Celebrities: Jewish or Not? 

Celebrities you might not have known are Jewish….or maybe you did…

Lena Dunham – Jewish

Lena Dunham was born to Caroll Dunham, an atheist painter, and the artist Laurie Simmons, who has Polish Jewish ancestry. Dunham has said, “I definitely feel very culturally Jewish, although that’s the biggest cliché for a Jewish woman to say.”

Dunham is an American actress, writer, director and producer. She broke through with her debut film, Tiny Furniture (2010), which won Best Narrative Feature at South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. She wrote and starred in HBO’s Girls (2012-2017), which was nominated for eight Emmy Awards and won two Golden Globes. She wrote directed the 2022 movies Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy, and in 2025 created the Netflix comedy Too Much. In 2014, she published her debut book of essays, Not That Kind of Girl, and in 2026, published her New York Times bestselling memoir, Famesick.

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