree

2009

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

2009

The Viewer

2009

Creative Nonfiction

2009

RuPaul's Drag Race

2009

The Graham Norton Show

2007

Dealing

2007

Open the Door

2007

The Fountain

2007

Hooker on Campus

2007

Pressure

2006 Debut

The Colbert Report

2005

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003

The Daily Show

1996

The Simpsons

1989
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