1. 26 d e lta s k y / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6
Writing
miscellaneous
the network
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At 17, Dunham convinced her
parents to let her get an Eloise tat-
too on her lower back whilst on a
family vacation in Taos. She refers
to her tattoos as “artifacts of who
she once was.”
business
Jenna Lyons
Dunham’s fashionable
buddies include this J.Crew
creative director. Lyons had
a three-episode role on Girls
in season three, playing
a sardonically stoic
GQ editor based on her
real-life persona.
Taylor Swift
The BFFs met while
tweeting mutually lavish
praise about one another.
Dunham can be seen
smoking a cigar in Swift’s
“Bad Blood” music video.
Saturday Night Live Host
An Old Testament-inspired sketch
satirized the extent to which Dun-
ham is comfortable in her birthday
suit and had her bantering with
God about the plight of feminist
20-somethings.
friends+family
Brooklyn
Dunham likes Brooklyn:
She lives in Brooklyn
Heights (in a glossy
$4.8 million apartment
on Henry Street, no
less), much of Girls is
set there and her parents
recently relocated to
the borough.
Accolades
Dunham was the first
woman to receive the
Directors Guild Award
for Outstanding Director
in a Comedy Series.
She won for Girls’ 2012
pilot episode, edging out
Modern Family and 30 Rock
directors.
lena dunham
Don’t let the title of her book fool you: Lena
Dunham is that kind of girl—if by “that
kind” you mean daring, barrier-breaking
and multitalented. The 29-year-old actress/
producer/director/author channels her
generation’s aspirations and insecurities
through independent films (Tiny Furniture),
prose (articles for The New Yorker, her
book of autobiographical essays, Not That
Kind of Girl) and an Emmy-winning TV
program (Girls). Lately Dunham has been
on a path toward rebranding herself as a
more politically engaged liberal, which, she
told mentor Judd Apatow, has given her
“this whole other area of human stories to
explore.” We’ll see how that plays out in the
fifth season of Girls, premiering February 21,
and via her production company, A Casual
Romance. — pa ig e da r r a h
Laurie Simmons &
Carroll Dunham
Dunham’s photographer
mother and painter father.
Her mother played a
snobby gallerina in season
two of Girls.
Judd Apatow
Girls executive
producer Apatow
included a Dun-
ham chapter in
his book Sick in the
Head: Conversa-
tions About Life
and Comedy.
Media behemoth
Hearst recently inked
a deal with Dunham
to handle advertising
for her Lenny Letter
e-newsletter and to
syndicate its content
on the websites of the
publisher’s maga-
zines, which include
Elle and Marie Claire.
Girls
Dunham’s breakout project,
which she created and stars in.
The HBO show captures the
messy nuances of post-
collegiate life through the lens of
four witty girls honing their ec-
centricities into viable careers.
Apatow’s daughter Maude had
a role on Girls in season four. Her
inappropriate student-teacher
relationship with Dunham’s
character led her character to
pierce her tongue frenulum.
Lenny Letter
This e-newsletter from Dun-
ham and Girls executive pro-
ducer Jenni Konner explores
subjects such as feminism and
Planned Parenthood politics.
Actress Jennifer Lawrence
made waves with her essay in
the third issue, “Why Do I Make
Less Than My Male Co‑Stars?”
A Casual Romance
Launched in 2014, Dunham’s produc-
tion company has original TV series
and documentaries in the pipeline. Its
debut project was 2015’s whimsical
documentary It’s Me, Hilary: The Man
Who Drew Eloise, which tells the story
of Dunham’s favorite children’s book
illustrator, Hilary Knight.
Modern Cover Girl
Dunham has become a familiar face
not just on Girls but on the covers
of major magazines, including Elle,
Vogue, Glamour and Marie Claire.