Natasha Lyonne
Fani - the young orthodox Jewish girl with a wild side.
Early life
Lyonne was born in New York City, New York to Aaron Braunstein, a former boxing promoter and race-car driver, and Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant and former ballerina. Lyonne grew up in a conservative Jewish household and lived in Israel with her family during her childhood; her maternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors. When her parents divorced, Lyonne moved back to New York and lived with her mom and older brother Adam in a one-bedroom apartment.
Angry and confused over the divorce of her parents, Lyonne hated her high school years and spent time in several different schools. She first attended private Jewish school at Ramaz in Manhattan. Natasha's frustration during these years caused her to get into fistfights and skip school in order to be alone and away from peers. Her mother moved then to Miami, where she attended Miami Country Day School. At sixteen, she left her mother in Miami and moved back to New York on her own. She later dropped out of school to start making movies.
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 Sarge during the time her family lived in Israel. As a teenager, she worked with Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love You, an experience so intimidating she remembers being afraid to smoke in front of the renowned director.[citation needed]
Lyonne is perhaps best known for her roles in the first two American Pie films as the wise-cracking feminist "Jessica." She has also appeared in more than thirty other movies, including starring roles in the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills and But I'm a Cheerleader. Lyonne also starred opposite Macaulay Culkin in Party Monster in 2003, a dramatization of the Michael Alig story. As the character of "Brooke," Lyonne donned a fat suit and dreadlocks.
Singer and former neighbour Rufus Wainwright wrote a song about her called "Natasha" included on his 2003-released album Want One.
--Wikipedia.com, the online encyclopedia
Lyonne was born in New York City, New York to Aaron Braunstein, a former boxing promoter and race-car driver, and Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant and former ballerina. Lyonne grew up in a conservative Jewish household and lived in Israel with her family during her childhood; her maternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors. When her parents divorced, Lyonne moved back to New York and lived with her mom and older brother Adam in a one-bedroom apartment.
Angry and confused over the divorce of her parents, Lyonne hated her high school years and spent time in several different schools. She first attended private Jewish school at Ramaz in Manhattan. Natasha's frustration during these years caused her to get into fistfights and skip school in order to be alone and away from peers. Her mother moved then to Miami, where she attended Miami Country Day School. At sixteen, she left her mother in Miami and moved back to New York on her own. She later dropped out of school to start making movies.
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 Sarge during the time her family lived in Israel. As a teenager, she worked with Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love You, an experience so intimidating she remembers being afraid to smoke in front of the renowned director.[citation needed]
Lyonne is perhaps best known for her roles in the first two American Pie films as the wise-cracking feminist "Jessica." She has also appeared in more than thirty other movies, including starring roles in the independent films Slums of Beverly Hills and But I'm a Cheerleader. Lyonne also starred opposite Macaulay Culkin in Party Monster in 2003, a dramatization of the Michael Alig story. As the character of "Brooke," Lyonne donned a fat suit and dreadlocks.
Singer and former neighbour Rufus Wainwright wrote a song about her called "Natasha" included on his 2003-released album Want One.
--Wikipedia.com, the online encyclopedia
Website: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005169/
