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Dunham at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Supporting Characters | |
Born | (1986-05-13) May 13, 1986 (age 38) New York City, New York, United States |
Education | Oberlin College (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Actress, writer, director, comedienne |
Parent(s) | Laurie Simmons Carroll Dunham |
Lena Dunham (/ˈlinə ˈdʌnəm/ LEE-nə dun-um; born May 13, 1986) is an American filmmaker and actress. She wrote and directed the independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), and is the creator and star of the HBO series Girls. In 2012, she was nominated for 4 Emmy Awards for Girls.
Early life
Dunham was born in New York City. Her father, Carroll Dunham, is a painter of "overtly sexualised pop art", and her mother, Laurie Simmons, is a photographer and designer who creates "disquieting domestic tableaux" with dolls. Dunham's father is Protestant, and according to Dunham, a Mayflower descendant; Dunham's mother is Jewish. She has a younger sister, Grace, who is a model and student at Brown University and who starred in Dunham's first film Tiny Furniture. As children, both Lena and Grace were babysat by photographers Sherri Zuckerman and Catherine McGann.
Dunham attended Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, New York, where she met Tiny Furniture actress and Girls co-star Jemima Kirke. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2008, where she studied creative writing.
Career
Dunham's 2010 feature film, Tiny Furniture, won Best Narrative Feature at South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Dunham herself plays the lead role of Aura.
Dunham's television series, Girls, was greenlit by HBO in early 2012. The show is executive produced by Judd Apatow. Three episodes were screened to positive response at the 2011 South by Southwest Festival. The first season premiered April 15, 2012, and has garnered Dunham four Emmy nominations for her roles in acting, writing, and directing the series.
Dunham had a cameo in the movie Supporting Characters, along with her Tiny Furniture co-star Alex Karpovsky.
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.
Dunham appeared in a controversial video advertisement promoting President Barack Obama's reelection, delivering a monologue to camera, which, quoted in The Atlantic, tried "...to get the youth vote by comparing voting for the first time to having sex for the first time".
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Dealing | Georgia | Film short Also written, director |
2007 | Una & Jacques | Video short | |
2009 | The House of the Devil | 911 Operator | Voice |
2009 | Creative Nonfiction | Ella | Also written, 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, written |
2011 | The Innkeepers | Barista | |
2012 | Nobody Walks | Co-writer | |
2012 | Supporting Characters | Alexa | |
2012 | This Is 40 |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Tight Shots | Main Role Also written, director, editor | |
2009 | Delusional Downtown Divas | Oona | Main Role Also written, 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, written, co-executive producer/executive producer |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Performance | Tiny Furniture | Nominated |
2010 | Gotham Awards | Best Breakthrough Director | Tiny Furniture | Nominated |
2010 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Screenplay | Tiny Furniture | Won |
2010 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | New Generation Award | Tiny Furniture | Won |
2010 | Sarasota Film Festival | Independent Visions Award | Tiny Furniture | Won |
2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
2012 | Women's Image Network Awards | Outstanding Film / Show Written by A Woman | Girls | Pending |
2012 | Women's Image Network Awards | Outstanding Film / Show Directed By A Woman | Girls | Pending |
References
- "Lena Dunham's Big Dreams Rest On 'Tiny Furniture'". National Public Radio. December 6, 2010.
- "Lena Dunham". Argotistonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- Walker, Tim (October 6, 2012). "Lena Dunham: Could she be the voice of a generation? - Profiles - People". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- ^ Mead, Rebecca (November 15, 2010). "Downtown's Daughter". The New Yorker. Condé Nast: 38–45. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- Storey, Kate (May 7, 2012). ""Dunham talks race" article on the NY Post Website". Nypost.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- "The Most Boobs Ever: Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow in Conversation | Heeb". Heebmagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- Melissa Silverstein (November 12, 2010). "Interview with Lena Dunham – Writer/Director of Tiny Furniture | Women & Hollywood". Womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- "'Girls' writer lays bare women's insecurities". Jewish Journal. April 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- Howard, Caroline (November 12, 2010). "Names You Need to Know in 2011: Lena Dunham", Forbes
- 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.
- "Supporting Characters | Film Review". Slant Magazine. April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
- 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.
External links
- Lena Dunham at IMDb
- 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
- Ill-formatted IPAc-en transclusions
- American Jews
- American film actors
- American film directors
- American film producers
- American screenwriters
- American television actors
- American television directors
- American television producers
- American television writers
- Female film directors
- Female television directors
- Living people
- Oberlin College alumni
- Film directors from New York City
- Women screenwriters
- Women television writers
- 1986 births
- Actors from New York City
- Writers from New York City