- Natasha Lyonne
-
Natasha Lyonne 
Natasha Lyonne onstage at the 2009 Seattle International Film FestivalBorn Natasha Braunstein
April 4, 1979
Manhattan, New York, U.S.Occupation Actress Years active 1986–present Natasha Lyonne (born April 4, 1979) is a stage, film, and television actress.
Contents
Early life
Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter.[1][2][3] Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household. Her parents, experiencing marital troubles but trying to avoid divorce, decided to move from their previous situation, in an effort to find happiness. They moved to Israel, where Natasha spent a few years of her early childhood.[4] Her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors.[1][5] Her parents did finally divorce; Natasha and her older brother Adam returned to the US with their mother. They settled in New York City in a one-bedroom apartment. She attended Ramaz, a private Jewish school. Her mother then moved to Miami, where Natasha attended and graduated from Miami Country Day School.
Career
Natasha Lyonne began acting at an early age with her first role as "Opal" on Pee-wee's Playhouse. She appeared in the 1990 film A Man Called Sarge during the time her family lived in Israel.
Lyonne is perhaps best known for her roles in the first two American Pie films as the wise-cracking Jessica. She has also appeared in more than 30 other movies, including starring roles in the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills and But I'm a Cheerleader. Lyonne also appeared in Party Monster in 2003, a dramatization of the Michael Alig story. As the character Brooke, Lyonne donned a fat suit and dreadlocks. She also played a blind biologist in Blade: Trinity.
After an extended hiatus, Lyonne filmed Goyband in New York City with Adam Pascal, Amy Davidson, Cris Judd, Dean Edwards, Tibor Feldman, and Tovah Feldshuh.
In January 2008, she appeared in an Off-Broadway play, Two Thousand Years.[6] In 2009 she appeared in the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore.[7] In November 2010 she appeared as "Grace" in the play Tigers Be Still[8] at the Roundabout Theatre Company.
In 2010 Lyonne starred in All About Evil in San Francisco. The film was written by and directed by San Francisco late-night movie host and short film producer Joshua Grannell.[9]
In 2011 she signed on to reprise her role as Jessica in American Reunion, slated to be released in 2012.[10]
Legal troubles
Lyonne was arrested in August 2001 for driving under the influence of alcohol after she ran her rented automobile onto a Miami Beach sidewalk, hitting a road sign and causing $2,500 in damages. Lyonne fled the scene, but an officer who witnessed the accident tracked her down and Lyonne reportedly told the arresting officer, "I'm a movie star. Can I talk to my entertainment lawyer?" She was released several hours later after posting $2,000 bond.[11] In August 2002 she pled guilty to drunk driving and paid $1,000 in fines and court fees, performed 50 hours of community service, took part in a victim's panel organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was placed on probation for one year and had her license suspended for that same period.[12]
In 2003 she was evicted by her landlord, actor Michael Rapaport, after numerous complaints were made by other tenants about her behavior.[13]
In 2005 Lyonne was in Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, suffering from hepatitis C and undergoing methadone treatment.[14][15] In 2006, Lyonne was in the Caron Foundation, a drug and alcohol treatment center, and appeared in court after missing several court dates to face earlier charges of mischief, trespass and harassment after she entered a female neighbor’s Gramercy Park apartment and allegedly threatened to sexually molest the neighbor's dog.[16] A judge sentenced her to conditional discharge.[17]
Filmography
- Heartburn (1986) (uncredited) as Rachel's Niece
- Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) (TV series) (1986 – 1987) as Opal
- A Man Called Sarge (1990) as Arab girl who gets punched in the face
- Dennis the Menace (1993) as Polly
- Everyone Says I Love You (1996) as Djuna 'D.J.' Berlin
- Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) as Vivian Abromowitz
- Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) as Shelly Krippendorf
- Modern Vampires (1998) as Rachel
- American Pie (1999) as Jessica
- Detroit Rock City (1999) as Christine
- Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) as Crystal 'White Girl/Whitie' Van Meuther
- But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) as Megan Bloomfield
- The Auteur Theory (1999) as Rosemary Olson - Finalist
- If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV) as Jeanne
- Plan B (2001) as Kaye
- Fast Sofa (2001) as Tamara Jenson
- Scary Movie 2 (2001) as Megan Voorhees
- American Pie 2 (2001) as Jessica
- The Grey Zone (2001) as Rosa
- Kate & Leopold (2001) as Darci
- Comic Book Villains (2002) as Judy Link
- ZigZag (2002) as Jenna the Working Girl
- Night at the Golden Eagle (2002) as Amber
- Die, Mommie, Die! (2003) as Edith Sussman
- Party Monster (2003) as Brooke
- America Brown (2004) as Vera
- Madhouse (2004) as Alice
- Blade: Trinity (2004) as Sommerfield
- Robots (2005) (voice) as Loretta Geargrinder
- My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005) as Grace
- Tricks of a Woman (2008) as Sally
- The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) as Tracy
- Loving Leah (2009) (TV) as Esther
- Jelly (2009) as Mona Hammel
- Goyband (2009) as Fani
- Outrage (2009) as Molly
- Heterosexuals (2009) as Ellia
- All About Evil (2009) as Deborah
- New Girl (2011) (TV Series) as Gretchen
- 4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011)
- American Reunion (2012) as Jessica[10]
References
- ^ a b Hass, Nancy (July 9, 2000). "SHOPPING WITH: Natasha Lyonne; Rough, Tough, But on a Road To Ladylike". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE6DE1738F93AA35754C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Natasha Lyonne Biography (1979-)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/43/Natasha-Lyonne.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 2009-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20091027141132/http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/5640/interviews/lyonne.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (2008-01-06). "When Living at All Is the Best Revenge". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/theater/06simo.html?ref=theater. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ "New York Metro". November 27, 2000. http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/4117/. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
- ^ "Natasha Lyonne to Star in Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years, Broadway.com Buzz". Broadway.com. http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=554519. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (2009-10-02). "Spandex Agonistes: Why Don’t You Try It On?". The New York Times. http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/theater/reviews/02love.html. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (2010-10-06). "Escaped Predator? What Else Is New?". Theater.nytimes.com. http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/theater/reviews/07tigers.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Creepy, Uncle (2010-01-19). "New Stills: All About Evil". Dreadcentral.com. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35412/new-stills-all-about-evil. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ a b Published Wednesday, Jul 13 2011, 6:50pm EDT (2011-07-13). "Natasha Lyonne joins 'American Reunion' - Movies News". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a329739/natasha-lyonne-joins-american-reunion.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Pie Star Lyonne Arrested for Drink Driving". Abcnews.go.com. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=102734&page=1. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Susman, Gary (2002-08-27). "Natasha Lyonne pleads guilty on DUI charge". Ew.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,344621,00.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Michael Rapaport Driven to Despair by Natasha Lyonne". Hollywood.com. 2005-04-21. http://www.hollywood.com/news/Michael_Rapaport_Driven_to_Despair_by_Natasha_Lyonne/2439624. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Updated 58 minutes ago 10/20/2011 3:07:38 PM +00:00. "‘American Pie’ star’s fight for life - Entertainment - Access Hollywood - TODAY.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9013110/ns/today-entertainment/t/american-pie-stars-fight-life/. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Hey! Natasha Lyonne Is Still Alive! - Daily Intel". Nymag.com. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/01/hey_natasha_lyonne_is_still_al.html. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Natasha Lyonne accused of threatening to sexually molest neighbor's dog". Today.msnbc.msn.com. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/16226780/. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (January 6, 2008). "When Living at All Is the Best Revenge". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/theater/06simo.html. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
External links
Categories:- 1979 births
- Actors from New York City
- American child actors
- American film actors
- American emigrants to Israel
- American Jews
- American Orthodox Jews
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Jewish actors
- Living people
- People from Manhattan
- Ramaz School alumni
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
