Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne (born April 4, 1979) is a stage, film, and television actress.

Early life

Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and lived in Israel with her family during her childhood; her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors.When her parents divorced, Lyonne moved back to New York and lived with her mother and older brother Adam in a one-bedroom apartment. In New York, Lyonne attended Ramaz, a private Jewish school. Her mother then moved to Miami, where Lyonne attended and graduated fromMiami Country Day School.

Career

Lyonne began acting at an early age with her first role as "Opal" on Pee-wee's Playhouse. She appeared in the 1990 film A Man Called Sargeduring the time her family lived in Israel.

Lyonne is perhaps best known for her roles in the first two American Pie films as the wise-cracking Jessica. She has also appeared in more than 30 other movies, including starring roles in the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills and But I'm a Cheerleader. Lyonne also appeared in Party Monster in 2003, a dramatization of the Michael Alig story. As the character Brooke, Lyonne donned a fat suit anddreadlocks. She also played a blind biologist in Blade: Trinity.

After an extended hiatus, Lyonne filmed Goyband in New York City with Adam Pascal, Amy Davidson, Cris Judd, Dean Edwards, Tibor Feldman, and Tovah Feldshuh.

In January 2008, she appeared in an Off-Broadway play, Two Thousand Years. In November 2010 she appeared as "Grace" in the playTigers Be Still at the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Lyonne worked on the thriller 13 with a release date of 2010. Other cast members include Mickey Rourke, Ray Liotta and Jason Statham.

Lyonne is currently filming the dark comedy/horror film All About Evil in San Francisco. The film was written by and directed by San Francisco late-night movie host and short film producer Joshua Grannell.

Legal troubles

In August 2001, Lyonne was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after she ran her rented Dodge onto a Miami Beach sidewalk, hitting a road sign and causing $2,500 in damages. Lyonne fled the scene, but an officer who witnessed the accident tracked her down and Lyonne reportedly told the arresting officer, "I'm a movie star. Can I talk to my entertainment lawyer?" She was released several hours later after posting $2,000 bond. In August 2002, Lyonne pled guilty to drunk driving and she paid $1,000 in fines and court fees, performed 50 hours of community service, took part in a victim's panel organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was placed on probation for one year and had her license suspended for that same period.

In 2005, Lyonne was in Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, reportedly suffering from hepatitis C. In 2006, Lyonne was in the Caron Foundation, a drug and alcohol treatment center, and appeared in court after missing several court dates to face earlier charges of mischief,trespass and harassment after she entered a female neighbor’s Gramercy Park apartment and allegedly threatened to sexually molest the neighbor's dog.A judge sentenced her to conditional discharge.

Filmography

• Heartburn (1986) (uncredited) as Rachel's Niece
• Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) (TV series) (1986 – 1987) as Opal
• A Man Called Sarge (1990) as Arab girl who gets punched in the face
• Dennis the Menace (1993) as Polly
• Everyone Says I Love You (1996) as Djuna 'D.J.' Berlin
• Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) as Vivian Abromowitz
• Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) as Shelly Krippendorf
• Modern Vampires (1998) as Rachel
• American Pie (1999) as Jessica
• Detroit Rock City (1999) as Christine
• Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) as Crystal 'White Girl/Whitie' Van Meuther
• But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) as Megan Bloomfield
• The Auteur Theory (1999) as Rosemary Olson - Finalist
• If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV) as Jeanne
• Plan B (2001) as Kaye
• Fast Sofa (2001) as Tamara Jenson
• Scary Movie 2 (2001) as Megan Voorhees
• American Pie 2 (2001) as Jessica
• The Grey Zone (2001) as Rosa
• Kate & Leopold (2001) as Darci
• Comic Book Villains (2002) as Judy Link
• ZigZag (2002) as Jenna the Working Girl
• Night at the Golden Eagle (2002) as Amber
• Die, Mommie, Die! (2003) as Edith Sussman
• Party Monster (2003) as Brooke
• America Brown (2004) as Vera
• Madhouse (2004) as Alice
• Blade: Trinity (2004) as Sommerfield
• Robots (2005) (voice) as Loretta Geargrinder
• My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005) as Grace
• Tricks of a Woman (2008) as Sally
• The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) as Tracy
• Loving Leah (2009) (TV) as Esther
• Jelly (2009) as Mona Hammel
• Goyband (2009) as Fani
• Outrage (2009) as Molly
• Heterosexuals (2009) as Ellia
• All About Evil (2009) as Deborah
• 13 (2010) as Aileen

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