Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein (/liˈoʊn/lee-OHN; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. Lyonne started her career as a teen actress before expanding her career, taking on mature roles in film and television. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and "tough" persona, and the accolades she has received include nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2023. Lyonne started her career as a child actress, making her first uncredited appearance in Heartburn (1986), recurring in Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986), and supporting in Dennis the Menace (1993). She transitioned to taking on teen roles in several independent films such as Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), and Party Monster (2003) as well as in broad comedic films such as American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001), Scary Movie 2 (2001), and American Reunion (2012). She 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 (2013–2019), a software engineer stuck in a time loop in the Netflix's comedy-drama series Russian Doll (2019–2022), and a woman who can tell when people are lying in the Peacock crime comedy series Poker Face (2023–present), the former of which she also served as a co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the series. She also starred in the Netflix drama film His Three Daughters (2024).
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