Lena Dunham is officially a mom.
The “Girls” creator, actress and author, 40, and her husband, Luis Felber, 40, have welcomed their first child together, a daughter, via surrogate.
Dunham shared the news in an op-ed published by Vogue on Wednesday, Sept. 16, detailing her journey toward motherhood and the experience of meeting her daughter for the first time.
Dunham Shares All the Details
In the essay, Dunham described the final moments before her daughter’s arrival, including the anticipation she felt while waiting for the baby she had spent so much time preparing for. She even found herself shopping for baby clothes before her daughter was born.
Her daughter eventually arrived 13 days after her expected due date.
“And then, 13 days late, in the face of a solar eclipse and a meteor shower, she announced herself. I sat on a hospital bed, between the legs of a woman I hadn’t known a year ago, waiting for a glimpse of this person who I had been waiting for with something related to patience, but also none at all. I was so focused on our surrogate—in awe at her concentration, her period of quiet followed by what sounded like a roar—I forgot to look down until I heard our baby’s cry. I saw her face, gasping just as she did. Her eyes, wide and unfocused, taking in the light and shadow, blinking rapidly.”
The midwife then encouraged Dunham to speak to her newborn daughter.
“Talk to her,” the midwife said. “Say hello.”
“‘Hello,” I said. ‘I’m your mama. You…you look nothing like I thought you would, but exactly right. We’ve been waiting for you, do you know that? It was so nice of you to come,’” Dunham wrote.
Dunham and Felber married in September 2021, with Dunham confirming their wedding date on Instagram shortly after the ceremony. “92521 – that’s how she became the nanny…” she captioned a wedding photo.
She Has Been Open About Her Fertility Struggles
The couple’s journey to parenthood follows years of Dunham being open about her reproductive health. In 2017, she underwent a hysterectomy at age 31 after experiencing severe endometriosis.
The following year, Dunham revealed that she had surgery involving her remaining ovary, which she said was “encased in scar tissue and fibrosis, attached to my bowel and pressing on nerves that made it kinda hard to walk/pee/vamp,” according to PEOPLE.
Dunham previously spoke about the emotional impact of the hysterectomy during an April appearance on “Today with Jenna and Sheinelle.” She explained that her mother’s “full support” helped her through the decision.
“It’s interesting because the framing is that you make a choice to do this, but if you’re in pain 24 hours a day, it isn’t really a choice because no one can live like that,” Dunham said. “And what breaks my heart is there are so many people who are living like that because the delay to diagnosis for endometriosis averages 10 years.”
Although Dunham had long imagined becoming a mother, she said she eventually became excited about the possibility of building a family in a different way.
“The amazing thing is, since then, I have met so many people who built their families in so many different ways, and I have really come to a place where I feel really excited,” she said. “Whatever way it happens, I will feel so grateful.”
Now, Dunham and Felber have welcomed their daughter and begun a new chapter as parents.
