Lily Mandelbaum is a documentary director and the co-founder of StyleLikeU, the groundbreaking media platform challenging beauty standards and empowering self-acceptance through raw, honest storytelling.

Over the past 15 years, she’s directed and produced thousands of emotionally attuned films exploring the healing power of vulnerability. She’s best known for creating The What’s Underneath Project, StyleLikeU’s acclaimed series in which diverse individuals share personal stories while removing layers of clothing as a metaphor for letting go of the cultural conditioning, expectations, and shame they’ve been taught to carry. The series has featured cultural thought-leaders like Lizzo, Janelle Monáe, Steve-O,Victoria Pedretti, Paulina Porizkova, Jemima Kirke, and hundreds more.

Lily’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Allure, i-D, and countless other leading media outlets, garnering 300M+ views and a community of over 1.5 million people worldwide.

Lily has directed all of StyleLikeU’s content and co-authored the book True Style Is What’s Underneath (Rizzoli, 2017). Beyond What’s Underneath, she created the viral Allure series Dispelling Beauty Myths and has led brand partnerships and creative campaigns for Free People, Headspace, BetterHelp, and dozens more.

Known for her unpretentious storytelling and emotionally grounded interviews, Lily tells stories that reveal who people are — beneath the expectations they’ve been taught to perform.

She is now expanding into new realms as a director—bringing her human-centered approach to independent documentaries,  unscripted shows, and branded digital series that invite audiences to meet themselves—and others—with more compassion and less shame.