Girls cast: Where are the stars of Lena Dunham's hit series now?
The HBO comedy has numerous notable alumni – including the creator and star herself.
Lena Dunham became an overnight superstar with the launch of her HBO series Girls, which earned acclaim for its edgy and distinct sense of humour.
Although the show's handling of some themes and its lack of diversity have come under fire, Girls certainly still holds a place in the heart of its core fandom, some of whom have recently devoured Dunham's follow-up project Too Much.
The series is a notable departure from Girls in terms of tone, telling crowds at a panel for the launch of Too Much that her primary goal was to spread "love and joy and hope" – which couldn't be said about her earlier HBO hit.
She recalled of Girls (via THR): "I was like, 'I don’t care if anyone feels any joy or hope, I just hope that they think it's crazy'. [But] now I really wanted to make something that was unifying and loving and at the end of the day hopeful."
If you're interested in revisiting Girls, or trying it out for the first time, read on for everything you need to know about the cast – including what they're doing now.
Girls cast: Where are the stars of Lena Dunham's hit series now?
Here's a quick rundown of the main Girls cast over the years – read on for more details on each character and the actor playing them, including what they've been up to since the series concluded.
- Lena Dunham as Hannah Helene Horvath
- Allison Williams as Marnie Marie Michaels
- Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson
- Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro
- Adam Driver as Adam Sackler
- Alex Karpovsky as Raymond 'Ray' Ploshansky
- Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Desi Harper
- Jake Lacy as Fran Parker
Lena Dunham as Hannah Helene Horvath
Who is Hannah Horvath? Hannah is one of the lead characters in Girls; an aspiring writer living in New York City, whose unpredictable and at times irresponsible decision-making can land her in tricky situations.
Where is Lena Dunham now? Following the conclusion of Girls in 2017, Dunham moved behind the camera to work as a writer-director on shows like Camping (devising a full remake of the Julia Davis original) and Industry (helming the first episode of the BBC/HBO co-production). Dunham also wrote and directed two feature films, Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy, the latter of which starred The Last of Us breakout Bella Ramsey.
Most recently, she has created romcom Too Much for Netflix, which is loosely inspired by her own life. Dunham takes a supporting role in the new series; other post-Girls on-camera credits include Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and European tragicomedy Treasure.
Allison Williams as Marnie Marie Michaels
Who is Marnie? Marnie is one of Hannah's closest friends. While she appears ambitious at the start of the series, her selfish behaviour ultimately wreaks havoc on her career and romantic relationships.
Where is Alison Williams now? As the final season of Girls was unfolding on HBO, Williams launched a film career with Jordan Peele's acclaimed horror flick Get Out, which scored four Academy Award nominations at that year's ceremony (winning one). She would find further success in the genre with Blumhouse's tongue-in-cheek slasher M3GAN, returning for a less successful sequel earlier this year.
On the small screen, her post-Girls credits include Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events and acclaimed Showtime miniseries Fellow Travellers; an LGBTQ+ period drama co-starring White Collar's Matt Bomer and Jurassic World's Jonathan Bailey.
Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson
Who is Jessa? Jessa is another member of Hannah's social circle, who has one of the most tumultuous storylines in the series, including struggles with drug addiction and major conflict over her romantic choices.
Where is Jemima Kirke now? Kirke followed up Girls with Netflix's darkly comedic miniseries Maniac, where she appeared alongside Jonah Hill and Emma Stone. Kirke would return to Netflix for the third season of Sex Education, where she played Hope Haddon, the formidable new headmistress of Moordale Secondary.
Most recently, she has appeared in BBC Three's Sally Rooney adaptation Conversations with Friends and Apple TV+ thriller City on Fire, which was cancelled after its first season.
Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro
Who is Shoshanna? Shoshanna is Jessa's cousin and the youngest member of the group, who is still studying at university when the series begins. She is notably more naive and trepidatious than the other three girls to begin with.
Where is Zosia Mamet now? After Girls wrapped up, Mamet teamed up with The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco for her two-season comedy-drama The Flight Attendant and a guest spot on her animated Harley Quinn series.
More recently, she appeared opposite Derry Girls star Saoirse-Monica Jackson in Netflix's The Decameron and Academy Award nominee Stephanie Hsu in short-lived sitcom Laid. Her feature film projects include infamous 2024 flop Madame Web, where she played hacker Amaria.
Adam Driver as Adam Sackler
Who is Adam? At the start of the series, Adam is an up-and-coming actor and part-time carpenter, in the midst of a casual romance with Hannah.
Where is Adam Driver now? One of the most prominent figures to come out of Girls, Driver landed the villainous role of Kylo Ren in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy, appearing in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as well as footage for the Rise of Resistance ride at Disneyland.
Alongside his franchise obligations, Driver earned critical acclaim for roles in Logan Lucky, BlacKkKlansman and Marriage Story, including Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for the latter two films. More recently, he has collaborated with Ridley Scott on The Last Duel and House of Gucci, Michael Mann on Ferrari and Francis Ford Coppola on Megalopolis.
Alex Karpovsky as Raymond 'Ray' Ploshansky
Who is Ray? Ray is a friend of Marnie's ex-boyfriend, who ultimately becomes close with her and her wider group, providing somewhat of a voice of reason.
Where is Alex Karpovsky now? Following the Girls series finale, Karpovsky moved on to the role of Craig in Prime Video thriller Homecoming. In 2020, he also took a guest role in Larry David's beloved sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, before joining the cast of Peacock miniseries Angelyne, which was based on The Hollywood Reporter's investigations into the 1980s star.
Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz
Who is Elijah? Elijah is Hannah's ex-boyfriend. Their relationship failed primarily as he was secretly gay, with his coming out proving a difficult thing for her to get over, but a closer bond is ultimately forged out of the admission.
Where is Andrew Rannells now? Rannells recently reunited with Dunham for her brand new Netflix series Too Much, where he again plays the ex-partner to her character. The actor has been rather busy since Girls wound down, with projects including Netflix's crude animation Big Mouth, Don Cheadle comedy-drama Black Monday, factual miniseries Welcome to Chippendales and Prime Video's superhero epic Invincible.
Rannells has also bagged roles in feature films A Simple Favour and its 2025 sequel, plus Ryan Murphy productions The Boys in the Band and The Prom, both of which were theatre adaptations. Rannells and Girls co-star Mamet can be heard as Veneer and his assistant Crimp in Dreamworks' family favourite Trolls Band Together.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Desi Harper
Who is Desi? Desi joined the Girls cast in the show's third season, when he was introduced as Marnie's bandmate and a potential romantic interest.
Where is Ebon Moss-Bachrach now? Moss-Bachrach is riding a career high at the moment, following an acclaimed performance as Richie on culinary comedy-drama The Bear, which paved the way for his casting as Ben Grimm aka The Thing in Marvel's Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The 2025 blockbuster is actually Moss-Bachrach's second MCU role after playing Micro, a frequent ally of The Punisher, in Netflix's short-lived vigilante series (featuring his future The Bear co-star Jon Bernthal). His other credits include Jennifer Lawrence comedy No Hard Feelings, Star Wars series Andor and true crime drama The Dropout.
Jake Lacy as Fran Parker
Who is Fran? A late addition to the series, Fran first appeared in the fourth season of Girls; he is one of Hannah's colleagues, with whom she strikes up a romantic connection.
Where is Jake Lacy now? Lacy garnered much attention for his performance in the first season of The White Lotus, where he played arrogant and entitled estate agent Shane, who was on his honeymoon with journalist Rachel (Alexandra Daddario). He followed that up with a lead role in chilling true crime drama A Friend of the Family and mystery miniseries Apples Never Fall, where he appeared opposite screen legends Annette Bening and Sam Neill.
His recent film credits include Dwayne Johnson's video game adaptation Rampage, slapstick comedy Johnny English Strikes Again and Hollywood biopic Being the Ricardos.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
