Lena Dunham’s cult-like status caused near hysteria when she hit the UK recently to promote her new memoir, Not That Kind of Girl. Inthis week's issue of Grazia, you will be able to read what happened when Polly Vernon, the voice of Grazia, met the voice of a generation. Buy it now to read the full interview but for now, here are some highlights…
1. She loves to love bomb
Not one person came away from the Grazia shoot complaining that Lena was a Diva. She was in fact a butterball of niceness; she loved what people were wearing, she loved what we had got her to wear, she loved the fact that we loved her show, she totally loved London and most importantly loved Polly telling her how excited she was to meet her, how she’d read her articles ever since ‘a dear friend told me to. Literally years ago.’
[Desmond Muckian]
2. She’s thinking about being 30
‘It’s funny’, she says ‘because I make a show about women in their twenties, and I’m rapidly approaching my thirties with a boyfriend and a dog..’ Luckily for Lena, through Girls she has created what she describes as ‘a very amazing exchange where young women come to me, to tell me super, like, personal transitions they’re going through in their life, or what their political beliefs are, and what there are issues with their mom are, which I love!’ Not that she will plunder any of these rich seams for more 20-something story-lines. It’s more she says, ‘the experience of talking to these young women about their hopes and fears keeps me really fresh and excited.’
[Desmond Muckian]
3. She used to be skinny
** **She tells Polly. ‘When I became a teenager, I grew up in New York and it was really image focussed. My [private, creative arts oriented] high school was rife with eating disorders. Our idea of a fat girl, at high school, was me. That experience, of suddenly entering ninth grade and putting on 35 pounds… I went from being a skinny kid to a chubby teenager, so I stared thinking about ways to reclaim my body.’
4. Children are definitely on her radar
‘I really want to [have kids]. I just want to do it at a moment where… As a working woman, it’s not realistic that you shut everything down and pay full on attention to your pregnancy every day, but I want to do it at a moment when I can really feel like, I can be present, and experience it.’
[Desmond Muckian]
5. ...but she isn’t fussed about getting married
‘I posted an image from my PhotoBooth and it had reversed, so it looked like I had a ring on my left finger, and all these people were like YAY! ENGAGED! And even though I don’t want to get engaged, I wished I could be like, yes guys! The big news! Because there is still the Thing! When someone gets engaged, it’s like there’s a big shiny thing on their finger, and everyone’s screaming: you’re a worthy human being, someone wants to marry you!.’
6. She’s far from an ordinary girl
Dunham was only 25 when Girls premiered, she’s only 28 now. She is an international sensation; with one US Vogue cover and multiple awards to her name, feted on social media and was chased by paparazzi the night before her interview with Grazia. Her talent, her work ethic, her world view, the things she’s capable of making women think about, and feel about themselves – makes her extraordinary. She’s THAT kind of girl..
To read Polly’s full interview with Lena check out this week’s issue of Grazia magazine