When Adele covered Vogue last year, it was one of the best-selling issues of the magazine. Adele had (and has) a widespread fanbase, and her fans have very, very strong, positive feelings about her. So even though Adele doesn’t look like the typical, sample-size Vogue cover girl, the issue was still a success editorially and by sales. Plus, many of us think that Adele is drop-dead gorgeous. But what if this year’s “unconventional” Vogue cover girl is… Lena Dunham? What if Dorothy Hamill haircuts and hipster twee styles are the new thing?
Vogue editor Anna Wintour is pulling out all the stops to woo Girls creator and actress Lena Dunham, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
The infamously tetchy fashionista will be hosting a top secret, private dinner for the 27-year-old actress, who is at the helm of the hit HBO series, according to a well-placed magazine source.
It’s all part of Wintour’s campaign to bring Dunham and her fans into the fashion bible’s fold – a move that might even include putting the curvy New Yorker on the magazine’s front cover.
“Anna is trying to seduce Lena into bringing her next-generation audience into the Vogue brand,” the insider says of the 63-year-old Brit.
“And she’s willing to violate a lot of Vogue traditions to do it, including putting her on the cover even though she doesn’t really conform to the body type that Vogue has featured for most of its history.”
Adele is the only other celebrity in recent history – who is considered to be overweight – that has made it onto the magazine’s front cover.
“This dinner is a first step for Anna to see if Lena will play ball,” the source says.
“But Anna’s perspective is that they need each other.”
Call me crazy, but I doubt Lena had to be talked into anything. I doubt Anna Wintour had to do that much “wooing”. True, Lena is some kind of “It Girl” and she’s winning big awards for Girls (which I still don’t get how that’s an award-worthy show, but whatever). So, it makes sense that Lena would have caught Anna Wintour’s eye. Plus, Anna loves a project. She’ll love giving Lena a Vogue makeover. The real question is, will Lena be “encouraged” (like Kate Upton, Oprah and so many more) to lose weight before the cover shoot?
Also: it makes sense that Wintour would be wooing Lena right now, for a possible cover… when? The January issue? The February issue? Those are two of the smallest issues of the year.
PS… I bet this story made Victoria Beckham cry.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
lol
“PS… I bet this story made Victoria Beckham cry.” you just made me cry that whole sentence is hilarious!
That was the first thing that came to mind! Lol
And Kim Lardasshian is on her fainting couch with the “vapors”, while Kanye fans her and gives her the smelling salts. “I’ll get you in baby. I’ll get you in!”
I simply do not get this young woman on any level.
I feel like I should be rooting for her but I just don’t like her at all lol, not even a little bit.
Me, too. I want all body types to be embraced and all that, but I just find her irritating.
I am right there with you, all good names taken, and I feel like SUCH a jerk about it! I really WANT to like her, but it is not happening . . .
Me2 I read the headline rolled my eyes and sighed…then got curious to what ppl would say how many would say the obvious put downs, and how many would be creative like she looks like an ewok that finished chemo.
Me either, and I did try. I want to be supportive of any women doing their own thing is show biz, so I watched the first season of the show. Didn’t like it. I thought maybe I was relating Lena too much to her character, so I listened to her on Jeff Garlin’s podcast, a nice long conversation. Didn’t like her – didn’t hate her, just didn’t like her much. Good luck to her, but I’m just not ever going to be a fan, I think.
Oh god me too. Thank you for saying it. I would not be buying that issue.
ITA. I’ve seen a few episodes of Girls and I don’t get the appeal, nor do I understand why Lena Dunham is suddenly the be all and end all.
Ah well…that’s one issue of Vogue I won’t be buying.
Same here.
Glad I’m not the only one. I don’t know what it is about her but I just can’t seem to get behind her.
I am so glad that I am not the only one! I just can’t stand this girl, nor do I understand the hype around her. :/
Nor do I!!
Screw this New Decade, “Oh, we mustn’t body shame anyone”, over- the-top, PC-ness. This girl is a fat, unattractive, talentless LUMP, who would have gotten nowhere in the business without nepotism. There, I said it.
No way does this girl belong on the cover of Vogue. If by some horrible twist of hell she does, it is one issue I will not be buying.
It’s not body shaming if the reasons you don’t like her don’t really have anything to do with her body size. As has already been pointed out, Adele, for example, is gorgeous.
what is the 411 on the nepotism?
Right on
Her parents are famous artists. Grew up in Tribeca – now the most expensive neighborhood in Manhattan to buy an apartment.
She wen to St. Ann’s in Brooklyn which now sends more kids to the Ivies than any other private school in Manhattan. Take that Chapin. Or GOOP’s Spence (the jewish version of Chapin)
Jennifer Connolly went there…tons of celeb kids go…Uma’s and Ethan Hawke’s..go to St. Ann’s.
Her parents gave her 50K for her first film. Tiny Furniture…that lead to Girls. Tiny Furniture went to festivals and won awards. Lena wrote, starred and directed it. So didn’t just sit there waiting for the world to discover her- I give her credit for that.
So she is a rich, privilege downtown kid. That got off her butt and cranked out a movie which she wrote, starred and directed.
Anna loves the private school kids…
Yeah, her parents are rich, famous art society people. Judd Apatow is an old family friend, that’s why he’s her Svengali. Her uncle is the art critic for New York Magazine (a publication that is oh-so-coincidentally OBSESSED with Lena Dunham’s “genius”).
I will say the show is dumb. And in the article where it says curvy…really?
Did they mean boxy, as in shaped like a box, like a big square box? A big annoying boxed head on a boxed body?
Curvy my ass
Peepers: thank you so much for solving the mystery of why The Vulture obsesses so much over Lena – a woman most of the commenters there (at the very least) disdain.
I could never understand why they persist in it, but now I get it. More nepotism. Wow, this girl’s got it made with well placed family and friends. Lucky!
Sadly, it seems that nepotism is necessary for a “fat, unattractive, talentless LUMP” to be successful if she’s a woman, while men fitting the same description make it all the time. Are you this passionate about their successes as well?
And VOGUE finally jumps the shark too.
This is why I get French and Italian VOGUE instead. The US version is so stale, like Macy’s melded with Botox and the ashes of the 90s.
+1
French Vogue all the way.
“The US version is so stale, like Macy’s melded with Botox and the ashes of the 90s” = EXACTLY!
+2!
That is an AWESOME description of US Vogue. French Vogue is the only way to go. Thanks a lot, Wintour.
Can you get French Vogue in English?
Don’t worry, Gisele’s on the November issue for French Vogue.
Gee, maybe Kartrashian DOES have a shot at the cover now. Wintour certainly seems to be lowering her standards.
Stale indeed, it’s all celebs! I prefer the models, they are gorgeous in a fantastical kind of way which I unabashedly enjoy; the actresses tend to look common on covers. I’m there to buy into the fantasy, fashion is an escape. TV and film people don’t do it for me.
+ 1000
She’s obviously “meh” – outright disliked by so many. She’s only an It Girl if people elevate her to that status. I can’t with her show anymore and definitely won’t buy the Vogue issue. Blegh.
This hype is going to pop soon on Dunham. She is not all that and a bag of chips either. I tried to watch her show and watched more episodes than I thought I would just in an attempt to be fair, but yicky-icky-blah.
She is where she is because she has a lot of useful connections. If she hadn’t, she’d still be on the poorer end of the indie circuit working the festivals.
I don’t even know who she is.
You’re lucky. Try to keep it that way!
Good for her, hopefully they don’t let her style herself.
Anna Wintour actually wants someone plus sized?
blue maria, I think that it would be hilarious if she styled herself
@Kate
That is a Vogue issue i may open! At the dentist…
I haven’t see the Girls show. Can anybody tell me what is so fascinating about Lena Dunham? IDGI.
I have watched both seasons and, on a superficial level, I think it’s the fact that she obviously doesn’t look like a model yet she spends much of the show almost naked or wearing very revealing and unflattering clothes which make her body look weird. On a deeper level, a lot of the show is dedicated to self-inflicted harm (physical, mental, through the choice of clothes, all decisions). That’s the fascination – she puts herself in all these “shocking” situations and people are mesmerized by it. Like watching a violent news report. I am one of them sadly 🙂
Absolutely nothing.
Is “curvy” the code word for “bigger”? Lens isn’t “curvy” by the traditional meaning of the word. She’s rather boxy.
I don’t consider her big really, just extremely average and fashionably challenged.
Ita about calling her curvy tho.
She isn’t Vogue material and I’m not talking about her body either: insensitive commentary, racist tweets, and no natural grace or class is enough.
Adele, I get, Lena not so much.
What racist tweets?
@Spooks, last year Lena Dunham went out and ranted about how a friend of hers was being attacked for using the n-word and basically whined that white people aren’t allowed to use it. Pretty disgusting.
She’s very unfortunately shaped. Some of it is the clothes, but she just doesn’t seem curvy. I think they’re sugar coating it – but really, why even mention her size? We all have eyes. But that goes for every shape and size of woman.
If she would fix up her posture a bit, it wouldn’t be so bad.
Yeah, better posture would go a long way for her, you’re right. Also, her clothes are truly hideous. But I’m 37, so maybe I’m too old to appreciate what the kids are into these days. 🙂
You’re not missing anything. A barf-colored romper isn’t appropriate for anyone, not even an infant.
I agree curvy does not equal overweight. Also if the dinner is so secretive than how come we know about it?
Agree with both points.
She is not curvy. She has no boobs. Sophia Vergara is curvy. She is overweight. Stop sugar coating it.
Yup!
Or, if you must sugarcoat it, quit using curvy in lieu of ‘bigger’. It has its own meaning, a meaning that has almost no relation to total body size–tiny girls can be curvy, larger girls can be flat.
It drives me crazy when people stretch the word ‘curvy’ to be pseudo-PC. Either don’t talk about body shape at all (crazy thought I know), or get the damn vocab right.
Do stops really need to be pulled to get Lena on the cover?
This. The woman milked a cow in Manhattan. She adores fame. All Anna has to do is look at her and Lena will do anything.
Look at the difference between the last two pictures. That’s why Lena Dunham drives me mad. She always intentionally makes herself look worse and then gets sympathy by confirming the lie that women slightly bigger than a size zero can’t look good. Well I am much bigger/fatter than her and look tons better. I wear clothes that fit, run a brush through my hair more than once a decade, put on a bit of makeup and don’t hunch my back all the time.
It’s so annoying because whiny social justice warriors fall all over themselves to declare her some sort of role model.
Good point Layla. I think you are on to something. She tried to look bad on person so that she can be some champion. I too know lots of people who are not skinny who wear clothes really well and look really good every day for work and play. I also know lots of people who are thin who dress horribly.
Thank you!!! She is not some long suffering champion of the chubby nerds. She and her hipster douchebaggery are so contrived it makes me stabby.
also there’s no reason for her to look the way she days. those models for torrid and avenue are fierce. now those are the type of women I’d love to see on the cover of Vogue
@marina
THANK YOU. My 20-something actual hipster and creative/film industry friends in SanFran and LA and Seattle and NYC despise her or smirk at her as a try-hard.
One girl in SF calls Lena “the Honey Boo Boo of NYC.”
So Wintour thinks that by putting a non sample size woman in the cover it will sell out?
Adele is beautiful and talented, this Lena girl has nothing going on for her no matter how much they dress her up she will never anything to the fashion world. I would rather them bring grounge back than ever have to look at this woman as fashion inspiration
Lena has nothing going on for her? Um, I’m not a fan, I can take her or leave her. But I’ve seen the show and she *does* have talent. She’s the current *it* girl, I wouldn’t say she has “nothing going on for her.”
I don’t agree with her fashion choices, but the idea of people who aren’t conventional beauties getting attention makes me happy.
anna wintour seems like one of those egotistical, angry, shallow people who think they are edgy for being horrible to everyone. Like the lady from the Devil Wears Prada
Better than a Kardashian.
I’ve never seen this show before but I do admire her for being so young & doing so much in such a male dominated profession. And I love her tattoos. However, I wish she would do something with her hair. Least flattering cut I’ve seen in a while.
I have zero desire to see this girl on the cover on Vogue. I find her beyond annoying.
In the words of my girl the late Whitney Houston “Hell to the NO”
lol!! You made my day.
Seriously! If that derp face gets the cover of Vogue I will never buy another issue.
While not a fan of glow in the dark “Ross Gellar” white teeth, Dunham could sure use a good cleaning on those corn kernels of hers.
As for her on Vogue. Good. I don’t buy the magazine anyway, so Anna can put her on for all the interest I have in the magazine at this point. Wintour lost her cache to me when she started yapping about Kanye being a fashion visionary. Lol.
Not surprising. Lena and her show are the epitome of Liberal networking and Anna is known to show favoritism in that regard. But to be honest, isnt Lenas whole image basically the “anti-Vogue”? I feel like she will be selling out if she does it.
Anna knows the magazine is aging out.
New sienna miller?
Nvm that’s mean, I dislike this girl but she’s better than that and I don’t think she will be that overused by Anna
To me this is a really big “If” Wintour is really doing this.
Adele made the cover for being a beautiful girl. Who just happens to have a great voice and is a lovely person in general.
She gives great face with flawless makeup. She loves fashion. And normally wears incredible custom made dresses on any red carpet.
Plus she is a great interview.
+1
Yawn. I’m tired of people acting like Vogue is the “fashion bible” and thinking that gracing the cover of this magazine is like, something to aspire to in Hollywood. The articles are boring, the models are ridiculously thin and I personally think one could find better fashion in In Style magazine.
With that said, as long as someone else dresses her, I hope that if she ends up on the cover that her pictures look good.
YES. My sister bought me the September issue when I was in bed after surgery. I’ve never read vogue, I was really excited because I thought it’d have cute clothes and interesting articles, but it’s 1/3 ads, 1/3 stick figures and 1/3 boring articles I can’t find the next page to
Not to mention what “articles” they do have are terribly written, and anything meant to have “practical” value features items that are still so ridiculously overpriced it’s a joke to read.
Do not get this girl’s allure. I can’t believe Anna Wintour would even consider this woman for the cover.
Nooooooo . . .
I’ve been questioning the purpose of my Vogue subscription for years (I keep it out of laziness more than anything at this point), but if they put this heifer on the cover, I am done. Done.
Just to be clear, “heifer” was not meant as a jab to her weight – I just cannot stand her. She comes across as so obnoxious, overentitled, and frankly kind of bigoted and self-obsessed in many of her interviews. And I guess at 34 I’m too old to get much of the “young” cultural zeitgeist, but I cannot understand the appeal of her show for the life of me.
Faye, I’m 23 and I don’t get it either.
She comes across as boorish and rude to me.
And as for people who only like her because she doesn’t have a Hollywood body type – c’mon, she’s not the only one, let’s find someone with something worth saying to admire.
I agree…what about rebel wilson? I find her absolutely gorgeous, love her interviews, and she’s far from a typical vogue cover.
Adele may not be the size of a model but her face is STUNNING and that cover was beautiful.
I can’t stand her either. And I highly doubt Anna Wintour is trying to get her on the cover of Vogue. That just does not make sense in the universe.
LOL
I don’t get the hype of that show and I forced myself to watch a whole season.
I just don’t care for Lena and Vogue is becoming a bore.
I bet it will be one of the lowest selling issues! LMAO
Not a big Lena fan, but she’s attractive, if not traditionally beautiful. Adele is beautiful (she has that Dusty Springfield vibe) and they STILL made her pose with her gloved hands covering both sides of her face–my suspicion is that shot was meant to slim her face, which shouldn’t have needed it since she is gorgeous.
So, yeah, yay for less traditional body-types/style-types getting covers but boo for editors trying to cover them up and pretend they aren’t what they are.
I love Lena.
Enough with the bashing. She hasn’t wrecked any marriages; she’s young and ambitious and unconventional in looks and body type (for Hollywood – not real life). If you don’t like her why not move along instead of outright bashing her. I don’t get the hate.
Good for you for loving Lena. There are those of us who don’t. And unfortunately, we have to deal with having her shoved in our faces. There was a time when practically every women’s magazine I subscribe to had features on her. Anyone who follows popular culture in the media even in a vague way can’t escape her. It’s incredibly annoying if you don’t like an actor to be faced with her all the time.
I think she’s talentless, obnoxious, and if you read her interviews, myopic, self-obssessed, and kind of racist. And not nearly as clever as she thinks she is. I don’t “hate” her as a person since I don’t know her, but I hate her show, what we’ve seen of her views, and the personality that she’s displayed. Nothing wrong with stating that as long as you don’t degenerate into threats or hate speech. The world would be a very dull place if we all shared the same opinions.
Also, telling people to “move along” because they don’t share your love for her – on a site called CeleBITCHY? Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
I was under the impression this was a comments section where all opinions are welcome. I did not realize in order to comment and express an opinion on someone that you had to be a fan and praise them. My mistake!
Hahahaha I love you.
Vogue is no longer relevant; AW’s attempt to attract folks who truly don’t care about couture is a desperate attempt.
@Dusty – yes re US Vogue.
This woman is not even average looking, she’s very plain, homely even and yes too fat for Vogue.
Dunham is fast becoming this year’s AnnE Hathaway, but not because she’s homely and overweight. It’s because she’s similarly obnoxious and marginally talented as AnnE.
Anne was a bit overwhelming, but come on. She is very talented and sweet.
If your idea of constant onscreen mugging, high school-level histrionics and scenery-chewing is talent, then yes, Hathaway is very talented. Just as, I suppose, Dunham is the voice of her generation and a fashion icon.
That’s a great idea, Vogue could really use those 12 fans of Lena’s.
Why not? It would be something different. But I’d rather see Vogue find more room for non-Caucasian actresses and models first, tbh.
Good point about women of color. Has our girl Kerry Washington ever been on the cover?
Or Viola Davis
lupita! she looks great every time i see her and no one can say theyve read a ton of articles on her
I feel like the cut of the clothes (especially gowns) is always wrong on her. I don’t think she’s as thick as she looks, I think she is wearing the wrong clothes a lot of the time.
After Michael K at Dlisted mentioned that she looks like a Mercer Mayer character, I can no longer unsee it.
It’s UNCANNY! That’s all I see too
If this means that Lena will wear some clothes that actually fit properly and are flattering to her figure and coloring, I’m all for it.
I don’t watch Girls, so don’t really know much about her. But does anyone else think she looks like a chubby (and less smug) Emma Watson?
I actually love the colors & fabric in the first photo, but hate it as a red carpet dress. Plus it’s an odd fit on her.
If this is true, I don’t really get the choice of Lena. I don’t think she’s as popular as Anna or the media thinks, and she doesn’t seem at all interested in fashion. I don’t see her bringing a younger crowd to the magazine.
If they’d like to feature some women who are built like typical models, how about some “plus sized” models?
Well said.
Only problem is that Lena doesn’t have half the fans as Adele. Adele is funny, charming, seems very nice and actually very beautiful. Lena is off putting, tries to be funny but comes off as rude, and I’m sorry to say, frumpy and painfully unattractive. I can see any amounts of make up helping that girl. Plus I swear to god she goes out of her way to dress that way. She wants to look like she is some cool hipster girl who is above fashion and just looks like an idiot.
If Lena is on the cover it won’t be the seller they want it to be. Girl is simply unlikable. Which makes me sad because I love seeing women do well, but everytime I read an interview with her i like her less and less. She is NO Tina Fey.
Dunham has been trying lately, but as the above photos prove, if she’s the fashion icon of her generation, then her generation is blind.
Huh. I wonder if the suits and more pulled-together looks Dunham has been photographed in lately have something to do with this presumed cover?
whoar haters relax & try appreciating different perspectives! I and obviously many others find LD’s talent hilariously nuanced and truthful. I totally get why she might need to be wooed as seeing her sell out her inspiring honesty for a dangerously superficial org like Vogue would be disappointing to some.
Girls appeals to many of my friends. We are 26, and many of us newly married with a baby, some working on careers, and some are perpetually stuck in high school. Boys and “drama” are the only thing in their head-space. They rely on parental funds to get through life. They don’t like to work hard, and are insufferable to be around. They seem to always have money lying around and get fork-lifted out of any problems that arise in their lives. They often get funded to live in NYC somehow as well. They LOVE “Girls” and that is why I won’t watch it. It seems like the SATC girls in their younger years. Read: more vain, petty, and self-centered that their older counterparts. Lena is so annoying to me and her face irritates the living SHIT out of me to boot. GAH!
I try not to trash peoples looks often but I just find Lena really unattractive. My issue with her is mostly her choice in clothing and her facial expressions. Yuck.
I’m of the minority here, but I view Girls as a mockery of how selfish and frivolous the characters and their issues are. This is just my opinion of having watched both seasons, but I don’t think Lena’s intentions are to have pity and sympathy for the characters and their petty issues. If anything, I think the show demonstrates how trivial the characters’ matters are and their realizations of it as the show has progressed.
I get why people say it’s whiney when the characters have been supported by their parents through college. I’m younger than the intended age of the characters and supported myself through grad school. However, I think Lena emphasizes that the characters have taken this for granted.
I agree! YAY for someone seeing the show the way I do, lol.
I think she made them navel gazers as a starting point!!!! They weren’t supposed to be fully evolved human beings, the show was to show the evolution as they transition from GIRLS to WOMEN, hence the title. I don’t think it is the best show ever, but I find it interesting.
So let me get this straight–it’s like pulling teeth to get Anna Wintour to put an actress or model of color on the cover of her rag, but she’s “pulling out all the stops” to sell us this clueless, racist, self-obsessed lump?
This is why I don’t read Vogue.
Why? Lena no. Kristen Stewart was on the February issue so watch for Lena covering that month too.
I really love her. I watched Girls by chance when it first came out before I knew anything about her, but was shocked when I got to the credits and read that she wrote in, directed, and starred in the series. As a creative woman in her late 20’s, who doesn’t fit all the societal standards of beautiful, she is an inspiration!
What a load of b*tchery in this thread. 99% of female celebrities are absolutely useless and talentless apart from pouting, eating bugger all and being completely self obsessed. I love Lena Dunham. She’s a true original in a sea of bad female role models. Can’t wait for Girls Season 3.
I also like Lena. She is definitely not lazy or talentless, regardless of her family money or connections. She did write, direct and stars in her own show, which people must like since she is winning awards. I also do not think that people get that her show is meant to be SATIRE! She is showcasing the lifestyle of young New York hipsters with their parents money. It is supposed to make you roll your eyes at how self centered they are. That is the point. Just like Entourage or Sex In The City also sometimes did. It is meant to be ridiculous. Lena has a very twisted, offbeat and often dark sense of humor. She is actually very self-depricating as well. That may not be for everyones tastes, but that does not make her untalented. As for her looks, she is a regular girl. She dresses unfortunate sometimes, but that is her deal, who cares?? Vogue is a waste of trees at this point, so who cares either way.
If no one gets that your show is meant to be satire, I think that means you’re not a very good writer/creator.
I don’t blame Victoria Beckham for crying.
I look at Dunham and I’m just…
Well…
I don’t expect her to be a supermodel or anything like that, but Jesus talk about hideous hair and that hideous tattoo, her facial expressions, fashion sense.
Those last two outfits in the photos.
Yuck!
I’ve nursed retirees in nursing homes that have dressed better than her. Seriously.
That famous older model Carmen Dell’orefice is 82 and looks much better [I’d rather see Carmen the cover].
I’m a day behind on my gossip as its been super busy here.
This pisses me off. I’m not body shaming Lena but I am fashion shaming her. Vogue is supposed to be the crème de le crème of fashion magazines and Lena Dunham is not worthy. In fact there have been a lot of unworthy people making the cover in recent years (for eg Jessica Biel). I personally feel that Anna Wintour has lost her edge. I think she needs to step down and that Grace Coddington needs to be made editor. Grace has beautiful vision and she doesn’t pander to celebrity the way Anna has been lately. For eg, 5 years ago Kim Kardashian would NEVER have been invited to the MET Ball but this year Anna Wintour allowed her to come to appease Kanye (even if she did have her removed from the online photos). The MET Ball is supposed to be prestigious, it’s not for women who release s*x tapes that end with them getting peed on.
The article also implies that because Adele made the cover, Lena should to. Umm no, Adele is on a whole other level. She may be larger than most Vogue cover girls but she is gorgeous, fashionable, well groomed, talented, likable, funny and she has a huge fan base.
Australian Vogue is much better than US Vogue now
she’s got a pretty face…a I can actually see her progress as an actress. I would love to see her opposite j law that would be hoot!
Just popped into say, PLEASE, don’t ever stop using that awful open-mouthed photo as the thumbnail.
Thanks. 🙂