Natasha Lyonne
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Natasha Lyonne is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated producer, actor, writer, and director.
Lyonne co-created Netflix seriesRussian Doll (2019),which received three Emmy awards, a total of 13 Emmy nominations including Comedy Series and Lead Actress for Lyonne, a Gotham Award nomination, and a Golden Globe acting nomination for Lyonne after premiering in 2019. She is showrunner and writes and directs for the series, in which she stars alongsideGreta Lee,Charlie Barnett,andChloë Sevigny.
Lyonne directed the October 2020 Netflix comedy special,Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine (2020),a variety special dealing with issues of politics, race, gender, and class and featuredHelen Mirren,Fred Armisen,Whoopi Goldberg,Jon Hamm,Aubrey Plaza,Ben Stiller,Winona Ryder,andMarisa Tomei,among others. In addition to directing, Lyonne executive-produced the special through Animal Pictures, her production company withMaya RudolphandDanielle Renfrew Behrens.Animal Pictures is developing and producing a slate of original content, including the half-hour seriesDesert People,which Lyonne co-created withAlia Shawkatand Apple TV+'s upcoming comedy series starring Rudolph, created byAlan YangandMatt Hubbard.
Lyonne portrayedTallulah BankheadoppositeAndra Dayin her Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning turn as legendary jazz singerBillie Holidayin Academy Award nomineeLee Daniels'sThe United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).The biopic was released by Hulu in February 2021.
In 2019, Lyonne returned as Nicky Nichols in the seventh and final season of the Netflix original drama seriesOrange Is the New Black (2013),for which she also directed an episode. Lyonne directed and appeared in an episode of Comedy Central'sAwkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020).She also directed an episode ofShrill (2019),starringAidy Bryant,and an episode of Hulu seriesHigh Fidelity (2020),starringZoë Kravitz.
Lyonne made her directorial debut with Kenzo short filmCabiria, Charity, Chastity (2017),featuring the Fall/Winter 2017 collection. She wrote the screenplay for the film, which stars Rudolph, Armisen, andLeslie Odom Jr.,among others. In 2017, she produced and starred in IFC Midnight'sAntibirth (2016),directed byDanny Perez,co-starring Sevigny. This independent farce horror hybrid, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, was released wide in the US in 2016, and released in the UK in 2017.
In 2014, Lyonne earned an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role inOrange Is the New Black (2013).Recent television credits include guest stints onPortlandia (2011),Girls (2012),Inside Amy Schumer (2013),The Simpsons (1989),and IFC'sDocumentary Now! (2015).
As a young child, Lyonne was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency and at the age of six, and she was cast as Opal onPee-wee's Playhouse (1986).She is well-known for her acclaimed performances inSlums of Beverly Hills (1998),the beloved comedy directed byTamara Jenkinsand co-starringAlan Arkinand Tomei; the coming-of age comedyBut I'm a Cheerleader (1999),withClea DuVallandRuPaul;andEveryone Says I Love You (1996).Additional film credits includeThe Grey Zone (2001),Sleeping with Other People (2015),Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015),Blade: Trinity (2004),Party Monster (2003),James Mangold'sKate & Leopold (2001),American Pie (1999),American Pie 2 (2001),Detroit Rock City (1999),A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018),andIrresistible (2020).
On stage, Lyonne starred alongsideEthan Hawkein The New Group's darkly comic Off-Broadway production of Blood From a Stone, written byTommy Nohillyand directed by Scott Elliott. Lyonne earned critical acclaim for her adept portrayal of the couch-ridden, heartbroken Grace in the Roundabout Theatre Company s production of Tigers Be Still, written byKim Rosenstockand directed by Sam Gold. In 2019, Lyonne co-presented Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees with executive producerMike Birbiglia.The comedy showed at the Cherry Lane Theatre and received rave reviews. Lyonne's other stage credits include roles in Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of monologues and stories byDelia EphronandNora Ephron,and the familial drama Two Thousand Years, directed by Scott Elliot and written by the legendaryMike Leigh.
Lyonne co-created Netflix seriesRussian Doll (2019),which received three Emmy awards, a total of 13 Emmy nominations including Comedy Series and Lead Actress for Lyonne, a Gotham Award nomination, and a Golden Globe acting nomination for Lyonne after premiering in 2019. She is showrunner and writes and directs for the series, in which she stars alongsideGreta Lee,Charlie Barnett,andChloë Sevigny.
Lyonne directed the October 2020 Netflix comedy special,Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine (2020),a variety special dealing with issues of politics, race, gender, and class and featuredHelen Mirren,Fred Armisen,Whoopi Goldberg,Jon Hamm,Aubrey Plaza,Ben Stiller,Winona Ryder,andMarisa Tomei,among others. In addition to directing, Lyonne executive-produced the special through Animal Pictures, her production company withMaya RudolphandDanielle Renfrew Behrens.Animal Pictures is developing and producing a slate of original content, including the half-hour seriesDesert People,which Lyonne co-created withAlia Shawkatand Apple TV+'s upcoming comedy series starring Rudolph, created byAlan YangandMatt Hubbard.
Lyonne portrayedTallulah BankheadoppositeAndra Dayin her Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning turn as legendary jazz singerBillie Holidayin Academy Award nomineeLee Daniels'sThe United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).The biopic was released by Hulu in February 2021.
In 2019, Lyonne returned as Nicky Nichols in the seventh and final season of the Netflix original drama seriesOrange Is the New Black (2013),for which she also directed an episode. Lyonne directed and appeared in an episode of Comedy Central'sAwkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020).She also directed an episode ofShrill (2019),starringAidy Bryant,and an episode of Hulu seriesHigh Fidelity (2020),starringZoë Kravitz.
Lyonne made her directorial debut with Kenzo short filmCabiria, Charity, Chastity (2017),featuring the Fall/Winter 2017 collection. She wrote the screenplay for the film, which stars Rudolph, Armisen, andLeslie Odom Jr.,among others. In 2017, she produced and starred in IFC Midnight'sAntibirth (2016),directed byDanny Perez,co-starring Sevigny. This independent farce horror hybrid, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, was released wide in the US in 2016, and released in the UK in 2017.
In 2014, Lyonne earned an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role inOrange Is the New Black (2013).Recent television credits include guest stints onPortlandia (2011),Girls (2012),Inside Amy Schumer (2013),The Simpsons (1989),and IFC'sDocumentary Now! (2015).
As a young child, Lyonne was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency and at the age of six, and she was cast as Opal onPee-wee's Playhouse (1986).She is well-known for her acclaimed performances inSlums of Beverly Hills (1998),the beloved comedy directed byTamara Jenkinsand co-starringAlan Arkinand Tomei; the coming-of age comedyBut I'm a Cheerleader (1999),withClea DuVallandRuPaul;andEveryone Says I Love You (1996).Additional film credits includeThe Grey Zone (2001),Sleeping with Other People (2015),Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015),Blade: Trinity (2004),Party Monster (2003),James Mangold'sKate & Leopold (2001),American Pie (1999),American Pie 2 (2001),Detroit Rock City (1999),A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018),andIrresistible (2020).
On stage, Lyonne starred alongsideEthan Hawkein The New Group's darkly comic Off-Broadway production of Blood From a Stone, written byTommy Nohillyand directed by Scott Elliott. Lyonne earned critical acclaim for her adept portrayal of the couch-ridden, heartbroken Grace in the Roundabout Theatre Company s production of Tigers Be Still, written byKim Rosenstockand directed by Sam Gold. In 2019, Lyonne co-presented Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees with executive producerMike Birbiglia.The comedy showed at the Cherry Lane Theatre and received rave reviews. Lyonne's other stage credits include roles in Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of monologues and stories byDelia EphronandNora Ephron,and the familial drama Two Thousand Years, directed by Scott Elliot and written by the legendaryMike Leigh.
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Funny Women of Television
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