Lesley Arfin (born 1979) is an American comedy writer and author.
Life
Arfin was born to a Jewish family in 1979 in
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
. She attended Syosset High School and
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...
.
Career
Lesley Arfin was a contributor to ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
'' from 2001, but left in 2007, after publication of her book ''Dear Diary'', based on a column she wrote for ''Vice'' magazine, which was published by Vice Books. In 2008, she became the editor-in-chief of ''
Missbehave
''Missbehave'' was a Brooklyn-based women's magazine that was produced from 2006 until March 2009. It covered fashion, music, art and pop culture. Columnists included Kelis, Matt Goias, Sarah Morrison and Lesley Arfin and regularly featured mode ...
''.
Arfin went on to become a staff writer for the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
TV series ''
Girls
A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...
''. From there, she worked on the TV series ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
''. Arfin received sole writing credit for the
Halloween-themed episode in the first season.
With Paul Rust and
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...
, she created the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
''. Arfin drew on her own past in dealing with
alcohol addiction
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
while writing for ''Love''.
Arfin is currently the host of the Earios podcast ''Filling the Void'', about hobbies that bring people joy. She also wrote and executive produced Season 1 of the HBO series
''Betty'', which was released in 2020.
Personal life
Arfin wrote about being addicted to heroin and going to rehab in her book ''Dear Diary''.
Arfin married actor and writer
Paul Rust
Paul Robert Rust (born April 12, 1981) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film ''I Love You, Beth Cooper'' and in the Netflix series ''Love''.
Early life
Rust was born in Le Mars, Iowa, the son of Jeanne and Bob R ...
in 2015. In October 2017, she gave birth to their daughter, Mary James.
[Jen Juneau]
"Paul Rust and Lesley Arfin Welcome Daughter Mary James"
''People'', Oct. 17, 2017
Bibliography
*''Dear Diary'',
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arfin, Lesley
American television writers
People from Long Island
Writers from New York City
1979 births
Living people
Hampshire College alumni
21st-century American women writers
American women television writers
American comedy writers
20th-century American Jews
Screenwriters from New York (state)
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American Jews
20th-century American women