Lena Dunham
Directing • Born 1986-05-13
Biography
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
68 credits
Don't Think Twice
Movie • 2016
Self
Judy Blume Forever
Movie • 2023
Self
Tiny Furniture
Movie • 2010
Aura
Sharp Stick
Movie • 2022
Heather
The Innkeepers
Movie • 2011
Barista
PressPausePlay
Movie • 2011
Self
Gabi on the Roof in July
Movie • 2010
Colby
This Is 40
Movie • 2012
Cat
Creative Nonfiction
Movie • 2009
Ella
Side by Side
Movie • 2012
Self
Family Tree
Movie • 2009
A Goodbye to Girls
Movie • 2017
Self
Happy Christmas
Movie • 2014
Carson
Music
Movie • 2021
Administrator on Phone with Zu (voice)
The Viewer
Movie • 2009
The Voice
7 Days in Hell
Movie • 2015
Lanny Denver
Treasure
Movie • 2024
Ruth
I Wish You All the Best
Movie • 2025
Ms. Lyons
It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise
Movie • 2015
Self
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour - Live
Movie • 2015
Self - Special Guest
This Is Comedy
Movie • 2014
Herself
Sky
Movie • 2015
Billie
Everything Is Copy
Movie • 2015
Self
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea
Movie • 2016
Mary (voice)
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Movie • 2016
Self
The Fountain
Movie • 2007
Hooker on Campus
Movie • 2007
Hooker
Half the Picture
Movie • 2018
Self
100 Years
Movie • 2017
Narrator (voice)
My Art
Movie • 2016
Meryl
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Movie • 2019
'Gypsy'
This Changes Everything
Movie • 2019
Self
Open the Door
Movie • 2007
Dealing
Movie • 2007
Georgia
Miranda July: Where it Began
Movie • 2020
Herself
The Stand In
Movie • 2020
Lisa
Honeydew
Movie • 2021
Delilah
The House of the Devil
Movie • 2009
911 Operator (voice)
Supporting Characters
Movie • 2012
Alexa
Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell
Movie • 2025
Self
Pressure
Movie • 2006
Cover Girl
Movie • 2014
Self
The Colbert Report
TV • 2005
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
TV • 2019
Self
Conan
TV • 2010
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV • 2003
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Girls
TV • 2012
Hannah Horvath
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
Mildred Pierce
TV • 2011
Nurse 1
Billy on the Street
TV • 2011
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
The Late Late Show with James Corden
TV • 2015
Self
The Late Late Show with James Corden
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV • 2019
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV • 2009
Self - Guest
American Horror Story
TV • 2011
Valerie Solanas
Scandal
TV • 2012
Susanne Thomas
RuPaul's Drag Race
TV • 2009
Self - Guest Judge
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
Candace (voice)
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
TV • 2015
Self
Visible: Out on Television
TV • 2020
Self
Thank You and Sorry
TV • 2015
Finding Your Roots
TV • 2012
Too Much
TV • 2025
Nora South