What Lena Dunham Is Doing Today
Lena Dunham is an award-winning writer, actor, and director who began her career with the acclaimed indie film "Tiny Furniture" in 2010. She then shot to fame with her hit HBO series "Girls," which received both praise and shade but was a fan favorite during its five-year run. Dunham went on to appear on series such as "American Horror Story" and in films like "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." She also published a memoir called "Not That Kind of Girl," which brought in mixed reviews and a bit of controversy.
After a swift rise to the top, Dunham seemed to sort of disappear for a while. She's had some health setbacks as well as some new successes in both her personal life and professional life. From designing her dream house to marrying her soulmate to celebrating some hard-earned victories, Dunham has been super busy and very open about her experiences. Read on to find out what this triple-threat talent has been up to in recent years and what she has planned for the future.
Lena Dunham designed a new home (in her parents' backyard)
For Lena Dunham, there's no place like home. And home means family, which is why she built her dream house right in her parents' Connecticut backyard. Although it took a while for Dunham to settle down, having moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan and back several times, she decided she wanted a forever home in the place she felt most at home.
Dunham's parents, artists Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham, were fully on board with her proposed project, and lent their own expertise to the proceedings. While Dunham's parents' home is sprawling and spacious — a converted boarding school, in fact — Dunham's is much more modest, featuring one bedroom, an office, a guest room, and one full bath. But the house is unique and boasts quirky and cozy details (an upholstered office nook with a pink sliding door), as well as functional features built with Dunham's health issues in mind. "The low staircase is perfect for the days my arthritic hips give me trouble, with a custom carved banister that is rounded like the corners of a marshmallow, and the bathtub has a pull-up bar in case I get dizzy," Dunham told Architectural Digest.
And best of all, she gets to see her beloved parents whenever she wants, just like when she was a kid. "I loved them, and I loved the culture of our family ... I couldn't imagine a better set of pals," Dunham said of her childhood.
A blind date led to wedding bells
In September 2021, Lena Dunham married British-Peruvian musician Luis Felber (known professionally as Attawalpa) in a small ceremony at the exclusive Union Club in London. The pair met on a blind date, which seems impossible given Dunham's fame, but Felber hadn't seen "Girls" and didn't know who Dunham was prior to their meeting. And it seems as though going into the date without any preconceived notions was a good thing. As Felber told The New York Times, "The first time we hung out, we didn't stop talking for, like, eight hours."
Dunham previously dated musician Jack Antonoff (another relationship that began with a blind date), but the two called things off after five years together. With Felber, it seems Dunham wasn't wasting any time. She first tweeted about her new man in June 2021, gushing about him and advising, "[D]on't quit before the miracle, kids." The pair were married months later and appear to be completely blissed out. "Time is fluid and when you know, you know. I love my wife, who is also my best friend," Felber said.
Playing pregnant in Sharp Stick got her thinking about motherhood
Lena Dunham is nothing if not candid, as was the case when she spoke publicly about having a hysterectomy at age 31. After years of dealing with debilitating pain, Dunham opted to have her uterus removed in order to live a normal life, but it was a heartbreaking decision for her.
In an essay she penned for Vogue, Dunham wrote about the experience in depth, emphasizing how much she'd always wanted to be a mother. "As a child, I would stuff my shirt with a pile of hot laundry and march around the living room beaming," she said, along with the pain she felt in realizing she would never have children in the way she'd once imagined. "I wanted to know what nine months of complete togetherness could feel like. I was meant for the job, but I didn't pass the interview," she wrote.
In 2022, Dunham wrote, directed, and appeared in the film "Sharp Stick," in which she played a pregnant woman. "It was about trying to understand the impact [my hysterectomy] had on me," Dunham told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was about processing my life." As cathartic as the creative process can be, Dunham expressed that she was still hoping to become a mother, giving herself a bit of a deadline as well. "I'll be 36 this year," she said. "I don't feel like turning 38 without a child."
Lena Dunham is still pals with Taylor Swift
It makes sense that Lena Dunham, having grown up in New York City and helmed a mega-hit HBO series while still in her 20s, would have famous friends. Over the years, Dunham has been seen palling around with It-girls like fashion maven and "Real Housewives of New York" newbie Jenna Lyons and breakout "Barbie" star Hari Nef. But Dunham's most high-profile friendship is with pop superstar Taylor Swift.
The friendship began back in 2012 when Dunham slid into Swift's DMs on Twitter. What began as mutual admiration blossomed into a real connection, with the two women realizing they had a lot in common. "It's really wonderful to have someone like Lena Dunham in my life. We have the same responsibility and the same pressure that's on you when you write every single word you end up performing," Swift told People. Dunham even appeared in Swift's video for her hit single "Bad Blood."
In 2021, they were still as close as ever (Swift was a bridesmaid in Dunham's wedding). "You can have a far bigger wedding with less bridesmaids, but I guess it just speaks to how excited I was to have my close friends there," Dunham told Vogue. And Dunham was happy to show up for her bestie as well, spending her birthday at Swift's Eras Tour concert in Philadelphia in May 2023, where Swift played a special request for her pal. Dunham also attended Swift's Foxborough, Massachusetts, show the following weekend.
Lena Dunham shared a special shoutout for her 37th birthday
Lena Dunham spent her 37th birthday thinking about the healthcare workers who had helped her through many difficult times. Dunham has had her fair share of health issues, including endometriosis, a hysterectomy, and a rare disease called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The latter affects the joints and skin and can be very painful. Dunham went public with her diagnosis on Instagram after paparazzi spotted her walking with a cane in 2019.
The writer/director's health issues led to her spending quite a lot of time in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals, so she decided to honor the nurses who'd helped her along the way in a heartwarming Instagram post. "Dear Nurses," the post read, "I wouldn't be here, basking in the pleasures of being alive, if not for the wisdom, ferocity, and impossible sacrifice of nurses everywhere." She then nominated a few friends to write their own nurse appreciation letters, starting a chain of love for the often-overlooked healthcare workers. We hope they got the message!
She directed the acclaimed film Catherine Called Birdy
In 2022, Lena Dunham's film adaptation of Karen Cushman's YA novel "Catherine Called Birdy" was released to rave reviews. Dunham was nominated for best screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards, and the film's star Bella Ramsey was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for her fierce lead performance.
Dunham had optioned the film about a decade before making it, but her connection to the source material goes back even further. Dunham first read the book when she was 10 years old, and it became an instant favorite of hers. "There're certain books when you're a little kid that make you feel like you're capable of taking on the world and that's what this book was for me," she told Variety.
Much of Dunham's work is loosely based on events from her own life, and she found the experience of adapting a novel to be refreshing. She also felt she had some freedom to express herself while staying within the confines of the original material. "[I]t definitely made me realize the beauty of adapting, that it's something that can be deeply, deeply personal even as the work was born from someone else's head," she said.
Lena Dunham celebrated a milestone in her sobriety
In April 2023, Lena Dunham celebrated an impressive five years of sobriety after having once struggled with substance misuse. "The struggle with addiction hit me little by little, then all at once. It's a cliche for a reason — asking for help was the hardest part," she wrote in an Instagram post marking the milestone.
The substance Dunham went into rehab to kick was not a party drug, but a doctor-prescribed anti-anxiety pill in the benzodiazepine family called Klonopin. And while that may sound safe enough, Dunham has emphasized that coming off the drug was nothing short of terrifying. "Nobody I know who [is] prescribed these medications is told, 'By the way, when you try and get off this, it's going to be like the most hellacious acid trip you've ever had where you're f***ing clutching the walls and the hair is blowing off your head and you can't believe you found yourself in this situation,'" she told Vogue.
But these days, Dunham is beyond grateful to have made the difficult journey toward sobriety and says she is feeling better than ever. "The last 5 years have been the happiest of my time on earth so far (at least this time around!)," she captioned her Instagram post.
Her Polly Pocket movie got the green light
Fans of the summer 2023 blockbuster hit "Barbie" will be delighted to hear that another Mattel-inspired film is on the way. In 2021, it was announced that Lena Dunham would write and direct a Polly Pocket movie starring "Emily in Paris" actor Lily Collins. The film will explore the friendship between a young girl and the tiny doll that most '90s kids will surely remember. "Polly Pocket was responsible for countless hours of childhood escapism for me — Polly gave me a tiny world of magic and autonomy to narrate, so it's pretty poetic to be tackling these same ideas now as a director," Dunham told Deadline.
While there have been an animated Polly Pocket series and two animated Polly Pocket movies, Dunham's will be the first live-action Polly Pocket production. And for those wondering what Dunham's version of the doll will look like, it sounds as though she wants to stay true to the original Polly. "Let's just say Polly Pocket was at her best when she was the original teensy tiny '90s size," she teased when talking with The Hollywood Reporter. If the roaring success of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" is any indication, Dunham's Polly Pocket could be huge!
Lena Dunham's 2023 New Year's message resonated with fans and fellow stars
To ring in the new year in January 2023, Lena Dunham posted an Instagram pic of herself with a lengthy caption. Her message seemed, at first, to be defeatist, but it was ultimately about self-acceptance. "I'm so f***ng sick of trying. I'm not sick of doing, or being, or any other action verbs," Dunham's post read in part, "But I'm sick of *trying* — the word that evokes a hamster wheel, running and running only to find yourself still here, still stuck or in pain or in fear."
She went on to describe the many ways in which she has tried to live up to some imagined idea of perfection only to let herself down, and the feeling of frustration that followed. "But if at once you don't succeed, what if you didn't have to try but could just *be* again?" she wrote.
Dunham's words resonated with many fans as well as those close to her and some fellow celebs (she is a writer, after all!). Dunham's husband commented, "Wisest words my heart," and actor Rita Wilson wrote, "Love all of this." Even Melissa Joan Hart chimed in, shutting down rumors of a feud with Dunham, commenting, "I'll share that 'dance' with you in 2023! Happy New Year!" And so far, it does seem as though 2023 has been good to Dunham. Just "being" looks great on her!