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Andrew Rannells Says Brief Romance With Anderson Cooper Inspired His Girls Storyline

Rannells has publicly confirmed a decades‑old, short relationship and said he told Girls creators the anecdote that later informed Elijah’s plotline on HBO.

Overview

  • Andrew Rannells told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed podcast that when he was about 25 he had a very brief romantic relationship with Anderson Cooper and that he shared the story with Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner.
  • Rannells said the anecdote informed the Dill HarcourtElijah storyline on HBO’s Girls, explaining creators used his experience as a basis for that plot thread.
  • This is Rannells’ first public confirmation of the romance after years of fan and press speculation when the Dill character appeared on the show in 2016.
  • Media outlets have contacted Cooper for comment but there is no new public response from him; his 2016 remark to the New York Post said he would be 'flattered' and that he is a friend of Rannells.
  • Corey Stoll, who played Dill, has previously said he did not base the character on any public figure and both men have since moved on to long-term relationships and family lives.