Taissa Farmiga

Taissa Farmiga, born on August 17, 1994, in Readington Township, New Jersey, is an American actress from Ukrainian-born parents Michael and Lubomyra (Spas) Farmiga. She is the youngest of seven siblings, including actress Vera Farmiga, who is 21 years her senior. Initially, Farmiga had no aspirations for an acting career, even considering becoming an accountant. However, her older sister, Vera, persuaded her to make her acting debut in Vera’s directorial project, the 2011 film “Higher Ground.” Taissa was 15 years old at the time and had no prior acting experience beyond a second-grade school play. “Higher Ground” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where Farmiga’s performance received critical acclaim, leading her to officially pursue acting.

At age 16, Farmiga secured a leading role as Violet Harmon in the Fox horror series “American Horror Story” (2011), which brought her wider public attention. This breakthrough role showcased her talent for portraying complex, vulnerable characters. Following this, she broadened her filmography, appearing in various genres. Notable film roles include Sofia Coppola’s crime film “The Bling Ring” (2013), Jorge Dorado’s psychological thriller “Anna” (2013), Todd Strauss-Schulson’s horror comedy “The Final Girls” (2015), Hannah Fidell’s romantic drama “6 Years” (2015), Ti West’s western “In a Valley of Violence” (2016), and Warren Beatty’s comedy-drama “Rules Don’t Apply” (2016). Her performances in “The Final Girls,” “6 Years,” and the short drama “Share” (2015), all of which premiered at South by Southwest, earned her recognition as a breakout star of the festival.

Farmiga has continued to build a diverse career, including voice roles as Raven in the DC Animated Movie Universe from 2016 to 2020. She reprised her character Sister Irene in the supernatural thriller “The Nun” (2018), which became the highest-grossing film in its series, and its sequel “The Nun II” (2023). Other significant television work includes recurring roles in “American Horror Story: Coven” (2013–2014), “American Horror Story: Roanoke” (2016), and “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” (2018), where she revisited her earlier characters. Since 2022, Farmiga has been a main cast member in the HBO period drama series “The Gilded Age” as Gladys Russell. Her stage debut was in the Off-Broadway revival of the drama play “Buried Child” in 2016, further solidifying her presence across different acting mediums.