Who is Anna Sorokin? How much did Netflix pay Anna Delvey for her story’s rights?

Anna Delvey. Photo: @theannadelvey/Instagram
Anna Delvey. Photo: @theannadelvey/Instagram

The new Netflix docuseries Inventing Anna, which launched on February 11, is about Anna Delvey, who is now 31 years old. Delvey joined New York City’s elite circles from 2013 to 2017, and over a 10-month period, she conned contacts out of US$275,000 by claiming she was expecting to inherit US$67 million. So, how did she con her friends, partners, and companies? Here’s everything You need to know.

Who is Anna Delvey?

Anna Sorokin, who was born in Russia and relocated to Germany when she was 16, went on to gain an internship at Purple magazine in 2013 under the pretense of coming from well-connected circles after studying fashion at the University of the Arts London’s Central Saint Martins College. She also changed her name to Anna Delvey.

Anna Delvey. Photo: @theannadelvey/Instagram

She faked bank statements while claiming to be from an aristocratic family in order to obtain a US$22 million loan and open a private members’ club. She flaunted her phony affluence by flying on private planes for free and hosted friends at high-end restaurants, shifting the expense to her hotel account.

Her downfall was aided by a buddy who was duped out of US$60,000.

Delvey persuaded Rachel DeLoache Williams, a Vanity Fair picture editor at the time, to lend her US$60,000 to fund a luxury trip to Morocco. When she realized she was being conned, her friend cut her off.  However, investigators approached her former bestie, and the European fraudster’s fantasy world came crashing down in 2017 when she was detained for theft of services for failing to pay for hotel stays totaling US$50,000.
She turned the courtroom into a fashion show.

Anna Delvey took advantage of the opportunity to dress up in court

Before her sentencing in 2019, the designer fashion-loving conwoman sparked a stir by raising a ruckus over her clothing. She hired a stylist to outfit her in Yves Saint Laurent and Miu Miu gowns, and she refused to appear in court on days when she was dressed simply in high-street clothes.

Anna Delvey

In 2019, she was convicted of two counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny, but she was released after serving less than four years of her four-to-12-year sentence due to good behavior.

She produced a survival guide for Donald Trump during her time in prison, claiming that he will certainly end up there.

How much did Netflix pay Anna Delvey for her story’s rights?

Anna Delvey was paid $320,000 by Netflix for the rights to her narrative. Anna Delvey was the subject of a 10-part Netflix series.

Julia Garner (Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton) plays her in the Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton) production. She previously told Insider that she will not watch the 10-part series because it is delivered from the perspective of a journalist.

Delvey used $199,000 of the Netflix funds to repay banks, including $70,000 to Citibank and another $24,000 to pay state charges.

Anna Delvey was imprisoned once more and faces deportation from the United States.

Anna Delvey was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after six days of freedom because she had overstayed her visa’s time limit. She is now facing deportation from the United States. In a recent insider op-ed, she also lamented that media coverage alleging she displayed no remorse for her conduct had forced her back inside. She stated that an earlier photo she shared with a friend, showing her on a Manhattan rooftop (with the word “prison” in the caption), was exaggerated.

However, she has already stated that she is not remorseful for what she did and continues to feel that she did nothing wrong. Last year, she said on Twitter that she’ll “go back to Europe when they give black people reparations”.

She also looks to have a few new fans. Julia Fox, the new girlfriend of billionaire Kanye “Ye” West, recently publicly thanked her for sending birthday wishes, and referenced Delvey contacting her when she was shooting in an Instagram comment.