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. In 2026, she released her second book Famesick, which is described as a deeply personal memoir tracking Dunham's rise to fame, health struggles, and the costs of ambition.
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.
In 2025, her Netflix show Too Much starring Meg Stalter was released, which she co-created with husband Luis Felber. In September 2026 she welcomed a daughter via surrogacy with her husband. In October 2026 Dunham announced the return of the series Girls through a mock Zoom video call alongside original cast members Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, and Andrew Rannells.
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.
Photos
Movies (60)
Choked
2026 · Executive Producer
House of Criticism
2026
Notice Me
2026 · Producer
I Wish You All the Best
2025 · Ms. Lyons
Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell
2025 · Self
Treasure
2024 · Ruth, Executive Producer
Judy Blume Forever
2023 · Self
Orgasm Inc: La historia de OneTaste
2022 · Executive Producer
La Vida de Catherine
2022 · Executive Producer, Director, Screenplay
Sharp Stick
2022 · Heather, Director, Screenplay, Producer
Honeydew
2021 · Delilah
Music
2021 · Administrator on Phone with Zu (voice)
Cambio de papeles
2020 · Lisa
Who Will You Be?
2020 · Director
Memory Xperiment: Kathy Acker
2020 · Thanks
Miranda July: Where it Began
2020 · Herself
Había una vez en Hollywood
2019 · 'Gypsy'
This Changes Everything
2019 · Self
Half the Picture
2018 · Self
Tokyo Project
2017 · Executive Producer
A Goodbye to Girls
2017 · Self
100 Years
2017 · Narrator (voice), Director, Producer
Todo Mi Instituto Hundiéndose En el Mar
2016 · Mary (voice)
My Art
2016 · Meryl
Vida improvisada
2016 · Self
Sky
2016 · Billie
Suited
2016 · Producer
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
2016 · Self
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour - Live
2015 · Self - Special Guest
Nora Ephron: Todo es Copia
2015 · Self
7 días en el infierno
2015 · Lanny Denver
Soy yo, Hilary: el hombre que dibujó a Eloise
2015 · Self
The One I Love
2014 · Thanks
Happy Christmas
2014 · Carson
This Is Comedy
2014 · Herself
Cover Girl
2014 · Self, Writer
Choose You
2013 · Writer
Best Friends
2013 · Director, Writer
Supporting Characters
2013 · Alexa
Bienvenido a los 40
2012 · Cat
Nobody Walks
2012 · Writer
Side by Side
2012 · Self
The Hostess With the Leastest
2012 · Director
The Fountain
2012 · Director
Presencias del Más Allá
2012 · Barista
PressPausePlay
2011 · Self
Tiny Furniture
2010 · Aura, Director, Writer
Gabi on the Roof in July
2010 · Colby
La Casa del Demonio
2009 · 911 Operator (voice)
Family Tree
2009
The Viewer
2009 · The Voice
Creative Nonfiction
2009 · Ella, Director, Writer
The Pleasure of Being Robbed
2008 · Thanks
Dealing
2007 · Georgia, Director
Hooker on Campus
2007 · Hooker, Director, Editor
Open the Door
2007 · Director, Writer
Pressure
2006 · Director, Writer
Going Infinite
· Writer
Good Sex
· Director, Writer, Producer
Still We Met
· Executive Producer
TV shows (33)
It Gets Worse
2026
Demasiado
2025 · Nora South, Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Creator
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
2025 · Self - Guest
Genera+ion
2021 · Executive Producer, Writer
Industry
2020 · Director, Executive Producer
Visible: Out on Television
2020 · Self
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
2019 · Self
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019 · Self
Camping
2018 · Executive Producer, Writer, Creator
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015 · Self
Thank You and Sorry
2015
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...
2015 · Self - Guest
The Late Late Show with James Corden
2015 · Self, Self - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014 · Self, Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014 · Self
Girls
2012 · Hannah Horvath, Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Creator
Escándalo
2012 · Susanne Thomas
Finding Your Roots
2012
Billy on the Street
2011 · Self
American Horror Story
2011 · Valerie Solanas
Mildred Pierce
2011 · Nurse 1
Conan
2010 · Self
Hora de Aventura
2010 · Betty Grof (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009 · Self - Guest
RuPaul: Carrera de drags
2009 · Self - Guest Judge
El show de Graham Norton
2007 · Self
The Colbert Report
2005
Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003 · Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003 · Self, Self - Mean Tweets
The View
1997 · Self
The Daily Show
1996 · Self
Los Simpson
1989 · Candace (voice)
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Host