Lena Dunham
| Lena Dunham | |
|---|---|
 Dunham at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Supporting Characters | |
| Born |
May 13, 1986[1][2] New York City |
| Education | Oberlin College (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress, writer, director |
| Parents |
Carroll Dunham Laurie Simmons |
| Golden Globe Awards | |
|
Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy 2013 Girls – Hannah Horvath | |
Lena Dunham (/ˈlinə ˈdʌnəm/ LEE-nə DUN-um; born May 13, 1986) is an American filmmaker and actress.[3] She wrote and directed the independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), and is the creator and star of the HBO series Girls. She has received eight nominations for Emmy Awards and won two Golden Globe Awards for Girls.
Early life
Dunham was born in New York City.[4] Her father, Carroll Dunham, is a painter of "overtly sexualized pop art", and her mother, Laurie Simmons, is a photographer and designer, who creates artistic domestic scenes with dolls.[5][6]
Dunham's father is Protestant, and her mother is Jewish.[7][8]
She has a younger sister, Grace, a student at Brown University, who appeared in Dunham's first film, Creative Nonfiction, and starred in her second film, Tiny Furniture.[9]
Dunham was raised in Brooklyn and spent her summers in a house in Salisbury, Connecticut, though her parents later purchased a weekend family home in Cornwall, Connecticut.[10]
Dunham attended Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, where she met Tiny Furniture actress and Girls co-star Jemima Kirke. She graduated in 2008 from Oberlin College, where she studied creative writing.[11]
Career
Dunham's 2010 feature film Tiny Furniture won Best Narrative Feature at South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, and subsequently screened at such festivals as Maryland Film Festival.[12] Dunham herself plays the lead role of Aura.[6] Dunham's own mother plays Aura's mother, while her real sister, Grace, plays Aura's on-screen sibling.
Dunham's television series Girls was greenlit by HBO in early 2012.[13] The show is executive produced by Judd Apatow.[14] Three episodes were screened to positive response at the 2012 South by Southwest Festival.[15] The first season premiered April 15, 2012, and has garnered Dunham four Emmy nominations for her roles in acting, writing, and directing the series and two Golden Globe wins for Best Comedy Series for Girls and for herself in Best Lead Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series. In February 2013, Dunham became the first woman to win a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series for her work on Girls.[16]
As of January 2014, Girls has been produced for three seasons.[17]
Dunham had a cameo in the movie Supporting Characters, along with her Tiny Furniture co-star Alex Karpovsky.[18]
On October 8, 2012, Dunham signed a $3.5 million deal with Random House to publish her first book, an essay collection called Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned.[19]
Dunham appeared in a video advertisement promoting President Barack Obama's re-election, delivering a monologue, which, according to a blog quoted in The Atlantic, tried to "get the youth vote by comparing voting for the first time to having sex for the first time".[20] Fox News reported "intense criticism" from multiple media sources, who labeled the advertisement as "tasteless and inappropriate", but added that "not everyone was so offended".[21]
Personal life
In 2012, Dunham began dating Jack Antonoff, lead guitarist of the band Fun.[22] Dunham is a feminist.[23]
She was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder as a child, and continues to take a low dose of an antidepressant to relieve her anxiety.[24]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dealing | Georgia | Film short Also writer, director |
| 2007 | Una & Jacques | Video short | |
| 2009 | The House of the Devil | 911 Operator | Voice |
| 2009 | Creative Nonfiction | Ella | Also writer, director, editor |
| 2009 | The Viewer | Voice | Film short |
| 2009 | Family Tree | Lena | Film short |
| 2010 | Gabi on the Roof in July | Colby | |
| 2010 | Tiny Furniture | Aura | Also director, writer |
| 2011 | The Innkeepers | Barista | |
| 2012 | Nobody Walks | Co-writer | |
| 2012 | Supporting Characters | Alexa | |
| 2012 | This Is 40 | Cat |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tight Shots | Main role Also writer, director, editor | |
| 2009 | Delusional Downtown Divas | Oona | Main role Also writer, director, producer |
| 2011 | Mildred Pierce | Nurse 1 | "Part One" (Season 1, Episode 1) "Part Two" (Season 1, Episode 2) |
| 2012–present | Girls | Hannah Horvath | Main role Also creator, director, writer, co-executive producer/executive producer |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | Tiny Furniture | Nominated |
| 2010 | Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Director Award | Tiny Furniture | Nominated |
| 2011 | Independent Spirit Awards | Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay | Tiny Furniture | Won |
| 2012 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series | Girls | Won |
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2012 | Television Critics Association Awards | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Girls | Won |
| 2013 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | Girls | Won |
| 2013 | Gracie Allen Awards | Outstanding Director – Entertainment Series or Special | Girls | Won |
| 2013 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (1259): 27. May 17, 2013.
- ↑ Busis, Hillary (July 1, 2013). "Lena Dunham, Jemima Kirke parody Miley". EW.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Lena Dunham's Big Dreams Rest On 'Tiny Furniture'". NPR. December 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Lena Dunham". Argotistonline.co.uk. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ Walker, Tim (October 6, 2012). "Lena Dunham: Could she be the voice of a generation? – Profiles – People". The Independent. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mead, Rebecca (November 15, 2010). "Downtown's Daughter". The New Yorker (Condé Nast): 38–45. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- ↑ Silverstein, Melissa (November 12, 2010). "Interview with Lena Dunham – Writer/Director of Tiny Furniture". Women & Hollywood. Womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ "'Girls' writer lays bare women's insecurities". Jewish Journal. April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ Howard, Caroline (November 12, 2010). "Names You Need to Know in 2011: Lena Dunham", Forbes
- ↑ "Living Large". Tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ↑ Tiny Furniture cast and crew. TinyFurniture.com.
- ↑ Maura, Sophie. "Lena Dunham Profile – Filmmaker". Marie Clare. Retrieved February 8, 2011
- ↑ "Lena Dunham's Show 'Girls' Picked Up By HBO". Huffington Post. January 7, 2011.
- ↑ Alexis, Nadeska. "Lena Dunham’s ‘Girls’ Picked Up by HBO". Black Book. January 7, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ↑ Nussbaum, Emily. "It's Different for 'Girls'" New York Magazine, April 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Lena Dunham ('Girls') makes DGA history as first female to win Best TV Comedy Director". Goldderby.com. February 3, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ↑ Maza, Erik (8 January 2014). "'Girls' Season 3 Premieres at Lincoln Center". WWD. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ↑ "Supporting Characters | Film Review". Slant Magazine. April 26, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ Bosman, Julie. "Lena Dunham Signs Book Deal for More Than $3.5 Million", The New York Times, October 8, 2012
- ↑ Franke-Ruta, Garance (October 25, 2012). "Lena Dunham's New Obama Ad—As Controversial As Everything She Does?". The Atlantic.
- ↑ "Critics blast Obama campaign for new ad that likens voting for Barack Obama to a young woman losing her virginity". Fox News Channel. October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
- ↑ "Girls' Lena Dunham Is Dating Fun.'s Jack Antonoff", US Weekly, September 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Lena Dunham Defends "Feminist" Anne Hathaway, Disses Seth MacFarlane's "We Saw Your Boobs" Oscar Song". E Online. February 27, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
- ↑ Suval, Lauren. "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the Media | World of Psychology". Psychcentral.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
External links
| Find more about Lena Dunham at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
 |
Media from Commons |
 |
Database entry Q288359 on Wikidata |
- Lena Dunham at the Internet Movie Database
- Lena Dunham on Fresh Air in 2012
- Lena Dunham on Fresh Air in 2010
- New York Magazine on Girls
- Criterion Collection Essay "Tiny Furniture Out There" by Phillip Lopate
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