Unscripted
With
Adwoa Aboah and Emily Ratajkowski
They’re two of the most prolific faces in fashion – now ADWOA ABOAH and EMILY RATAJKOWSKI have joined forces with Lena Dunham, starring in her hotly anticipated new Netflix miniseries, Too Much. They sit down with ALICE CASELY-HAYFORD to talk sisterhood, showing up for each other and coming into their own
The night before our interview, following their PORTER cover shoot, Adwoa Aboah and Emily Ratajkowski were kicked out of a restaurant at 1.30am. Not for any major misdemeanor, but because the staff were desperate to close and the pair had been locked in passionate debate for hours. When we sit down for a mint tea the next morning, in a Brooklyn café near Ratajkowski’s home, this effervescent energy remains between the friends, fellow models, actors and mothers.
“I just love how heated it gets. We think we’re on some sort of TV show, like [the BBC’s] Question Time: ‘Now, listen to me,” Aboah laughs, waggling her finger animatedly. “We never run out of things to say.”
The duo is here to discuss the new Netflix show Too Much, masterminded by Lena Dunham and starring Aboah and Ratajkowski – but they’re much more than just colleagues. Their camaraderie has been shaped by navigating two challenging industries, growing up in the spotlight, and becoming mothers. Having first crossed paths at the Met Gala eight years ago, when they both arrived alone, they instantly buddied up – finding comfort in each other’s company in the often-isolating world of fashion.
“We don’t have that history; we actually just have commonalities,” Aboah, 33, explains of her relationship with Ratajkowski, 34. “We have things that we are both interested in. We’re like full people now. It’s just a different friendship.”
“One of the things that I love about our FRIENDSHIP, and where we started to build TRUST with each other, was by talking about our experiences within the INDUSTRY and having this transparency”
Emily Ratajkowski
“Taking the plunge was a really uncomfortable CHANGE for me because I had to withdraw EGO from my own perspective, to move from FASHION into this career that I’m not known for”
Adwoa Aboah
Dunham’s triumphant return to TV follows heartbroken Jessica (played by Megan Stalter) as she moves from New York to London. Jessica is haunted via social media by her ex-boyfriend’s new hot, hipster girlfriend, Wendy, played to perfection by Ratajkowski. Jessica meets indie musician Felix (Will Sharpe) on her first night in London, beginning a frenetic romance – but he’s still tied up with Linnea, played gloriously by Aboah. It’s Girls but even better, with a script that will leave you howling and standout performances from the ensemble cast, including unforgettable (and highly meme-able) cameos from Naomi Watts and Andrew Scott.
It was a no-brainer for both Ratajkowski and Aboah to join the show. “Lena and I have known each other for 10 years,” Ratajkowski says. “I did her podcast in 2014. Then when I was writing my book, she was also working on her book, which hasn’t been published yet but will be soon… She made my pregnancy-reveal video. She’s also the first person who published my writing for Lenny Letter back in 2015. [There’s been] a lot of collaboration. So, when she reached out and was like, ‘I wrote this part with you in mind’, it was really fun to work on my character [together]. I just adore her.”
Aboah, a huge Dunham fan, manifested the role into reality after falling in love with the script. “My first scene where you’re introduced to me was this weird sex scene with Will, and Lena directing it,” she says. Adding to the pressure, while wearing an S&M outfit, Aboah was hiding something from most of the crew. “Doing that while pregnant was so mad, but it was also great that it was my secret that no one knew. When I tell my child, they’re gonna be like, that is so crazy, you know?” Dunham made Aboah feel comfortable on the closed set, working closely with an intimacy coordinator. “I just had the absolute best day, and [Lena] lets you play and improvise. Will is just so easy to act off.”
Aboah and Ratajkowski’s adoration of Dunham is very much reciprocated. “I love their friendship and how they support each other as women who use modeling as a stepping stone to tell their stories,” Dunham shares via email. “As pals, mothers and utter girls’ girls, they represent everything there is to love about modern visibility. Had they existed for me as a teen, the world would have looked much brighter. I want to be them when I grow up.”
Both started modeling in their early teens (Aboah in London, while Ratajkowski grew up in San Diego), pivoting into acting once their supermodel status was established. “Taking the plunge was a really uncomfortable change for me because I had to withdraw ego from my own perspective, to move from fashion into this career that I’m not known for,” Aboah states. “Be a small fish and be fine with that. It really was like getting out of my own way and being like, come on, this is something you want; you’re gonna have to start at a different level.”
Ratajkowski was catapulted to fame following the controversial Blurred Lines music video in 2013. A non-stop modeling career ensued but throughout that time, EmRata, as she’s fondly known, impressed critics and fans alike with her poignant and pertinent writing on her body, female empowerment, sexual misconduct and misogyny. “I think a lot of the ways I’m able to be [today] are because of the processing I did in my mid-twenties writing the book [My Body],” she says. “It’s why I am who I am now. I’m less interested in that time of my life because I did so much investigating of it. It’s helped me with my perspective on my body, but also my work and the industry in general. And it ends with the birth of my son, so it feels like that is the end of that chapter.”
The chapter following the birth of her son, Sly, now four, involved a divorce from actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, and continuing to use her platform to authentically speak about women’s rights, equity, philosophy and politics (last month, she actively supported Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign to run for mayor in NYC). In this latest phase of life, she’s prioritizing her son, herself and friends.
“Everything by design in the industry is built to make women competitive and to make us not talk to each other. You don’t know each other’s [modeling] rates,” Ratajkowski says. “One of the things that I love about our friendship, and where we started to build trust with each other, was by talking about our experiences within the industry and having this transparency around money and our agents. I want that to be the norm.”
“We’ve been in situations, [despite] having worked for as long as we both have, where we have to talk each other off a ledge and be like, you need to show up for yourself,” Aboah adds. “Know your worth. You can ask for more.”
“We talk about this a lot,” Ratajkowski continues. “Fashion is quite performative. I think it’s pretty bullshit. I don’t think there’s been a lot of progress… Just the fact that models don’t have a union. Now, having worked in the celebrity endorsement space, it’s shocking to realize what people get away with – agents and clients – in fashion. It’s so unfair and the people who are being taken advantage of are young girls. They don’t have the business savvy or anyone to help them.”
Thankfully, their experiences working in film and TV have been better. “The bar is so low that [comparatively] I’ve been treated like an absolute queen,” Aboah says. “I’ve been looked after, people know my name, I’ve made such great relationships with people who have sent me texts and asked how I was doing in motherhood. I haven’t heard from some of the people I worked with [in fashion] for centuries.”
In addition to a hugely successful modeling career and now burgeoning acting resumé (including Netflix hit Top Boy), Aboah has spent the past decade campaigning, fundraising and building a platform for young people, called Gurls Talk, centered on mental health. “I’m 11 years sober this year, so that means it’s 10 years since I started it,” she says. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have even imagined that this is where I would be. Every time you think you’ve made it into adulthood, it’s like, ‘Joke, you’re not an adult yet!’ But I had to get sober, embark on this journey with Gurls Talk, and I still wasn’t adult. I was still making mistakes left, right and center. It’s just mad, the journey that is growing up.”
“I’ve always had great aspirations for Gurls Talk and I’ve never felt like I had to stay in my lane,” Aboah continues. “The other side of my life has told me to keep striving, making money and fucking hustling. I love that part of me. But Gurls Talk has taught me to breathe and think about the amazing things that I’ve been able to achieve with it.”
Following our conversation, the friends are off on a girls’ trip to celebrate their birthdays with a rare few days away from Sly and Shy, Aboah’s baby daughter. “I just find my time with my girlfriends to be the most energizing, relaxing and recharging experience,” Ratajkowski says. “It’s one of the things I love about New York – going out to dinner with my friends after I’ve put Sly down, even if it means I’m more tired the next day. I think that experience is so valuable.”
“I’m EXCITED about the way I can EXPRESS myself through dress and explore my IDENTITY through fashion”
Emily Ratajkowski
“I’m just going with the FLOW. I’m manifesting lots of JOY. Making the most of all the small MOMENTS. Relishing in time”
Adwoa Aboah
Ratajkowski also enjoys going out with friends for the opportunity to get dressed up. Today she is in a hoodie and pants with a cow-print Prada bag, while Aboah is wearing a blazer, jeans and a skinny pink scarf. Both are astonishingly beautiful in their off-duty attire and every other table in the café can’t help but unashamedly glance over. “I’m excited about the way I can express myself through dress and explore my identity through fashion,” Ratajkowski tells me. “I love getting dressed up and being like, who am I going to be today? I didn’t come from fashion, and I found it quite intimidating… Maybe for the past seven years I’ve been like, OK, I get this, and I actually enjoy it.”
Aboah is rediscovering her love of fashion after becoming a mother. “I wish I’d had my Rihanna moment [while pregnant] but that wasn’t for me. I was like Adam Sandler, 24/7. So now, I’m going [back] into my closet. It’s like cobwebs. I have a new appreciation for all my clothes that I’ve collected.”
Undoubtedly, Too Much will send Ratajkowski and Aboah’s stars even further into the stratosphere, but their hopes and plans for the year ahead are modest and unstarry. “This is my Jesus year,” Aboah asserts. “I’m 33. I just feel it’s going to be a special one. Not only because it’s my first year as a mum but it already feels very special. Three is my lucky number, so a double three… Getting back to work, I’m not even out of the [new mother] fog, I’m just going with the flow. I’m manifesting lots of joy. Making the most of all the small moments. Relishing in time.”
“I think the same: joy, relishing in time,” Ratajkowski agrees. “I really love making a home for Sly and me. I just feel lucky to be able to do that. I’m very grateful and humbled. And I really want to make things with people I respect and love.”
More respect, love and joy for the rest of 2025 and beyond – we’ll all cosign that.
Too Much is on Netflix from July 10