Lena Dunham is a successful American writer, actress, director, and producer. She first became famous in the HBO comedy “Girls” from which she made a fortune. This leaves many fans wondering just what is Lena Dunham net worth?
Lena Dunham is known for taking a feminist viewpoint with much of her work. She is a controversial figure who is regularly on pages of tabloids, magazines, and celebrity newspapers.
She is a hard worker and found fame at an early age. Yet, she has battled a number of serious health issues, discussing them in-depth on social media. So, who is Lena Dunham? In this article, we look at Lena Dunham’s early life, her career, and recent marriage, and the controversies that have dogged her along the way.
Lena Dunham’s Place of Birth and Early Life
LOS ANGELES – MAR 08: Lena Dunham arrives to the Paleyfest 2015 “Girls” on March 08, 2015 in Hollywood, CA. Image Credit: credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com
Lena Dunham was born in New York City in the United States on the 13th of May 1986. Her mother, Laurie Simmons, is a designer and photographer, and her father, Carroll Dunham, is an artist. Lena’s mother is Jewish. Her father is of English extract and a Protestant. Her mother, Laurie Simmons, uses dollhouse furniture for her interior designs, no coincidence then that Lena’s first award-winning film was called “Tiny Furniture”.
Lena has a younger sister, Cyrus Grace Dunham. Cyrus appeared in Lena’s first two movies. She has a degree from Browning University and is a published author.
Lena Dunham attended private schools in Brooklyn throughout her school career which is when she started writing and acting. She started at Friend’s Seminary before moving on to Saint Anne’s School. She became friends with Jemima Kirk at Saint Anne’s. Kirk went on to act in “Tiny Furniture” and was Lena’s co-star in “Girls”.
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Lena Dunham’s Career
Lena started college at the New School University but dropped out after a year to study creative writing at the Oberlin College in Ohio. She started off her writing career working on scripts that she posted onto the internet. She produced several short films on YouTube.
Her films revolved around sexual enlightenment. She created “Pressure” in 2006 in which three girls discuss their first orgasm. In 2007 she made “The Fountain” in which she was filmed in a bikini brushing her teeth in a fountain on the grounds of Oberlin College. “The Fountain” went viral on YouTube. Negative commentary and body-shaming comments prompted Lena to take the video down.
Lena acted in “Tight Shots” in 2007. It was a ten-episode web series. In 2009, her comedy film, “Creative Nonfiction” debuted.
In 2009, Dunham created “Delusional Downtown Divas” for Index Magazine. It was a web series that satirized the New York art scene.
Tiny Furniture
In 2010 that Lena Dunham drew the attention of the entertainment industry with the release of the semi-autobiographical, independent movie called “Tiny Furniture”. This set her on the road to fame.
Lena plays the lead role of Aura in Tiny Furniture. The film won the Best Narrative Feature at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Lena went on to win an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.
It was a remarkable feat. She had made the film in the family flat in just 18 days and on a very small budget. Lena’s mother and sister both acted in the indie movie. It was the accolades that Dunham received for “Tiny Furniture” that prompted HBO to invite her to start her work on Girls. They had given her a blank script.
Lena Dunham graduated from college in 2008 and returned to New York City.
Girls
Lena Dunham wrote, produced, and took the lead in “Girls” which debuted on HBO in 2012. She often also directed the shows. The series tells the story of a group of 20-something girls. Lena Dunham played the part of Hanna Horvath. In 2013, she received the Emmy Award for the Best Actress in a Comedy Series.
She also became the first woman to receive the Director’s Guild of America Award for a comedy series. In 2013 she appeared on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. “Girls” ended in 2017 after running for six seasons. By the time it had run its course, “Girls” had earned Lena Dunham four Golden Globe Awards and two Emmys.
Lena Dunham’s Book Deal
In 2012, Lena Dunham published her first book, “Not that kind of girl; a woman tells you what she’s learned”. Her contract with the publisher, Random House, was worth a cool $3.5 million. By October, her book had taken second place on the New York Best Seller List.
Controversially, the book told of a sexual assault that Lena had experienced at Oberlin. She named the attacker Barry, a pseudonym. A former Oberlin student named Barry took legal advice because he was concerned that he would be misidentified as the attacker. Lena apologized and the book was republished with a disclaimer.
In 2013 Lena Dunham started the online feminist newsletter, Lenny Letter, in collaboration with Jenni Konner. The publication ran for three years until 2018. It featured writers of color and from the LGBTQ community discussing identity issues. The following year, Lena received the Horizon Award in recognition of her fight for gay rights. In the same year, she took a supporting role in the comedy “Happy Christmas”.
In 2016 Lena acted in “My Art”, a film written by her mother. It premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. The next year she played in “The American Horror Story; Cult”. She took the part of Valerie Solanas, the woman who shot Andy Warhol in 1968
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Lena Dunham’s Post “Girls” Career
In 2018, Dunham and Jenni Konner collaborated in writing and running “Camping”, a British comedy series remake. It ran for just one season. It featured A-List actress Jennifer Garner.
In 2019, she played the part of Catherine Share in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
In response to Covid Lena Dunham decided to stay home and write a serialized novel. The first part of “Verified Strangers” appeared on the Vogue website in the first quarter of 2020.
Lena played a minor role in Music in 2021. She was also the executive producer of Generations and “Industry”.
She has just made her first feature film in 12 years with the film “Sharp Stick”. The semi-autobiographical movie premiered on the 22nd of January 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival. Lena’s new husband wrote the score for the movie. The crew started shooting the movie in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic. The film has received mixed reviews.
In a recent interview, Lena also discussed making an older version of “Girls”. She loves the cast but she says that it isn’t time yet. They need a few more years.
A Career in Design
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In 2021 Lena Dunham took a step in a completely different direction when she announced that she was going into fashion design. She debuted a new fashion line for plus-sized women. She claimed that the fashion line was a direct response to her personal experience.
Lena Dunham is often on the receiving end of unkind criticism for her fashion choices and figure. She is working with Danielle Williams Eke of 11 Honoré and will be their model. Personal and health problems have meant that Lena has had problems maintaining her weight. A recent bout with Covid-19 has left her with partial adrenal sufficiency according to an article in the New York Times. As a result, she now has to take steroids and lives with the consequences.
Lena Dunham’s Personal Life and Family
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Lena Dunham dated Jack Antonoff from 2012 until December 2017. Antonoff is the founder of the Indie band, the Bleachers, and the lead guitarist and drummer in the Indie band, Fun. After their amicable break-up, she moved out of their shared apartment and moved into her own.
Sometime after the break up a mutual friend introduced Luis Felber, also a musician. Lena and Luis hit it off big and married in September 2021.
Luis Felber is a solo artist, creating music under the name “Attawalpa”. He is of Peruvian and English heritage. He was born in Britain to a Peruvian mother and British father. He spent his earliest years in Peru and Chili. Like Lena, he is half Jewish.
The two were married in a Jewish ceremony after an engagement of just one month. The wedding was held at the Union Club in Soho. Lena’s friend, Christopher Kane made the three dresses that she wore on the day. There were 60 guests at the ceremony. Guest lists were affected by travel restrictions and last-minute Covid infections. Lena is immune-compromised so she had to take Covid very seriously. All guests had to do lateral flow tests and bring proof of vaccination. The couple wrote their own vows and stood beneath a chuppah to say them.
Recently Lena wrote of her “happily ever after” moment in Vogue. It was love at first sight. She realized on the evening that they met that she was sitting across from her soul mate.
Within a month they were living together in Lena’s London apartment. When the couple decided to get engaged, Luis presented Lena with a pinkie ring that once belonged to his grandmother. It is an Inca ring that dates back to the 1700s.
Lena Dunham’s Health Problems
As a child, Lena was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. She took tranquilizers for years but decided to do without as an adult. In April 2020 she celebrated her second drug-free year.
Yet, Lena Dunham has had more than one health issue. In 2018, at the age of 31, she took to Instagram to describe her struggle with endometriosis. The pain and discomfort drove her decision to have a total hysterectomy.
She also shared her battle with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in 2019. It is a genetic disorder that can lead to osteoarthritis along with other problems
Lena Dunham Controversies
Lena Dunham is no stranger to controversy. She is very outspoken about woman’s rights and the lack of representation of women in high places. She fully supported Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
She has been on the receiving end of a great deal of criticism. She had a privileged upbringing and was brought up by liberal parents whose ideas often inform her humor. She quite frequently makes statements that upset and annoy people. An example is a joke she made on “Women of the Hour” where she said that she wished that she had experienced what it was like to have an abortion. To her credit, she is quick to apologize when she makes thoughtless or controversial statements.
Lena Dunham’s Height, Weight, and Social Media Presence
Lena Dunham is a little lady, at 5’ 2” (157 cm). Due to health problems, she battles with fluctuating weight.
Lena Dunham is active on Instagram. She has 2.9 million followers. She has been active on Twitter since April 2009 and has 5.2 million followers.
Lena Dunham Net Worth Estimate
Lena Dunham’s net worth is estimated at $14 million. She earned at least $4 million for her book deals and made a fortune from the HBO “Girls” deal. In July 2019, she sold her condo in Brooklyn for $2.63 million.
Though often controversial, Lena Dunham has battled the ravages of ill-health and managed to make a name for herself across the globe. We are sure that she will continue to work in film and on the internet increasing her net wealth as she does,
Lena Dunham Net Worth & Bio Summary
| Place of birth | New York City, New York |
| Date of birth | 13th of May 1986 |
| Education | Oberlin College |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress/ filmmaker/ writer |
| Age | 34 |
| Estimated net wealth | $14 million |
| Height | 5’ 2” (157 cm) |
| Weight | unknown |
| Status | Married |
| Husband | Luis Felber |
| Children | None |
| Social media | Instagram/ Twitter |
| Number of awards and nominations | 8 |