You've probably noticed that, when it comes to Shondaland's new series, Inventing Anna, we've been just a little excited for the series' February 11 premiere on Netflix. Before the show's juicy, high-drama fictionalized depiction of the story behind Anna Delvey — an early-twenties Russian-German immigrant who, after landing in New York City, famously swindled private jet companies, hotels, and banks, all in the interest of becoming a major player in high society — hits our screens, we've looked at who the real-life Anna really was, broken down everything we know about the series so far, brought you first-look photos of the cast, and delivered a scorching hot teaser trailer. And we're only just getting started.
Here, we finally reveal the full-length trailer for Inventing Anna!
Written and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, directed in part by Oscar- and Emmy-winner David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) and inspired by Jessica Pressler’s New York magazine article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,” the series (which also sees Pressler as a producer) stars Julia Garner as the titular character and Anna Chlumsky as the journalist hell-bent on breaking the real story behind Delvey's antics. The series also co-stars Katie Lowes as Rachel DeLoache Williams, one of Delvey’s devotees; Laverne Cox as Kacy Duke, Delvey’s personal trainer and life coach; and Alexis Floyd as Anna’s ride-or-die BFF.
The premiere of Inventing Anna is just weeks away, and as we get closer to February 11, here are a few more Anna goodies to whet your appetite.
First, a new series poster featuring Garner as Anna:
As well as 10 new series photos featuring Garner, Chlumsky, Cox, Lowes, and more.
Post high school, the real Anna Delvey — born Anna Sorokin — showed an early interest in fashion, enrolling at, but not attending, London's South Bank University for a BA in its fashion-marketing program and Parsons Paris for central studies and fashion illustration. She also interned at fashion PR firm Press Factory in Berlin and Purple magazine in Paris.
Chlumsky portrays Vivian, a fictional version of Jessica Pressler, the journalist who broke the full story on Delvey’s swindling in a New York magazine exposé that is the inspiration for the Netflix show.
Once in New York, Delvey dreamed up the Anna Delvey Foundation, a private members club and arts foundation that she proposed to dozens of wealthy socialites as the latest must-be-a-part-of scene.
Part of Delvey's ploy was luring friends to her side with her lavish lifestyle. In the series, two such women were Neff (left, played by Floyd), an aspiring filmmaker, and Rachel DeLoache Williams (right, played by Lowes), a photo editor at Vanity Fair.
Williams' blind worship of the Soho grifter lead to Williams accompanying Delvey and her friends on a lavish trip to Marrakesh, after which Williams unwittingly footed the $62,000 bill for the five-star hotel, indulgent spa treatments, top-tier dining, and round-the-clock drivers.
Williams life, career, and credit line were all but completely damaged in the wake of Delvey’s scamming. It was Williams who actually penned the first story about her so-called friend, and exposed Delvey’s antics in a Vanity Fair takedown.
The series details Vivian's investigation into Anna, who claimed to be a Russian heiress with a $60 million trust fund, which leads Vivian to learn that Anna's origins begin with a working-class family of Russian immigrants living in Germany.
Once Delvey was arrested for her scheming ways, defense attorney Todd Spodek (played by Succession’s Arian Moayed) proved skillful in his attempts to help Delvey. Even so, she was eventually sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Delvey spent 19 months awaiting trial at Rikers Island and then went on to serve at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, and then Albion Correctional Facility, both in New York state.
Once the real-life Anna was on trial, her courtroom style became a media sensation, with everyone from Elle to Vanity Fair breaking down the persona Sorokin was trying to portray with what she wore.
Anna Sorokin was paroled in early 2021 for good behavior but was then detained by ICE in Malibu and is now in custody awaiting possible deportation.
Feeling the heat yet? Keep checking this space for more from the world of Anna Delvey and Inventing Anna.
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