Natasha Lyonne, an American actress and producer, rose to fame when she had a recurring role as Nicky Nichols in the hit Netflix comedy series, “Orange Is the New Black” from 2013 to 2019.

During that period, she made appearances in numerous movies and TV series. Lyonne has more than 100 acting credits, including films and popular television projects. She was in her first grade when she began her modeling career.

The turning point of her career started when she decided to make her acting debut in CBS’s children’s TV program, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in 1986. She is also best recognized for her immense performance in the “American Pie” series, in which she played the role of Jessica.

Natasha Lyonne Biography

Early Life

Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein was (born on April 4, 1979), in New York City, USA. An Orthodox Jewish household raised her. She spent the first 8 years of her life in Great Neck, New York, with her family and then moved to Israel for a year and a half.

While in Israel, she participated in the production of “April Fool.” It was an Israeli children’s movie where she acted and discovered her passion for acting.

Lyonne’s father, Aaron Braunstein, was a boxing promoter, radio host, and race car driver. While residing in Israel, her parents divorced, and Lyonne returned to New York City with her mom and older brother, Adam.

Education

In New York, she went to study at the Ramaz School in Manhattan, where she started selling marijuana on the school grounds. Eventually, she was expelled, and the family moved to Miami, Florida. Lyonne completed her high school graduation from Florida’s Miami Country Day School.

Upon graduation, she enrolled at New York University Tisch School to obtain a diploma in film and philosophy. However, she dropped out of college because Lyonne could not pay her tuition. In October 2014, her father passed away.

Career

In 1986, Lyonne began acting, playing an uncredited role as Rachel’s niece in the comedy movie, “Heartburn.” Her next film, “A Man Called Sarge,” came out in 1990 and amassed a little recognition.

From then on, Lyonne appeared in more than 12 movies before the start of 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, she had some prominent roles in hit movies such as “1993s Dennis the Menace,” “1998s Modern Vampires,” and “1999s Detroit Rock City.”

Natasha gained popularity for her role in Woody Allen’s movies, including “Everyone Says I Love You (1996)” and “Modern Vampires (1998).” Outside of films, Natasha made her first TV show appearance as Opal in episodes of the comedy series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in 1986.

She returned to television in 2000 after taking a long break from it. Lyonne guest-starred as Gillian in an episode of “Will & Grace” and as Jeanne in “If These Walls Could Talk 2.” Later, she guest starred on several TV shows, including “Grounded for Life” (2002), “The Knights of Prosperity” (2007), and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2011), among others.

From 2015 to 2016, she made her guest appearance as Various in the sketch comedy series, “Inside Amy Schumer.” Lyonne followed that up, reprising her role of Various in “Portlandia” from 2015 to 2018. She played Rickey in “Girls.”

In 1999, Lyonne’s breakout role came, playing the role of Jessica in the blockbuster film, “American Pie.” The film became a massive success and grossed over $235.5 million globally.

Her performance in the movie led her to reprise her role in 2001’s “American Pie 2” and 2012s “American Reunion. The series America Pie became a major success at the box office, and the last two films earned over $200 million worldwide.

Following her big success, Natasha started getting big roles in films and television series, including Tamara Jenson in “Fast Sofa” and Megan in “Scary Movie 2” in 2001. That same year, she appeared in “The Grey Zone” and “Kate & Leopold.”

In 2002, she got an acting gig in the films, “Comic Book Villains,” “Zig Zag,” and “Night at the Golden Eagle.” Following that, she played her role in “Party Monster” (2003), “Blade: Trinity” (2004), “Robots” (2005), and 2009’s “The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle.”

In 2010, she had the role of Deborah Tennis, a librarian/serial killer in the comedy movie, “All About Evil.” In 2013, her performance in “He’s Way More Famous Than You” earned her fame. Two years later, she had starring roles in films, “Addicted to Fresno,” “Sleeping with Other People,” “Hello, My Name Is Doris,” and “#Horror.”

Natasha was spotlighted in 2013 when she began starring as Nicky Nichols in the comedy-drama series, “Orange Is the New Black.” Her appearance in 81 episodes earned her mainstream success, and the show ran for 7 seasons from 2013 to 2019. She got a chance to become the director for the episode “The Hidey Hole” of season 7.

In 2019, Natasha had a starring role of a woman who repeatedly dies, Nadia Vulvokov, in the comedy series, “Russian Doll.” Apart from acting in the series, she works as a producer, writer, and director for the show. The actress wound up earning 13 nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award.

In 2020, Natasha appeared in “Irresistible” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” a year later. Next, she appeared in the film, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” in 2022.

2016 was another big year for Lyonne in which she appeared in 7 films, including “Yoga Hosers,” the horror movie, “Antibirth,” and the short movie, “The Realest Real.” In 2018 and 2019, she had roles in movies, “A Futile and Stu#id Gesture,” “Family,” “Honey Boy,” and “Ad Astra.”

As a voice actress, she provided vocals for several characters in animated films, “Robots” (2005) and “DC League of Super-Pets” (2022). As for animated television series, Natasha voiced in “Sanjay and Craig” (2015), “Steven Universe” (2016-2019), “The Simpsons” (2016-2022), “Ballmastrz: 9009” (2018-2020), “Animals” (2018), and “Big Mouth” (2018-2021).

In 2022, she reprised her voice character as Sophie Krustofsky in an episode of the animated sitcom, “The Simpsons.” Natasha played the main role of Charlie Cale in the television series, “Poker Face.” She also worked as an executive producer for the series.

Personal Life

Natasha Lyonne and actor Edward Furlong dated from January 1998 to June 1999. Then, in 2001, she was in a relationship with an actor, Adam Goldberg. However, they broke up after three years in 2004. Next year, Lyonne briefly dated actor Michael Rapaport.

Natasha and American actor Fred Armisen started dating in August 2014. The couple worked in several films together. Lyonne is reportedly 13 years younger than Fred. In April 2022, Natasha announced that they had separated after being in a relationship for about 8 years.

Career Highlights

• 1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Most Promising Actress _ Nomination
• 1999 Teen Choice Awards _ 2 Nominations
• 2000 Young Hollywood Awards, Best Ensemble Cast _ Won
• 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series _ Nomination
• 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Outstanding Performance _ Won
• 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards _ Nomination
• 2019 Satellite Awards _ 2 Nominations
• 2019 Saturn Awards _ 2 Nominations
• 2020 Writers Guild of America Awards _ 2 Nominations
• 2020 Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series _ Nomination
• Orange Is the New Black (Netflix series, 2013–2019)
• Russian Doll (2019–present)
• American Pie film series (1999–2012)

Natasha Lyonne Net Worth

Natasha Lyonne is a highly successful American actress and producer who gained fame as Nicky Nichols in the hit Netflix comedy series, “Orange Is the New Black.” With a net worth of $6 million, Lyonne is one of the highest-paid celebrities in the entertainment industry. In addition to her acting career, she earns money through her production company, Animal Pictures, which she co-founded with comedian Maya Rudolph. Lyonne has also worked with several companies, including Coca-Cola and Minute Maid, for endorsement and commercial work.

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