I’ve received some flack for this, but it’s hard to cover this story without admitting that I didn’t really like “Girls”. I watched the whole first season and found it self indulgent and hard to watch. A lot of that may be down to the fact that I hate seeing arguments that seem real, and I’ll admit there was a kind of real grittiness to the show. I’m not the target demographic, and I can see how people enjoy it and find it refreshingly different from other shows, particularly about young women. It’s honest I’ll give it that.

So that’s part of the reason why I’m shaking my head looking at these photos of pregnant British actress Jemima Kirke, 27, posing in her underwear and looking very much like the character she plays, Jessa, on Girls. I learned a few things from this interview in Vice Magazine (link NSFW) with Jemima/Jessa. She went to school with Girls creator Lena Dunham and had her acting debut in Dunham’s movie, Tiny Furniture. Then she went on to play Jessa without any other acting experience. She’s also an artist, which is what she considers her main job, and admits to partying and being self destructive as a young woman. She seems to have grown quite a bit since then, as she’s now married and has her second child on the way. This very p0rny photoshoot isn’t doing much to separate her from the character she plays, but maybe that’s the point. (There’s even a NSFW topless photo in which she’s showering and has her mouth open suggestively. Gross.) Here’s some of what she told Vice:

You offered me bumps [of cocaine] off your keys while you were peeing on the toilet. [The journalist and Jemima were both 18 at a club] And I recall thinking, Who the hell is this girl? Then when I saw the show and watched you doing the same thing, minus the drugs, it brought it all back.
The character I play is not so far from me. I mean, fundamentally she is, and some of her behavior might have been taken from things I’ve done, but—

But now you’re 27 years old and about to be the mother of two. How did this happen? Most people our age who grew up in the city are still kind of f’ing around—living at home and not pursuing any of their passions, if they even had any to begin with.
I think that way of life stopped working for me really quickly. Some people know how to balance things, at least enough to be able to continue messing around, but I didn’t. I was very all-or-nothing about it, and you burn out really quickly if you keep going that way. It really f*ked me.

How did you get into acting?
My friend Lena [Dunham] asked me to be in a movie that she was making with her parents’ money called Tiny Furniture. She didn’t have enough to pay anyone, and I guess it was slim pickings, so she asked me to be part of it and it was a success. Afterward she was offered the TV show and invited me to work on it. I never thought it’d go as far as it has.

How has this sudden fame changed your life?
One of the best parts is that I can sufficiently support my kids. At my age that’s pretty hard to do without struggling or taking money from my parents, and I don’t have to do either. But it has taken a lot of time and energy away from my work as an artist.

Would a career in art be preferable to what you’re doing now?
Acting is secondary—I don’t feel like it’s going to stick around because it’s not something I want to do forever. My art has always been my top priority and I have far more experience in that field than I do in film. It’s hard to explain without sounding like a dick. I’m not that person. I’m really grateful for such enjoyable work, I just don’t feel as though I have any clout as an actor. I haven’t earned it, and I don’t intend to.

How did you and your husband, Mike, meet?
Really short story, actually: We met in a doctor’s office. I had bronchitis, and I don’t remember what he was there for, but I liked him and gave him my number. We’ve been together for four years and married for three of them…

What’s your take on the theory that girls secretly love to date assholes?
I think it’s a phase and something you grow out of. That kind of game gets really old, hopefully sooner rather than later. I loved that when I was younger, but my husband is the perfect example of what I think is hot now. He’s the kindest, most humble man in the world but still has that bad-boy glint in his eyes. He could be an asshole if he wanted to, but he isn’t—he knows how to treat the woman he loves.

How would you feel if you had a son and he turned out like Adam, Hannah’s boyfriend on the show? Or if your daughter began dating a guy like him? He doesn’t seem that bad once you get to know him, but he’s a f’ing mess.
If my son turned out like that I’d actually be proud! He’s a smart and intuitive guy once you get to know him, but he’s really dark and that can be incredibly seductive and potent. I’d be worried if my daughter ended up with someone like that and would hope she was in a good place prior to getting involved, because that type of darkness can destroy a person.

Do you feel that living in such an abrasive place has shaped you in any way?
People tend to say that living here you grow up too quickly, but I don’t necessarily agree. It just depends on the person. If someone is going to gravitate toward bad things in the city they’re also just as likely to do the same in the suburbs to a certain degree.

It definitely seems to have worked out for you.
Yes! I promise I still would have been a disaster in the suburbs, too. In the city I had access to bars, parties, and drugs, but even if I lived on the outskirts I probably would’ve been cutting up pills in my bedroom.

It was just your path.
Yeah, that was just me. I don’t think location would have mattered. I wasn’t pissed at my parents, and I wasn’t a brat, so I don’t feel the city really changed me in that way. [pause] Oh, Lindsay [Lohan] strikes again! I’m reading the Post and she f’ing hit a pedestrian again with her SUV.

[From Vice]

The article ended with that Lohan bit, which I found funny. It seemed like an intentional contrast to this story of a former bad girl turned young mother of two. Some people grow up, and some people don’t. I’m wondering now whether Lena saw Jemima’s marriage to that guy she met at the doctor’s office as sudden and impulsive, similar to how Jessa’s marriage was portrayed as at the conclusion of this season. If Girls is cribbed from Lena’s own life, how does she make sure she doesn’t offend her friends and family by weaving their stories into her work? In Jemima’s case she gave her this sweet job, but I bet she’s made some enemies along the way too.

As for this photoshoot, I’m just going to say it looks like Terry Richardson shot it. These are by a guy named Richard Kern, and a quick Google search reveals that he shoots women like they’re in American Apparel ads, only p0rnier. He also does work for GQ and Playboy. When female celebrities are posing for something like this, do they just get caught up in the moment, or do they have doubts like “oh sh*t what am I doing?” Jemima doesn’t look like she does at all, but I’m reminded of Dianna Agron of Glee posing for Terry Richardson. She didn’t look as into it as Lea Michele by any means.