Lena Dunham
Known for: Directing
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
Series
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Series
The Simpsons
Candace (voice)
1989
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
2014
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest
2014
Series
American Horror Story
Valerie Solanas
2011
Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Series
Conan
Self
2010
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
The Graham Norton Show
Self
2007
Series
The Colbert Report
2005
Series
RuPaul's Drag Race
Self - Guest Judge
2009
Series
Scandal
Susanne Thomas
2012
Series
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self
2015
Series
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self - Guest
2015
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
2003
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Mean Tweets
2003
Series
The View
Self
1997
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Series
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
Self
2019
Series
Girls
Hannah Horvath
2012
Film
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
'Gypsy'
2019
Series
Finding Your Roots
2012
Series
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
2015
Film
This Is 40
Cat
2012
Series
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...
Self - Guest
2015
Series
Too Much
Nora South
2025
Series
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Self - Guest
2025
Series
Billy on the Street
Self
2011
Series
Visible: Out on Television
Self
2020
Series
Mildred Pierce
Nurse 1
2011
Film
Sharp Stick
Heather
2022
Film
7 Days in Hell
Lanny Denver
2015
Film
The Stand In
Lisa
2020
Film
The Innkeepers
Barista
2012
Film
The House of the Devil
911 Operator (voice)
2009
Film
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour - Live
Self - Special Guest
2015
Film
Music
Administrator on Phone with Zu (voice)
2021
Film
Side by Side
Self
2012
Film
Don't Think Twice
Self
2016
Film
I Wish You All the Best
Ms. Lyons
2025
Film
This Changes Everything
Self
2019
Series
Thank You and Sorry
2015
Film
Happy Christmas
Carson
2014
Film
Treasure
Ruth
2024
Film
Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell
Self
2025
Film
Sky
Billie
2016
Film
Everything Is Copy
Self
2015
Film
100 Years
Narrator (voice)
2017
Film
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Self
2016
Film
Tiny Furniture
Aura
2010
Film
PressPausePlay
Self
2011
Film
Honeydew
Delilah
2021
Film
Judy Blume Forever
Self
2023
Film
Family Tree
2009
Film
It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise
Self
2015
Film
A Goodbye to Girls
Self
2017
Film
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea
Mary (voice)
2016
Film
Half the Picture
Self
2018
Film
My Art
Meryl
2016
Film
Dealing
Georgia
2007
House of Criticism
2026
Film
Supporting Characters
Alexa
2013
Film
Creative Nonfiction
Ella
2009
Film
Cover Girl
Self
2014
Film
Gabi on the Roof in July
Colby
2010
Film
This Is Comedy
Herself
2014
Film
Open the Door
2007
The Viewer
The Voice
2009
Film
The Fountain
2007
Film
Pressure
2006
Film
Miranda July: Where it Began
Herself
2020
Film
Hooker on Campus
Hooker
2007