Bustle Exclusive
Lily James Opens Up About Playing Whitney Wolfe Herd In Swiped Featurette
Bustle has your first look at the actor’s transformation into the dating app mogul.
Even as many users are reevaluating their relationships with dating apps, the technology’s impact on culture can’t be overstated. Three in 10 American adults have used a dating app or website, per 2023 data from Pew Research Center — and even those who aren’t on the apps are likely familiar with the shorthand of looking for love online, from ghosting to swiping right (or left).
It was only a matter of time, then, before a biopic dedicated itself to the evolution of dating apps — and the key players who have helped shape it. Enter Swiped.
Out Sept. 19, the new Hulu film stars Lily James as Whitney Wolfe Herd, who co-founded Tinder in her early 20s before starting her women-focused dating app: Bumble.
In the exclusive featurette below, James opens up about preparing to play the young mogul — and how Wolfe Herd inspires her today.
Lily James’ Journey To Swiped
“I feel such a huge responsibility playing a real person, so I would sit in front of her MasterClass and mimic along, copy the hand gestures,” James says in the clip.
Co-star Pierson Fode — who plays Wolfe Herd’s husband, Michael Herd — praises James’ American accent for the role. Indeed, James got so into the voice that she briefly forgets she can speak in her natural English accent for the interview.
Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg notes the research James did for the role and the way she carried Wolfe Herd’s “emotional throughline” from scene to scene.
As James puts it, “I get emotional talking about her, because I find her so inspiring. And I do hope that the essence of who Whitney is, is embedded into all the choices I make.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd Made History
As you’ll learn in Swiped, Wolfe Herd was on the founding team of Tinder. She ultimately left the app in 2014, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination in a lawsuit that was settled without admission of wrongdoing. That same year, Wolfe Herd founded Bumble at just 25 years old.
The app launched with a refreshing twist: asking women to make the first move in forging potential connections. Bumble’s success made Wolfe Herd the youngest self-made woman billionaire in history, Forbes notes.
Of course, the app (and world) has evolved over the last decade — and Wolfe Herd even stepped away from the CEO role for a brief time before returning this year.
“The goal for Bumble over the next few years is to become the world’s smartest matchmaker,” the Bumble boss recently told The New York Times, sharing her hopes that AI might help users find the right partner for them.
Wolfe Herd said the company is also working with therapists and relationship experts to create “beautiful quizzes” that help users articulate their values as they search for a match. “This is really just leveraging technology to make love more human at the end of the day,” she said.
