Inventing Anna— the Shonda Rhimes-produced Netflix miniseries about real-life con woman Anna Delvey—has finally found its cast. For those who aren’t familiar, this modern-day story of fraud, theft, and living the high life is based on con woman Anna Sorokin. Per The New York Times, Anna Sorokin grew up in a middle-class Russian family before coming to New York City in her mid-20s back in 2013.
She started going by the name Anna Delvey and slid her way into the high-class life by creating a fictional identity as a wealthy German heiress who wore designer clothes and frequented the finest hotels. It was later discovered that she defrauded rich friends and financial institutions to support her dream life. In April 2019, Sorokin was convicted of several charges—second-degree grand larceny, theft of services, and a single count of first-degree attempted grand larceny—and will spend 4-12 years in prison for her crimes. It’s a truly bizarre and intriguing story that is perfect for TV treatment.
Julia Garner & @AnnaChlumsky will star in Inventing Anna, a 10-episode limited series and created by @shondarhimes & @BeersBetsy about con artist Anna Delvey (Garner) and the reporter (Chlumsky) determined to get her story. pic.twitter.com/C6s3wtaR7U
— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) October 31, 2019
According to Deadline, Emmy award winner Julia Garner (Ozark) will take the lead role as Anna Delvey in the series. Garner will star opposite Anna Chlumsky as Vivian, a reporter whose career is hanging in the balance. Vivian needs a big break and Anna Delvey’s story is the perfect opportunity to save her reputation, so she’s willing to risk it all to get the truth. The problem is, Vivian becomes enthralled with Anna’s high life and starts to make some bad decisions.
Inventing Anna also stars Scandal alum Katie Lowes as Rachel, a woman whose obsession with Anna nearly leads her life into ruins. The real Rachel Williams sparked controversy when she alleged that Anna conned her out of $62K during their glamorous girls trip on ABC News. Her experience led her to go to the police and the chips began to fall for Anna, even though she was found not guilty for the particular charge involving Rachel.
Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox portrays life coach and celebrity trainer Kacy Duke who becomes involved to a lesser degree in the baffling world of Anna Delvey. Kacy Duke is a real-life celebrity fitness expert who seems to be completely on-board with her story being told on Inventing Anna. Duke posted a photo of the cast, including Cox, on Instagram along with Deadline’s description of her character.
Rounding out the announcement is The Bold Type’s Alexis Floyd as Neff, a smart filmmaker working as a hotel concierge who befriends Anna Delvey. The real-life Neff did an interview with Paper Magazine and is surprised that people are so enthralled with her as a person. She says she knew a different side of Anna, whom she is still friends with after all of the legal and media hoopla. Neff is also an advocate for the series, calling her life “surreal” on Instagram.
Inventing Anna has a stacked cast and the support of real-life people behind Anna Delvey’s story of glamour and deceit. The series is slated for a 2020 release date but there are no further specifics about when fans can expect a trailer nor official premiere information. Until then, keep your eyes and ears open for more information about this incredibly wild real-life story.
Image Credit: theannadelvey/Instagram
