41 Facts About Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein is an American actress, writer, comedian, director, and producer.

Natasha Lyonne was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2023.

Natasha Lyonne started her career as a child actress making her first uncredited appearance in Heartburn, a recurring role in Pee-wee's Playhouse, and a supporting role in Dennis the Menace.

Natasha Lyonne transitioned taking on teen roles in several independent films such as Everyone Says I Love You, Slums of Beverly Hills, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Party Monster as well as in broad comedic films such as American Pie, American Pie 2, Scary Movie 2, and American Reunion.

Natasha Lyonne found a career resurgence and Emmy Award-nominations for her performances as Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, a software engineer stuck in a time loop in the Netflix's comedy-drama series Russian Doll, and a woman who can tell when people are lying in the Peacock crime comedy series Poker Face, the former of which she served as a co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the series.

Natasha Lyonne starred in the Netflix drama film His Three Daughters.

Natasha Lyonne was born in New York City, the daughter of Orthodox Jewish parents Ivette Buchinger and Aaron Braunstein, a boxing promoter, race car driver, and radio host.

Natasha Lyonne's mother was born in Paris, to Hungarian-Jewish parents.

Natasha Lyonne has joked that her family consists of "my father's side, Flatbush, and my mother's side, Auschwitz".

Natasha Lyonne lived the first eight years of her life in Great Neck, New York.

Natasha Lyonne's parents divorced, and Lyonne and her older brother, Adam, returned to the United States with their mother.

Natasha Lyonne was expelled in her sophomore year for selling marijuana to classmates.

Natasha Lyonne grew up on the Upper East Side, where she felt she was an outsider.

Natasha Lyonne's mother moved the family to Miami and Lyonne briefly attended Miami Country Day School.

Natasha Lyonne did not graduate from high school, leaving before her senior year to attend a film program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which she attended for a short time, studying film and philosophy.

Natasha Lyonne was estranged from her father, who was a Democratic candidate for New York City Council for the sixth District of Manhattan in 2013, and lived on the Upper West Side until his death in October 2014.

Natasha Lyonne has said she was not close to her mother, who died in 2013, and has essentially lived independently of her family since age 16.

Natasha Lyonne was cast as recurring character Opal on Pee-wee's Playhouse at age seven, where she appeared between September and December 1986, and made her film debut that same year with a small part in the Mike Nichols comedy-drama Heartburn.

Natasha Lyonne played the part of Jeanne, a college activist fighting for lesbian equality, in the acclaimed 2000 television film If These Walls Could Talk 2.

Natasha Lyonne made her New York stage debut in the 2008 production of Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years at the Acorn Theatre.

Natasha Lyonne was part of the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an off-Broadway play by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, based on the book by Ilene Beckerman.

Natasha Lyonne starred in the 2011 production of Tommy Nohilly's Blood from a Stone at the Acorn Theatre.

Natasha Lyonne had a supporting role in Abel Ferrara's post-apocalyptic drama 4:44 Last Day on Earth, which Movieline called "weirdly compelling".

Natasha Lyonne portrayed American actress Tallulah Bankhead in Lee Daniels' The United States vs Billie Holiday, a biographical drama based on the life and career of jazz singer Billie Holiday, in 2021.

Natasha Lyonne made a cameo appearance as herself in the Rian Johnson-directed mystery thriller Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery the following year, and hosted the season 47 finale of Saturday Night Live, where she performed a five-minute monologue about her career and personal troubles.

In December 2024, Natasha Lyonne voiced the character Byrdie in two episodes of the Marvel Animation series What If.

Natasha Lyonne produces Russian Doll, Poker Face, Loot, and the animated series The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy.

In May 2024, she signed a deal with production company Sister, who will collaborate with Natasha Lyonne on upcoming Animal projects.

Natasha Lyonne believes that research is key to a successful narrative: "Read as many books, watch as many movies, and listen to as much music as you can so that you actually understand the stories that you're telling".

Natasha Lyonne has cited John Cassavetes, Peter Falk, Lou Reed, Nora Ephron, and Delia Ephron as being professional inspirations.

Natasha Lyonne has been featured on the covers of magazines including Backstage, Bust, Diva, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, The Hollywood Reporter, Interview, Nylon, Out, Paper, Variety, Venus, and TheWrap.

Natasha Lyonne has been described as a "lesbian icon", due to playing gay characters in works such as Orange Is the New Black and But I'm a Cheerleader, and because of her advocacy for the LGBT community, in 2015 Lyonne was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Ally for Equality Award.

In 1997, Natasha Lyonne used her paycheck from Everyone Says I Love You to buy an apartment near Gramercy Park.

Natasha Lyonne said of her friendship with Chloe Sevigny, "[Natasha Lyonne is] more than my best friend, she might have actually morphed into [being] my sister".

Natasha Lyonne dated Edward Furlong in the late 1990s and Andrew Zipern in the early 2010s.

Natasha Lyonne began dating comedian and actor Fred Armisen in 2014, but confirmed in April 2022 that the relationship had ended.

Natasha Lyonne's lawyer said an emergency had arisen but did not give details.

Later in the same year, Natasha Lyonne was admitted to a drug and alcohol treatment center; she appeared in court afterwards and the judge entered a conditional discharge.

Natasha Lyonne has not used drugs since December 2006, and has been open about her addiction and recovery.

Natasha Lyonne underwent open-heart surgery in 2012 to correct heart valve damage caused by her previous heart infection.

Natasha Lyonne has a pet Maltipoo dog named Rootbeer, who regularly makes appearances on her social media and in interviews.