Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne Braunstein was born on April 4, 1979, in New York City to Orthodox Jewish parents. Her early life included living in Great Neck, New York, and a period in Israel, where her participation in the 1989 Israeli children’s film ‘April Fool’ sparked her interest in acting. Signed by the Ford Modeling Agency as a child, Lyonne began her acting career at age seven with a recurring role as Opal on ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’ (1986) and an uncredited film debut in ‘Heartburn’ (1986). She continued with a supporting role in ‘Dennis the Menace’ (1993) before gaining attention at age 16 in Woody Allen’s ‘Everyone Says I Love You’ (1996). Her starring role in the independent comedy ‘Slums of Beverly Hills’ (1998) earned her positive critical notices, followed by significant roles in ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ (1999) and the ‘American Pie’ film series (1999–2012).

Lyonne experienced a career resurgence with her role as Nicky Nichols in the Netflix series ‘Orange Is the New Black’ (2013–2019), which earned her an Emmy nomination in 2014 and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding ensemble performance. She further solidified her artistic impact by co-creating, writing, directing, and executive producing the Netflix series ‘Russian Doll’ (2019–2022), which garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Her directorial credits also include episodes of ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ ‘Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens,’ ‘Shrill,’ and ‘High Fidelity,’ along with the Kenzo short film ‘Cabiria, Charity, Chastity’ (2017).

In recent years, Lyonne starred as Charlie Cale in Peacock’s ‘Poker Face’ (2023–present), receiving Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performance. In 2022, she co-founded Asteria, an artificial intelligence film studio focused on creating animated features using ethically sourced AI tools, publicly announcing its existence in 2025. She also co-founded Animal Pictures with Maya Rudolph in 2019, a production company responsible for projects like ‘Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine’ (2020), ‘Loot,’ and ‘The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy.’ Lyonne’s extensive work spans acting, writing, directing, and producing across film, television, and theater, marking her as a distinguished figure in the entertainment industry.