Who is Whitney Wolfe Herd? Bumble founder reportedly not thrilled with biopic starring Lily James

American entrepreneur and billionaire Whitney Wolfe Herd is not thrilled with her biopic, Swiped, which was recently released. The 36-year-old tech billionaire, who co-founded the dating app Tinder and is the founder and CEO of Bumble, another immensely popular online dating app, opened up in a recent interview with CNBC on September 19, 2025, about her views on the film Swiped.

Co-written and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Swpied, which is a Hulu original film, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2025, and was later released on Hulu on September 19, 2025. The biopic, which stars Pam & Tommy actress Lily James, who plays the character of Whitney Wolfe Herd, is based on the Bumble founder's life.

The movie narrates Whitney Wolfe Herd's story of how she found her way into a tech industry that is dominated by males, and launched not one but two online dating apps, making her the youngest female billionaire in the world. However, during the September 19 interview with CNBC, Herd, regarding Swiped, said:

"I can’t make it through the whole trailer, it’s too weird for me."

Whitney Wolfe Herd went ahead and explained:

"No, I’m not involved in it. Frankly, I was informed about this movie after it was already off to the races. I think they had already written the script and done all these things. I even was asking my lawyer two years ago, like, ‘What do I do? I don’t want a movie about me. Shut it down!'"

Herd then mentioned what her lawyer told her. She added:

"There’s nothing you can do. You’re somewhat of a public figure, there’s public information out there, they’re going to do what they’re going to do."

Whitney Wolfe Herd is not sure whether she'll watch Swiped

While speaking with CNBC regarding the recently released biopic, Swiped, the founder of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd, admitted that she is not sure if she will watch the film. The tech billionaire said:

"I’m obviously both terrified and maybe slightly flattered. But I think the strangeness and the fear of it outweighs any flattery. Listen, we’ll just see. I guess I gotta get some popcorn and stay tuned."

While mentioning Lily James, whom she described as very talented, Herd further added:

"But I am honored that they chose Lily James. She’s a very talented actress."

During a recent interview with Time, the director of Swiped, Goldenberg, mentioned that the film "is inspired by, not based on" Herd's story. Goldenberg said:

"We’re shaping that research, and using as much truth and accuracy as we can, and then also focusing on the emotional truth."

The Baby Driver actress, Lily James, at the Toronto Film Festival stated that it was "really inspiring" to play Herd's character in the film. She added:

"I obviously knew about both apps, Bumble and Tinder, but I had no idea there was this woman right at the kind of epicenter of them, and I was bowled over by her story."

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James went ahead and said:

"And I went down a rabbit hole, obviously, of research and learning everything I could about her, and I’ve found her to be truly inspiring and a trailblazer. It’s been a really meaningful experience getting to kind of step into her shoes and re-create and dramatize this story in our film."

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