Jennifer Konner
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Jennifer A. Konner (born May 15, 1971) is an American television writer, producer, and director. She is best known as co-
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
and writer with
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
of the
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series ''
Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. ''daughter'' or ''girlfriend'' regardless of age, ...
.'' In 2016, she directed the season finale of the fifth season of ''Girls'' entitled "I Love You Baby" and in 2017, she directed the episode "Latching," which served as the series finale; both episodes were co-written by
Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian known for his work in comedy films. Apatow is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he wrote, produced, and directed his films ''The 4 ...
, Dunham and Konner. With
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
, she ran a production company and is co-founder of the
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
newsletter, ''
Lenny Letter ''Lenny Letter'', also known as ''Lenny'', was a weekly online feminist newsletter created by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner. ''Lenny'' also had a book imprint called Lenny Books on Random House. It was shut down in October 2018. History In Se ...
,'' and its
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
imprint, Lenny Books.


Early life

Konner was born to a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family in
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, New York, and grew up in
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, California. She is daughter of American television writers
Lawrence Konner Lawrence Konner is an American screenwriter, producer and film director. Konner has written over twenty-five feature films, including ''Mona Lisa Smile'', ''Planet of the Apes'', '' The Legend of Billie Jean'', ''The Jewel of the Nile'', and ' ...
and Ronnie Wenker-Konner (née Wenker). Konner has a younger brother,
Jeremy Konner Jeremy Konner is an American producer, writer and director known for his work on ''Drunk History'', '' Waffles + Mochi'' and ''Another Period''. He is the co-creator, director and showrunner of ''Drunk History'' and '' Waffles + Mochi.'' Biogra ...
, who directs and produces the
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program ''
Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...
''. Konner graduated from Crossroads School, a progressive high school in Santa Monica. In 1994, Konner graduated from
Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...
.


Career

After finishing school, Konner began working with friend and writing partner Alexandra Rushfield. They were both hired as writers for
Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian known for his work in comedy films. Apatow is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he wrote, produced, and directed his films ''The 4 ...
's sitcom ''
Undeclared ''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox from September 25, 2001 to March 12, 2002. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Sh ...
''. 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 A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...
. She was hired on a few big-budget Hollywood films to help the writers flesh out their female characters, most notably '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon''.


Partnership with Lena Dunham and ''Girls''

Konner was first introduced to
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
's work through watching Dunham's 2010 film ''
Tiny Furniture ''Tiny Furniture'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written, directed by, and starring Lena Dunham. The film premiered at South by Southwest, where it won the award for Best Narrative Feature, screened at such festivals as Maryland Film Festiv ...
''. Konner was a big fan of the film and so jumped at the opportunity when
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
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 Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
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." In 2017, Konner and her ''Girls'' co-showrunner
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
put out a joint statement to the Hollywood Reporter, publicly defending staff writer Murray Miller against sexual assault allegations made by
Aurora Perrineau Aurora Perrineau is an American actress and model. She is best known for starring as Shana Elmsford in ''Jem and the Holograms'' (2015), the live-action film adaptation of the 1980s animated television series '' Jem'', Giselle Hammond in Blumh ...
and claiming to have "insider knowledge of Murray's situation." Dunham later apologized for her statement and admitted that she and Konner had no "insider information" and that this claim had been a lie. While Dunham issued a public apology for her actions, Konner has to date never issued a public apology. In July 2018 Dunham and Konner released a joint statement to ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' where they stated they had made the decision to split as producing partners ahead of the December expiration date of their joint overall deal with HBO for their A Casual Romance Productions banner. At the time, the reason for this sudden decision was not made public but in January 2022 Dunham told Hollywood Reporter that midway through production on ''Camping'', she had left to enter rehab. When she returned from rehab, Dunham and Konner went their separate ways. When asked if the "timing was more than coincidental" with the split coming after her rehab stint, Dunham responded, "I think my recovery played a part in the break with Jenni insofar as it showed me that I needed to pause and clear the slate. I needed to almost start again and just hear my own voice."


Other work

In January 2015, Dunham and Konner released a documentary for
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about
Hilary Knight Hilary Atwood Knight (born July 12, 1989) is an American ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for PWHL Seattle of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also captain of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She ...
, the illustrator of the children's books ''Eloise''. Konner worked as the
Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
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 The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
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'' premiered on HBO in June 2016. In 2018 Konner began her own production company I Am Jenni Konner Productions. The company has produced the HBO series ''Camping'' and ''Generation''.


''Lenny Letter''

Konner and
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
collaborated to create ''
Lenny Letter ''Lenny Letter'', also known as ''Lenny'', was a weekly online feminist newsletter created by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner. ''Lenny'' also had a book imprint called Lenny Books on Random House. It was shut down in October 2018. History In Se ...
,'' 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 Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...
about the gender wage gap in Hollywood. ''Lenny Letter'' was supported by
Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
advertising. In December 2017, it was then supported by
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. Konner and Dunham also worked with
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
on a book imprint that will extend the aims of Lenny Letter to book publishing. In October 2018, it was announced the website would be shutting down, reportedly due to a decline in subscribers and a failure to build momentum on other platforms. Contributors were told a week prior to the shut down, receiving fees for unpublished written works.


Personal life

Konner lives in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, with her two children and husband
Richard Shepard Richard Shepard (born 1965) is an American film and television director and screenwriter. Biography Shepard was born in New York City, New York. Shepard's father was from an Austro-Hungarian-Jewish background and his mother was of Armenian des ...
.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konner, Jennifer Sarah Lawrence College alumni American women screenwriters American women television writers Writers from Los Angeles Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Television producers from California American showrunners 1971 births Mass media people from Brooklyn American women television producers Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Television writers from California Jewish women writers American feminists Crossroads School alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from New York City 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women