Who Is Bo Burnham's Girlfriend? All About Lorene Scafaria
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Bo Burnham keeps his personal life exceptionally private, so it might come as a surprise that he's in a relationship with director Lorene Scafaria — and they've been dating since 2013!
The comedian-turned-director was friends with Scafaria for a while before things turned romantic for the couple in 2013. While it's not clear how Burnham and Scafaria met, they've shown plenty of support for each other over the years and shared much about each other's creative endeavors.
In fact, Scafaria's accomplishments have included writing and directing several major motion pictures, like 2019's Hustlers. The film, which garnered numerous award nominations, received praise from Burnham, who commended Scafaria for her dedication to the flick.
"I have had a front row seat to the making of this movie, having lived with the genius who made it as she struggled to convince people that this was a movie worth making — and furthermore, that she should direct it," Burnham wrote on Instagram. "This movie is brilliant and warm and funny and sexy just like the woman who made it. I love this movie and I love her."
So who is Bo Burnham's girlfriend? Here's everything to know about Lorene Scafaria.
She works in the film industry
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Scafaria is an accomplished writer, director and producer that has major credits to her name. She directed Jennifer Lopez's Golden Globe-nominated performance in Hustlers, which earned Scafaria a nomination for best director at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2020.
She was also in the director's chair for 2012's Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and an episode of Succession in 2021. Scafaria has also written films like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist as well as The Meddler, which was based on her real-life relationship with her mother.
She previously dated Ashton Kutcher and Adam Brody
Prior to dating Burnham, Scafaria dated both Adam Brody and Ashton Kutcher. Scafaria was first spotted with Brody in late 2009, and the couple made their final appearance together at theScream 4 premiere in April 2011, splitting sometime after.
Scafaria was later linked to Kutcher towards the end of 2011. While the pair were reportedly just friends in the beginning, their connection appeared to grow romantic by March 2012. It's unclear just when they split, but Kutcher began dating Mila Kunis later that year.
She grew up in New Jersey but moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s
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Scafaria grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Montclair State University with an English degree and a theater minor. After college, she moved to New York City to pursue an entertainment career and ended up answering phones at a production company. At the same time, Scafaria began submitting scripts to agents — when she received her first rejection letter from an agent, she was so excited to have actually heard back from someone that she hung the letter on the wall.
Despite the initial rejection, the agent reconsidered and, after a positive meeting in Los Angeles, suggested that Scafaria move to the West Coast. Unfortunately, by the time Scafaria arrived, the agent had started working at a bigger agency that wasn't as suited to support a new writer. Instead of quitting, Scafaria pushed onward and soon began selling her scripts.
She's been writing since she was young
Scafaria says she's been writing for as long as she can remember, and as a little girl, she always had a pen in her hand. During a 2005 interview, she admitted that she used to write book reports about fake novels in grade school, but "inventing" the title, characters and story helped foster her passion for writing.
In high school, she became interested in acting and began writing plays along with fiction. She put up her first play when she was just 17 at an art house movie theater in New Jersey. Soon after, she fell in love with directing and producing.
She released two albums called Garden Party and Laughter and Forgetting
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During the Writers Guild of America strike from 2007 to 2008, Scafaria took a detour from her career in film and recorded some original music. During a 2008 interview, she said she turned to music because she was "losing her mind, out of boredom and panic" during the strike.
Scafaria released her album Garden Party in 2009, which featured songs that she both sang and played the piano. Her song "28" even ended up in the closing credits of the Drew Barrymore film Whip It. In 2010, she released her second album Laughter and Forgetting.
She has been dating Burnham since 2013
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It's not clear how Scafaria and Burnham first met, but the pair have been friends for a while, first interacting on Twitter in 2011. They began dating sometime in 2013, and although they've never given insight into their exact anniversary date, Burnham referred to Scafaria as his "girlfriend of five years" in 2018.
The couple also began appearing on each other's Instagram accounts in 2013 when Scafaria shared a photo of Burnham at a reading for his book Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone. Scafaria appears to have attended some of Burnham's shows earlier that year.
At some point a few years into their relationship, Scafaria and Burnham moved into their own home in L.A., where they currently live along with their dogs, Bruce and Ramona.
She and Burnham have a 12-year age gap
Scafaria and Burnham were born 12 years apart, with Scafaria having been born in 1978 and Burnham in 1990. While their age difference doesn't appear to play a large role in their relationship, TIME wrote that Burnham credits Scafaria for using her experience to show him "some of the Hollywood ropes."
Burnham dedicated his comedy special Inside to her
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Burnham dedicated his 2021 comedy special Bo Burnham: Insideto his longtime girlfriend. At the end of the special, the dedication "for lor, for everything" flashed across the screen. Scafaria also celebrated Burnham's accomplishment on Instagram, writing "a year in the making," alongside a promotional image for the special.
In 2019, Burnham also acknowledged Scafaria during his acceptance speech at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. After winning best first screenplay for his film Eighth Grade, he said, "To my girlfriend, Lorene Scafaria, who's here. She's a writer-director, and I was inspired to do this by watching her work, so thank you."