Jennifer Konner (born 1971), often credited as Jenni Konner, is an American director, writer and producer. She works mostly in television and is best known as the showrunner and writer of the HBO series Girls. In 2016, she directed the season finale of the fifth season of Girls.
With Lena Dunham she runs a production company as well as the feminist newsletter, Lenny Letter.
Early life
Konner grew up in Los Angeles, California. She is daughter of American television writer Lawrence Konner. Konner graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.
Career
After finishing school, Konner began working with friend and writing partner Alexandra Rushfield. They were both hired as writers for Judd Apatow’s sitcom Undeclared. They then went on to create two short-lived network shows together: Help Me Help You and In the Motherhood. After that the pair stopped writing together and Konner began working as a script doctor. She was hired on a few big-budget Hollywood films to help the writers flesh out their female characters, most notably Transformers 3.
Girls
Konner was first introduced to Lena Dunham’s work through watching Dunham’s 2010 film Tiny Furniture. Konner was a big fan of the film and so jumped at the opportunity when HBO offered her the role of supervising Dunham for her new series Girls. Since then Konner has become the show’s official co-show-runner, an executive producer and she has written occasional episodes. The show premiered on HBO in 2012 and has since won numerous awards. Dunham and Konner are good friends and have collaborated on several other projects. They also started a production company together called A Casual Romance, with the intent of addressing the gender imbalance in TV and film. On her relationship with Dunham, Konner says “We just really love spending time together, which is good because we mostly have to be together all day every day.”
Other work
In January 2015, Dunham and Konner released a documentary for HBO about Hilary Knight, the illustrator of the children's books Eloise. Konner worked as the Executive Producer on the project and it was their first production with their company A Casual Romance. The production company's most recent work, Suited, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016. The film is a documentary that looks at a Brooklyn based tailoring company that tailors suits for members of the LGBTQ community. It was directed by Jason Benjamin and produced by Konner and Dunham. Suited will premiere on HBO in June 2016.
Lenny Letter
Further information: Lenny LetterKonner and Lena Dunham collaborated to create Lenny Letter, a weekly online feminist newsletter. The pair started the project with the intention of giving a platform to young female voices to discuss feminist issues. The newsletter features political essays, personal stories, interviews, artwork and even an advice column from Dunham and Konner themselves called "Letters to Lenny." One notable article was an essay written by actress Jennifer Lawrence about the gender wage gap in Hollywood.
Lenny Letter is supported by Hearst Corporation advertising.
Konner and Dunham are also working with Random House on a book imprint that will extend the aims of Lenny Letter to book publishing.
Personal life
Konner lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her two children and boyfriend Richard Shepard.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | George and Martha | Writer |
| 2001-2002 | Undeclared | Writer, Story Editor |
| 2002 | What I Like About You | Writer |
| 2003 | The O’Keefes | Writer |
| 2004 | The Stones | Executive Story Editor |
| 2005 | Pool Guys | Writer, Executive Producer |
| 2006-2007 | Help Me Help You | Writer, Executive Producer |
| 2008 | Bad Mother’s Handbook | Writer, Executive Producer |
| 2009 | In the Motherhood | Writer, Executive Producer |
| 2012-present | Girls | Writer, Executive Producer |
| 2015 | It’s Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise | Executive Producer |
| 2016 | Suited | Producer |
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | BAFTA Awards | Best International | Girls | Won |
| 2013 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Writing in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Writers Guild of America | Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2013 | Writers Guild of America | New Series | Girls | Won |
| 2013 | Golden Globes | Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical | Girls | Won |
| 2014 | Golden Globes | Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical | Girls | Nominated |
| 2015 | Golden Globes | Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical | Girls | Nominated |
[ Source: Wikipedia ]