Dunham says when she started writing HBO's Girls, she was drawn to characters with "a bit of a Zelda Fitzgerald lost, broken woman quality." Her new essay collection is called Not That Kind of Girl.
The creator and star of HBO's new series Girls addresses the growing backlash against the show, which follows four 20-somethings as they navigate the ups and downs of life in New York City.
The filmmaker was just 23 years old when she won South by Southwest jury prize for her second film, Tiny Furniture. The comedy stars Dunham and her real-live mom and sister playing fictionalized versions of themselves in their real-life apartment in New York City.