Biography:

Natasha Lyonne (born April 4, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jessica in the American Pie series and her appearances in the films Everyone Says I Love You, Slums of Beverly Hills, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Blade: Trinity. She currently portrays Nicky Nichols in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.

Early life

Lyonne was born in Manhattan, New York, the daughter of Yvette and Aaron Braunstein. Her father worked as a boxing promoter and radio host. Her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household. Her parents moved to Israel, where Lyonne spent a few years of her early childhood. Her parents divorced, and Lyonne and her older brother Adam returned to America with their mother. She attended Ramaz School, a private Jewish school. Her mother then moved to Miami, where Lyonne graduated from Miami Country Day School.

Career

As a young child, Lyonne was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency. At the age of six, she was cast as Opal on Pee-wee's Playhouse, followed by film appearances in Heartburn, A Man Called Sarge, and Dennis the Menace. When she was 16, Woody Allen cast her in Everyone Says I Love You, which led to appearances in almost 30 films over the next 10 years, including starring roles in the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills and But I'm a Cheerleader. Lyonne's other films include Detroit Rock City, Scary Movie 2, The Grey Zone, Kate and Leopold, Party Monster, and Blade: Trinity. She has also made television appearances on shows such as NBC's Will and Grace. In what is perhaps her most well known role, she appeared as Jessica in the American Pie film series.

After a short hiatus due to well-documented health and legal struggles, Lyonne returned to work in 2008, making her New York stage debut in the award-winning New Group production of Two Thousand Years, and in films The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle and Goyband. Since then, Lyonne has worked steadily in the New York theatre scene, as well as in film and television. Her newer film appearances include All About Evil, 4:44 - Last Day on Earth, Girl Most Likely, The Rambler, and Clutter. Recent television appearances include the series Weeds, New Girl, and Law & Order Special Victims Unit. In late 2012 Lyonne was reported to be developing a TV series for Fox Television.

On stage, Lyonne was in the original cast of the award-winning Love, Loss, and What I Wore. She received rave reviews for her performance in Tigers Be Still at the Roundabout Theatre Company, and returned to the New Group stage in Blood from a Stone. Most recently, she participated in New Group's benefit performance of Women Behind Bars. She is currently starring as Nicky Nichols in the critically acclaimed Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, for which she has received extremely positive reviews.

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