Lena Dunham, Megyn Kelly Make Variety’s ‘New Power of New York’ List

DunhamKelly3
Getty Images

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Girls star and showrunner Lena Dunham, Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones, Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith, late-night host Jimmy Fallon and Grammy Award-winning musician Alicia Keys are among those featured in Hollywood trade publication Variety‘s 2016 “New Power of New York” list.

The outlet’s list, which spotlights the “movers and shakers upending the entertainment business in Manhattan and beyond,” was released Tuesday and also features former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, CNN anchor Don Lemon, actresses Michelle Williams and Kate McKinnon, documentary filmmakers Laura Poitras and Alex Gibney and Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Honorees like Dunham, Kelly, Jones and Smith each received short tributes written by their fellow media colleagues.

Girls writer-director Jenni Konner penned the tribute to Dunham.

“Things you may not know that Lena loves: injured dogs, wallpaper, the moment she’s allowed to change into her own clothes after a nude scene, apologizing when she’s done something she knows merits it, pissing off men who remind her of her grandpa, buying tons of tiny things for my kids, justice, babies,” Konner wrote of her collaborator on the HBO program.

“She still has some secrets. She might share them with you one day. Or maybe she’ll keep them to herself. Either way, she still has a hell of a lot left to say,” Konner added.

Kelly — who was honored at Variety‘s “Power of Women” luncheon in New York earlier this year — received a tribute written by Judge Judy Scheinlin, of Judge Judy fame.

“Megyn Kelly is one of those rare women who seamlessly combines professional excellence and family,” Scheinlin wrote of the Fox News host. “I think Megyn has the talent to do anything she wants to do. She is a star and she’s still growing. I’m as old as Methuselah. She’s a kid. Her opportunities are only limited by her dreams.”

Meanwhile, Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker editor David Remnick lauded Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith, whom he called “politically astute and personally intelligent;” Dunham celebrated actress Leslie Jones, calling her stage presence on Saturday Night Live “witty, wise and utterly original;” and Bill Clinton praised his daughter Chelsea for taking a “leading role in modernizing our operations” at the Clinton Foundation.

View Variety‘s complete “New Power New York” list here.

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.