The Cleo Tee
Photographed by Maddy Rotman
Assisted by Ma’ayan Amit and Isabelle Passaglia
Worn by old friends and new
Made by hand, for day and night
Yours today
@lenadunham made a career out of hypervulnerability. On the cusp of 40—and armed with a new memoir that peers back at her own heavily scrutinized youth—she’s finally letting us in again.
In her new memoir, ‘Famesick,’ the CULT100 cover star—and writer, director, actor, voice of her generation reveals the full extremity of the highs—and lows—to which ‘Girls’ propelled her at the age of 25, detailing the pressure, addiction, and chronic illness tied to her endometriosis and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome diagnoses that ensued.
The book is a portrait of fame and its costs, but also an investigation into how it’s nothing short of excruciating to be young and in possession of a complicated body and complicated relationships. With its arrival, Dunham seems to be signaling a willingness to start playing “Lena Dunham” for us again. She is still staying off Twitter, but she did get on Substack last year. And her next projects will give die-hard ‘Girls’ fans the chance to grow up alongside her. Her rom-com with Natalie Portman, who plays a 40-something therapist dating on both ends of an age gap, is currently in post-production. Dunham’s relief about reaching life’s fourth floor is palpable: “I feel like I’m getting closer to what my inner persona always was—a weird old woman in knitwear on the street,” she tells @deeeliacai in her cover story.
Link in bio to read the profile, and order your copy of the 2026 CULT100 issue before the full list drops.
1/ Lena wears a top by @simonerocha_
3/ Suit, tie, and pin by @willychavarria with a shirt by @kennethcole .
Editor-in-Chief: @sarahgharrelson
Words: @deeeliacai
Photography: @maddyrotman
Styling: @dionemdavis
Prop Styling: @bailey.rose.brown
Hair: @peterbutlerhair
Makeup Artist: @itsmatin
Tailor: @chl0e.box
Production: @mayyamiro for @noted.collective
Casting: @specialprojectsmedia
Makeup: @valentino.beauty
// The 100 individuals on CULTURED’s third annual CULT100 list span disciplines and generations. Some are household names, others operate behind the scenes. All of them are choosing risk over reward, curiosity over cynicism, and are shaping culture in real time. Each offers something that the algorithm never will. //
