WHO THE HELL IS ANNA?
She’s the star of your next Netflix binge
There was a time when the name Anna could only mean one person: Vogue editor Anna Wintour – Ms Wintour to you. But from 11 February, that’s set to change as we all become obsessed with Anna Delvey: con-woman extraordinaire and the subject of Netflix’s new ten-part, true crime-inspired drama Inventing Anna…
WHAT’S THE STORY?
This binge-worthy series is based on the viral New York magazine article by journalist Jessica Pressler, who became intrigued by the identity and crimes of Anna Delvey, a self-styled socialite, whose actions sent shockwaves through Manhattan.
Delvey – born Anna Sorokin – told people she had a $60million trust fund and an ambitious plan to create an eponymous arts foundation. In fact, she was a designer-clad scam artist who conned wealthy acquaintances, luxury hotels, fancy restaurants and prestigious banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars – while flaunting her supposed wealth on social media. Her lies eventually caught up with her, and in 2019, she was found guilty of theft of services and grand larceny (that’s more theft), after stealing more than $200,000. The judge sentenced her to four to 12 years in prison, but Delvey was still defiant, saying later, “I’d be lying to you and to everyone else and to myself if I said I was sorry for anything.”
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
Strictly speaking, Anna Delvey is responsible for all this, but it’s Queen of TV Shonda Rhimes who snapped up the rights to the New York article and turned it into this
‘I’d be lying to you if I said I was sorry’
gripping drama. Even if you don’t know Rhimes by name, you’ll definitely be aware of her award-winning, highly addictive offerings (see right for proof).
Inventing Anna is the first fruit of Shonda’s nine-figure deal with Netflix and promises to be a big hit. Ozark’s Julia Garner is in the lead role and visited Anna in prison as part of her research, admitting she was won over by her, saying, “She was extremely charming. She’s very gentle. But then her voice gets less soft-spoken when she wants something.” Ah yes, the accent. Delvey was born in Russia, grew up in Germany, learned British English, but then mimicked American English by watching shows like Gossip Girl – and the result is, er, interesting. “It’s the hardest accent I’ll ever do,” Garner has said. Meanwhile, Veep’s Anna Chlumsky plays journalist Vivian who investigates the mysterious Anna, interviewing her in Rikers Island prison, scrolling through her endless stream of Instagram posts, and talking to her so-called friends who thought they knew her, but were seriously mistaken.
Last year, 30-year-old Delvey was released from prison and has no plans to fade into obscurity. As well as profiting hugely from this Netflix deal, she has plans to write two books – one about her time in New York, the other about her time behind bars – and in time wants her own “investment fund”.
Either way, one thing’s for sure, this is not the last you’ve heard of her. ■
Inventing Anna streams on Netflix from 11 February