Gabe Dunn

Dunn attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He majored in Multimedia Journalism, graduating in 2009.{{cite web |author=Goodman |first=Elyssa |date=December 4, 2009 |title=Gaby Dunn and the Pursuit of Comedy: Featured Female Start-Up |url=http://www.hercampus.com/career/gaby-dunn-and-pursuit-comedy-featured-female-start |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201205051/http://www.hercampus.com/career/gaby-dunn-and-pursuit-comedy-featured-female-start |archive-date=December 1, 2014 |access-date=October 21, 2012 |website=Her Campus |publisher=}}

Dunn began performing during his first year at Emerson with the sketch comedy troupe Chocolate Cake City (CCC). Dunn had wanted to audition for CCC, but was too scared to do so until he was urged to take the audition slot of a former boyfriend who had become sick the day before and could not perform. His audition was successful and he became a member of the troupe. At the time he considered himself a better writer than actor, and working in CCC allowed him to do both, since members were expected to write and perform their own sketches.

During his second year at Emerson, Dunn began a two-year stint as a crime reporter for The Boston Globe. He worked the 6:30 pm – 2:30 am shift, using a police scanner to monitor potential news items, and then driving to the scene of the crime to write about it. After his junior year, Dunn worked as an intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.{{cite web |author=Botwinick |first=Simeon |date=April 1, 2011 |title=From the Top 5 Cutest Maccabeats to 100 Interviews in 1 Year: 15 Questions with Gaby Dunn |url=http://admin2.collegepublisher.com/preview/mobile/2.2469/1.2132653 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119150758/http://admin2.collegepublisher.com/preview/mobile/2.2469/1.2132653 |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=October 21, 2012 |work=The Commentator |publisher=Yeshiva University}}

In October 2010, Dunn created 100 Interviews, a Tumblr blog in which he intended to publish transcripts of 100 interviews, given over the course of a single year, with a variety of different people. Interview subjects included a transgender person, a rocket scientist, an Abraham Lincoln expert, and Stephen Colbert.{{cite web |author=Dunn |first=Gaby |date=September 20, 2010 |title=The Finished List |url=http://100interviews.com/post/1162816286/thelist |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103160548/http://100interviews.com/post/1162816286/thelist |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |access-date=October 21, 2012 |work=100 Interviews |publisher=}} His initial inspiration for the project stemmed from his personal desire to meet different people and hear their stories. However, Dunn also wanted to offer readers the opportunity to "vicariously meet people" whose lives were different from his own.

Because 100 Interviews was an independent project, Dunn sometimes solicited interviews with candidates in non-traditional and unexpected ways. Children's horror author R. L. Stine agreed to sit for an interview after Dunn "cold-tweeted" him on Twitter.{{cite web |author=Weinmann |first=Karlee |date=October 26, 2011 |title=How Gaby Dunn Self-Promoted Her Way To Internet Fame |url=https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/how-gabby-dunn-self-promoted-her-way-to-internet-fame |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227131314/http://www.openforum.com/articles/how-gabby-dunn-self-promoted-her-way-to-internet-fame/ |archive-date=December 27, 2012 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |work=American Express |publisher=}} After trying and failing to interview Colbert by crashing a $2,000-a-plate dinner gala,{{cite web |author=Dunn |first=Gaby |date=April 12, 2011 |title=I crashed a $2,000/plate gala to find Stephen Colbert |url=http://open.salon.com/blog/gabydunn/2011/04/12/i_crashed_a_2000plate_gala_to_find_stephen_colbert |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727000833/http://open.salon.com/blog/gabydunn/2011/04/12/i_crashed_a_2000plate_gala_to_find_stephen_colbert |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |work=Open Salon |publisher=Salon}} Dunn settled for asking him questions during a pre-show Q&A for The Colbert Report.{{cite web |author=Tenore |first=Mallary Jean |date=August 30, 2011 |title='100 Interviews' project puts new twist on old adage: Everybody has a story |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2011/100-interviews-puts-new-twist-on-old-adage-everybody-has-a-story/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030041819/http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/144176/100-interviews-puts-new-twist-on-old-adage-everybody-has-a-story/ |archive-date=October 30, 2012 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |work=Poynter Institute |publisher=}} Dunn's attempts to gain wider exposure for what he called his "diary journalism"{{cite web |author=Gordon |first=Kyana |date=November 12, 2010 |title=100 Interviews: Gaby Dunn and the Art of Face-to-Face Meeting |url=http://www.psfk.com/2010/11/100-interviews-gaby-dunn-and-the-art-of-face-to-face-meeting.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219174627/https://www.psfk.com/2010/11/100-interviews-gaby-dunn-and-the-art-of-face-to-face-meeting.html |archive-date=February 19, 2023 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |website=PSFK |publisher=}} were initially met with rejection.{{cite web |author=Binder |first=Shaun |date=October 5, 2012 |title=No Fun, Gaby Dunn! An Interview with a Thought Catalog Editor |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/no-fun-gaby-dunn-an-inter_b_1942628.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012162951/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/no-fun-gaby-dunn-an-inter_b_1942628.html |archive-date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |work=HuffPost |publisher=}} Dunn has been recognized as a success case of the use of social media for self-promotion, particularly via Tumblr, the micro-blogging service and web application platform through which he initially self-published his interviews, and Twitter.{{cite web |author=Orsini |first=Lauren Rae |date=October 4, 2011 |title=100 Interviews Get People Talking |url=http://www.dailydot.com/culture/100-interviews-gaby-dunn-tumblr/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820061331/http://www.dailydot.com/culture/100-interviews-gaby-dunn-tumblr/ |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |work=The Daily Dot |publisher=}}

In December 2010, The Village Voice named 100 Interviews the "Best Tumblr" in their annual Web Awards.{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2010 |title=Village Voice Web Awards: The Winners! |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/village-voice-web-awards-the-winners-6674283 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217191359/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/village-voice-web-awards-the-winners-6674283 |archive-date=December 17, 2015 |access-date=December 16, 2015 |website=Village Voice |last1=Doll |first1=Jen }} New York Times culture editor Adam Sternbergh also discovered Dunn via 100 Interviews, and invited him to write for the Times.{{cite web | url=http://observer.com/2012/02/new-york-times-magazine-hires-thought-catalog-writer/ | title=New York Times Magazine Hires Thought Catalog Writer | work=The New York Observer | date=February 2, 2012 | access-date=November 5, 2012 | author=Stoeffel, Kat | archive-date=November 7, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107232739/http://observer.com/2012/02/new-york-times-magazine-hires-thought-catalog-writer/ | url-status=live }}

Dunn began doing freelance writing for publications including Thought Catalog and GOOD. In 2012, he began writing a regular column in The New York Times titled "They're Famous! (On the Internet)", which profiled various Internet personalities. In 2013, Dunn was a staff writer for Thought Catalog. A collection of his essays for Thought Catolog was published under the title Maybe In Another Universe in 2013.{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Gaby |date=February 25, 2013 |title=Maybe In Another Universe: An eBook By Me, Gaby Dunn |url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/gaby-dunn/2013/02/maybe-in-another-universe-an-ebook-by-gaby-dunn/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Thought Catalog |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Gaby |date=June 23, 2016 |title=Take it from a viral media star: Stop signing away your ideas |url=https://splinternews.com/take-it-from-a-viral-media-star-stop-signing-away-your-1793857763 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Splinter News |language=en}}

Dunn wrote his debut novel, I Hate Everyone but You, with Allison Raskin and published it on September 5, 2017.{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2017 |title=New Kids' and YA Books: Week of September 4, 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/74680-new-kids-and-ya-books-week-of-september-4-2017.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011419/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/74680-new-kids-and-ya-books-week-of-september-4-2017.html |archive-date=September 12, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}} The young adult fiction novel follows two college freshmen and best friends, and is told through emails and text messages exchanged between the two. It made The New York Times Best Seller list in October of the same year.{{Cite news |date=October 1, 2017 |title=Young Adult Hardcover Books – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 1, 2017 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2017/10/01/young-adult-hardcover/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}} Dunn and Raskin published a sequel in July 2019, titled Please Send Help.{{Cite web |last1=Nguyen |first1=Christine |last2=Latimer |first2=Brian |date=August 16, 2019 |title=Gaby Dunn on embracing her polyamorous bisexuality and why she loves 'The Bachelor' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gaby-dunn-embracing-her-polyamorous-bisexuality-why-she-loves-bachelor-n1043291 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

In January 2019, Dunn published Bad With Money: The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together, a book based on the podcast.{{Cite web |last=Brodeur |first=Nicole |date=February 8, 2019 |title=Are you bad with money? Gaby Dunn wrote the book |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/are-you-bad-with-money-gaby-dunn-wrote-the-book/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}} In June 2022, he published a second finance-related book titled Stimulus Wreck: Rebuilding After a Financial Disaster.

In October 2019, Dunn published his debut graphic novel, Bury the Lede, which was illustrated by Claire Roe and published by BOOM! Studios. It is a queer crime thriller that was inspired by Dunn's own experiences working as a young reporter at the Boston Globe.{{Cite web |last=Hogan |first=Heather |date=March 12, 2019 |title=Here's an Exclusive First Look at Gaby Dunn's New Graphic Novel, 'Bury the Lede' |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/bury-the-lead-go-ahead-and-add-gaby-dunns-murder-mystery-graphic-novel-to-your-reading-list/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129202521/https://www.autostraddle.com/bury-the-lead-go-ahead-and-add-gaby-dunns-murder-mystery-graphic-novel-to-your-reading-list/ |archive-date=January 29, 2020 |access-date=January 29, 2020 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US}}

Dunn became well known as a member of BuzzFeed Video's early cohort of video personalities. Dunn first appeared in BuzzFeed videos as a performer, later also taking on responsibilities as a writer and producer. He left BuzzFeed in 2015 to focus on his other projects, including Just Between Us.{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Emmie |date=April 3, 2019 |title=This 30-year-old makes six figures a year—here's why she still doesn't feel rich |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/17/30-year-old-gaby-dunn-makes-100000-dollars-a-year-doing-what-she-loves.html |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=CNBC |language=en}} He was also a producer of the independent community radio station WFMU.{{Cite web |date=October 5, 2012 |title=No Fun, Gaby Dunn! An Interview with a Thought Catalog Editor |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-fun-gaby-dunn-an-inter_b_1942628 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}

In April 2014, Dunn created a comedic variety YouTube show with his best friend Allison Raskin called Just Between Us.{{Cite web |last=Malin |first=Sean |date=November 30, 2022 |title=Want to Try Bad With Money? Start Here. |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/bad-with-money-podcast-best-episode.html |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Nick |date=April 22, 2021 |title=Podcast Picks: Just Between Us |url=https://www.eriereader.com/article/podcast-picks-just-between-us |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Erie Reader}} The two play characters based on themselves: Dunn plays a sex-positive, bisexual, feminist in contrast to Raskin's uptight, straight, single character. They began with giving love advice, then added comedy sketches. The advice show sometimes features guests, which in the past have included family members and close friends. {{As of|2023|2}}, Just Between Us had around 646,000 subscribers and more than 178{{Nbsp}}million views on YouTube.{{Cite web |title=Just Between Us |url=https://www.youtube.com/@JustBetweenUs/about |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=YouTube}} In March 2019, Dunn and Raskin launched a podcast version of the show.

In August 2016, Dunn began the podcast Bad with Money with the intent of exposing and analyzing money problems that he felt were not openly discussed. He has used the podcast to discuss his own financial experiences in regards to debt and his career, talk about systematic financial systems in place that make finances difficult, and give advice.{{Cite web |last=Neilson |first=Sarah |date=June 10, 2022 |title=Gaby Dunn Explains Why Financial Literacy Is a Queer Issue |url=https://www.them.us/story/gaby-dunn-stimulus-wreck-interview |access-date=February 19, 2022 |website=Them |language=en-US}} His guests have included financial advisor Suze Orman and New Yorker journalist Jane Mayer.

In 2020, Dunn created, wrote, and starred in Apocalypse Untreated, a post-apocalyptic fiction podcast about teenagers in a wilderness rehab and troubled teen program trying to survive after a meteor strike. The podcast was co-written with Brittani Nichols, and published through the Audible Originals program.{{Cite book |url=https://www.audible.com/pd/Apocalypse-Untreated-Podcast/B08JCLTS2P |title=Apocalypse Untreated |language=en |access-date=January 6, 2023 |archive-date=January 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106215213/https://www.audible.com/pd/Apocalypse-Untreated-Podcast/B08JCLTS2P |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Rude |first=Mey |date=November 13, 2020 |title=Mental Crises Amid an Apocalypse Explored in New Audible Series |url=https://www.advocate.com/media/2020/11/13/mental-crises-amid-apocalypse-explored-new-audible-series |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=The Advocate |language=en}}

Dunn has written several movie scripts, and has sold several pilots. Dunn played the recurring character of Brie in Take My Wife, a television series that aired from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, he worked as a writer on Netflix's animated sitcom Big Mouth.{{Cite web |last=Baab-Muguira |first=Catherine |date=April 30, 2018 |title=How Gaby Dunn found that being 'Bad with Money' can be good for your career |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/how-being-bad-with-money-has-been-good-for-gaby-dunns-career.html |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

In December 2022, Dunn's directorial debut short film Grindr Baby was selected for Frameline Voices 2023, a curated program of short films and episodic content representing experiences unique to LGBTQ+ people and communities.{{Cite web |title=Frameline Voices |url=https://www.frameline.org/discover/voices/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106215213/https://www.frameline.org/discover/voices |archive-date=January 6, 2023 |access-date=January 6, 2023 |website=Frameline |language=en}}

Dunn is transgender and uses he/him pronouns.{{Cite web |title=Gabe Dunn |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/author/gabydunn-2/ |access-date=February 13, 2025 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Gabriel Shane Dunn |url=https://www.instagram.com/gabesdunn/ |access-date=February 13, 2025 |website=Instagram}} He first came out in a July 5, 2021, interview on the Gender Reveal podcast, in which he said he had been exploring his gender and was probably non-binary. In January 2023, Dunn revealed via social media that he had changed his name to Gabriel Shane ("Gabe").{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Gabriel Shane |date=December 31, 2022 |title=Gabriel Shane Dunn on Instagram: "New year so time to do a scary thing: hi, I'm Gabe ... Gabriel Shane" |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm2-UelrC9G/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Instagram |language=en |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105003735/https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm2-UelrC9G/ }} Dunn later came out as trans.

Dunn is bisexual and polyamorous.{{Cite news |last=Dunn |first=Gaby |date=January 7, 2016 |title=Polyamorous, Pansexual, and Proud: Why I'm 'So Out and Outspoken' |newspaper=Women's Health |url=http://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/polyamorous-pansexual |url-status=live |access-date=December 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813152248/http://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/polyamorous-pansexual |archive-date=August 13, 2016}} He is Jewish.{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Arielle |date=January 2, 2019 |title=Jewish Comedian Gaby Dunn Is 'Bad With Money' |url=https://www.heyalma.com/jewish-comedian-gaby-dunn-is-bad-with-money/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106165958/https://www.heyalma.com/jewish-comedian-gaby-dunn-is-bad-with-money/ |archive-date=January 6, 2023 |access-date=January 6, 2023 |website=Hey Alma}} He has bipolar disorder, and his hope to see the disorder more accurately portrayed in media in part motivated him to create Apocalypse Untreated.

• Grindr Baby (2023)

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