Who's Real and Who's Not From “Inventing Anna”?

Julia Garner’s character, Anna Delvey (aka Anna Sorokin) is based on the real-life Russian-born fraudster Anna Sorokin.

Beginning in 2013, while living in New York City, Sorokin assumed the fake identity of Anna Delvey. For four years, Sorokin climbed up the NYC elites’ social ladder, fooling everyone in her path from wealthy art dealers to businessmen by telling them she had a $67 million trust fund. She deftly convinced bankers to give her massive loans and her friends to foot the bill for everything from expensive vacations and shopping sprees to restaurant/club outings.

Sorokin’s fraudulent life only lasted until 2017, though, at which point she was arrested following charges filed against her by The Beekman Hotel and an investigation by the New York District Attorney’s Office. Upon being found guilty for crimes ranging from grand larceny to theft in 2019, Sorokin spent nearly two years in prison before being released in February 2021.

Regarding the new show based on her crimes, Sorokin wrote in an open letter to Insider that she doesn’t have much of an interest in “Inventing Anna,” writing, “It doesn’t look like I’ll be watching ‘Inventing Anna’ anytime soon. Even if I were to pull some strings and make it happen, nothing about seeing a fictionalised version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing to me.”

As of 2022, Sorokin is back in prison for overstaying her visa and is currently being held in Orange County jail in New York.

While Anna Chlumsky’s character, Vivian Kent, doesn’t exist in real life, she is a fictionalised version of the real-life New York Magazine journalist Jessica Pressler.

In 2018, Pressler wrote the investigative article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,” which inspired the story behind the series. Not long after Sorokin made headlines with publications like the New York Post for skipping out on her lavish hotel bills in 2017, Pressler started investigating the alleged socialite. She is also known for other articles, most notably her 2015 piece “The Hustlers at Scores,” which the 2019 film “Hustlers” is based on.

Pressler is very active on social media and sings “Inventing Anna”‘s praises often. A pinned tweet on her Twitter profile includes the official trailer of the series with the caption, “The full trailer for ‘Inventing Anna’ is here! It is SO GOOD. February 11!”

Katie Lowes plays Rachel, based on the real ex-Vanity Fair picture researcher and former best friend of Sorokin, Rachel Deloache Williams.

Throughout their friendship, Sorokin and Williams went on lavish dinner dates, nightclub outings, and shopping sprees, until Sorokin left Williams with a $62,000 bill after going on a trip together, which she never repaid (via Harpers Bazaar).

Williams was partly responsible for Sorokin’s downfall. Following her stunt which left Williams with a $62,000 bill, New York Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw and New York Police Department Officer Michael McCaffrey worked with Williams to help find and arrest her. Through a series of several messages spanning a few weeks, Williams was able to pinpoint Sorokin’s location and relay the information to authorities.

Sorokin’s actions didn’t just have a negative effect on Williams’s money, they had an effect on her mental health as well. In an excerpt from her book, “My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress,” (via Time), Williams wrote, “I felt the loss of Anna, not as she was but as I had once perceived her to be. When I lost that, I lost a part of myself. When I became disillusioned with my friend, I became disillusioned with my faith in the innate goodness of all people.”

Portrayed by Laverne Cox in the series, the character Kacy is based on the real celebrity life coach and fitness trainer Kacy Duke.

Amid Sorokin’s period of manipulating and conning, Duke found herself a part of Sorokin’s life after the fake heiress sought her services online. Though their relationship started off professional, Sorokin quickly made moves to manipulate Duke, even going as far as getting Duke to help handle a situation at the Four Seasons in Calabasas when her credit cards were declined.

In Jessica Pressler’s piece “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,” she wrote about the situation saying, “The trainer was torn: On the one hand, this was not her problem. On the other, Anna was her client, her friend, and someone’s daughter. Offering a prayer to the universe, the trainer gave the hotel her credit-card number and, when it failed to go through, made the requisite calls to her bank.”

As Sorokin’s schemes continued, Duke started to distance herself from her and tried to remain neutral as her trainer. As of 2022, Duke is still working as a motivational coach/trainer and is excited about “Inventing Anna”‘s upcoming release. In an Instagram post, Duke shared the excitement about Cox playing her on screen, posting a picture of herself along with other cast members, writing, “Soooo Exciting! Love me some Laverne Cox!”

Alexis Floyd’s character, Neff, is based on the real-life Neffatari Davis, who worked as a concierge at hotel 11 Howard where Sorokin stayed for months prior to her fraudulent parade ending.

During Sorokin’s stay at the hotel, the two developed a friendship, with Davis trusting both her word and money. In an interview with Paper, Davis spoke on Sorokin’s ability to make anyone believe her, saying, “If you ever visit 11 Howard, there’s a space on the second floor and, if you work at the desk, usually tourists just come in and ask how to get to the Statue of Liberty. But then, you have this girl who’s draped in Rick Owens, huge Céline glasses, messy hair, European accent, hundreds of dollars of bills on her and she’s literally just giving it to me, for my time? It’s really none of my business where the money comes from.”

As of 2022, Davis is seemingly still close friends with Sorokin, having posted a birthday tribute to the convicted fraudster in January. She currently resides in Los Angeles and is an aspiring filmmaker. In an Instagram post for her own birthday, she wrote, “Last year I did all the politickin’. This year imma focus on the vision.”

“Inventing Anna” creator and director Shonda Rhimes responded, “I assume you have a script ready to go?” Judging by this interaction, could Davis and Rhimes potentially work together in the future? I guess time will tell!

Arian Moayed plays Sorokin’s lawyer, Todd Spodek, who is the real-life lawyer that represented Anna Sorokin.

According to NBC, while representing Sorokin, Spodek argued Sorokin was merely an entrepreneur with ambition who lost control, but never had any criminal intent. From a comparing Sorokin to Frank Sinatra (who he argued was another example of “faking it until you make it”) to arguing her business risks were unorthodox, but not criminal, Spodek’s defense did not fare well in court. Ultimately, Sorokin was convicted of multiple counts of grand larceny, among other charges.

Spodek is also known for representing a number of high-profile clients, ranging from actress Genevieve Sabourin to a juror in the ongoing criminal trial for Ghislaine Maxwell.

Alongside Vivian Kent is her romantic counterpart and husband, Jack Mercer (Anders Holm). Mercer is the fictionalised romantic interest for Vivian Kent and is not a real person. Jessica Pressler, whom the character Vivian Kent is based on, is married in real-life, though the identity of her husband is unknown.