Natasha Lyonne's Real Name: Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein

Quick answer: Natasha Lyonne was born Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein on April 4, 1979, in New York City. Braunstein was her father's surname. According to Britannica, her parents legally changed her last name to her middle name, Lyonne, when she was five. She co-created and starred in Russian Doll, played Nicky Nichols on Orange Is the New Black, and starred in Poker Face (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica states that "Lyonne was born Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein to Aaron Braunstein, a boxing promoter, and Ivette (née Buchinger)." It adds, "Her parents legally changed her last name to her middle name, Lyonne, when she was five." The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Lyonne, Natasha," citing "b. April 4, 1979 in New York City, New York, USA."

She and her elder brother, Adam, were raised in an Orthodox Jewish family. Around the time of her name change, her parents signed her with a modeling agency. At six she appeared in several 1986 episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse. Britannica says her father moved the family to Israel when she was eight. After her parents divorced, she returned to New York with her mother. She was accepted to New York University at 16 to study film and philosophy but soon left.

Career highlights

Woody Allen cast her as his character's daughter in Everyone Says I Love You (1996). She then led the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) and the cult LGBTQ+ comedy But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), and appeared in American Pie (1999). In 2007 she appeared onstage in Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years.

In 2013 she began playing inmate Nicky Nichols on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black. The cast won Screen Actors Guild ensemble awards in 2015 and 2017, and Lyonne directed an episode. She also appeared on Portlandia, Girls, and Documentary Now!

In 2019 she created Russian Doll with Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland. She starred as Nadia Vulvokov, a New Yorker caught in a time loop, and directed several episodes. The show earned her Emmy nominations for acting and writing, and a second season premiered in 2022. She then starred in Rian Johnson's Poker Face, which premiered in 2023, as a casino worker who can tell when people are lying. She also wrote and directed an episode. Her 2023 credits include the film His Three Daughters.

Name notes for searchers

Natasha is her given first name. Bianca and Lyonne were her middle names. Braunstein was her birth surname from her father, Aaron Braunstein. Britannica says Lyonne became her legal surname in childhood, so "Natasha Lyonne" is a legal name, not only a stage name.