Natasha Lyonne Biography / Pictures
Natasha began
acting at an
early age. Her
first role was
playing "Opal"
on Pee-wee's
Playhouse. Then,
as a teenager,
she worked with
Woody Allen,
an experience so
intimidating she
remembers being
afraid to smoke
in front of the
renowned
director. Lyonne
dropped out of
school to start
making movies.
Natasha Lyonne
grew up a child
of divorce,
moving around a
lot. Her family
moved to Israel
for a brief
time, as her
parents tried to
salvage their
marriage. In
Israel, she
continued acting
and appeared in
the movie A Man
Called Sarge
1990. But her
parents
divorced, and
she 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,
Natasha hated
her high school
years and spent
time in several
different
schools. She
first attended
private Jewish
school at
Manhattan's
Yeshiva high
school. "After
my parents split
up, I was with
my mom" she
explained. "My
grandparents
really wanted me
in private
school. So I had
to go to some
rich school but
be the weirdo on
scholarship."
There, she says
she felt like
nothing she did
"was ever good
enough."
Natasha's
frustration
during these
formative years
caused her to
get into
fistfights and
skip school in
order to be
alone and away
from peers, who
made fun of her
lower
socioeconomic
status. Her
mother moved
them to Miami,
where she
switched to a
public high
school, but that
did not work out
either. At 16,
she left her
mother in Miami
and moved back
to New York on
her own.
She dated actor
Edward Furlong,
who she met on
the set of
Natasha Lyonne
rose to fame
playing the role
of wise-cracking
feminist
"Jessica" in the
American Pie
movies.
On August 28,
2001, Lyonne was
driving along
Miami Beach with
actor Adam
Goldberg in a
rented Dodge
when she lost
control of the
car, jumped a
curb and hit a
road sign
causing $2500
damage. Lyonne
attempted to
ditch the
crashed car and
flee the scene
but an officer
who observed the
entire episode
pursued and
arrested her.
Refusing to take
a Breathalyzer
test, she told
the cop, "I'm a
movie star. Can
I talk to my
entertainment
lawyer?"
She was arrested
by Miami Beach
police on
charges of
driving under
the influence of
alcohol,
careless driving
and leaving the
scene of an
accident. She
later pled
guilty to
driving under
the influence
and received six
months of
probation and 50
hours of
community
service.
Lyonne starred
opposite
Macaulay Culkin
in Party Monster
in 2003, a
dramatization of
the Michael Alig
story. As
Brooke, a drug
addicted fat
girl who Culkin
picks up on his
nationwide tour
to find more
club kids,
Natasha donned a
fat suit and
dreadlocks.
 |
Lyonne became
friends with
actor Michael
Rapaport in 1997
and later rented
an apartment in
a building he
owns on East
18th Street.
Rapaport claimed
that "it
remained very
peaceful until
the fall of
2003" when he
started
receiving
complaints from
other tenants.
"Reports kept
coming in," said
Rapaport,
"People were
going in and out
of the
apartment, [one
of the tenants]
was telling me
about the
late-night
parties, and
random dudes
sprawled out on
her sofa at all
times. [Another
tenant] had a
little dinner
party. Natasha
was screaming up
at them
throughout the
party." Things
got so bad he
travelled from
his Los Angeles
home to confront
her. He was
shocked by how
much she had
changed. "I felt
sick to my
stomach the
moment she
touched me," he
said. "Her body
was so skinny."
In December
2004, Lyonne was
involved in an
incident with
fellow Gramercy
Park resident
Nicole
Schneider[3]
that led to her
arrest. The
police report
from the
incident says
that a wild-eyed
Natasha Lyonne
banged on the
door of her
neighbor's
third-floor
apartment around
11 PM on
December 17. The
actress
reportedly
stormed into the
apartment,
ripped a mirror
from the wall
and shattered it
on the ground.
Schneider said
that Lyonne then
yelled threats
and abuse while
she grabbed and
s--ually
molested
Schneider's
dog[4]. Other
tenants called
the police and
Lyonne was
arrested,
spending a night
in jail before
being arraigned
on charges of
criminal
mischief,
harassment and
trespassing.
Another
neighbour,
speaking to the
New York Post,
expressed shock
at Lyonne’s
behaviour
towards the dog
saying,"Natasha
likes dogs."[5]
When news
organizations
attempted to
contact her
agent for
comment, they
were told that
he no longer
represented her.
Following her
arrest, in late
2004, Lyonne was
evicted from her
apartment by
Michael Rapaport,
who later
published an
article in the
May 2005 issue
of Jane Magazine
entitled
"Evicting
Natasha Lyonne".
In the article,
which included
unflattering mug
shots of Lyonne,
Rapaport wrote,
"Natasha, who I
used to think
was so cool, had
sh-- on me and
my property. I
tried to help
her, a lot of
friends did. But
she screwed me.
She can kiss my
ass." Describing
the apartment,
Rapaport said
"There was
garbage
everywhere,
scripts,
contracts, pages
from Hustler
magazine and
things I can't
even mention.
There were
glasses smashed
in the kitchen
and standing
water in the
clogged tub with
flies hovering
over it. It
looked like a
grenade had gone
off in her
bedroom."
Lyonne's father
disputed
Rapaport's
story, saying
"There's no
crime in America
to keep an
apartment dirty.
You're paying
$5,000 a month,
so Michael
Rapaport used
the judicial
system to have
my daughter
break her
lease."
Sometime after
her eviction in
January, Lyonne
went missing. In
April 2005, an
arrest warrant
was issued for
Lyonne for
failure to
appear in a New
York court on
charges of
criminal
mischief,
harassment, and
trespassing.
Prosecutors say
that Lyonne did
show up but
arrived an hour
late and only
stayed 30
minutes. Between
April and August
of 2005, police
were unable to
locate Lyonne.
The New York
Post reported
that Lyonne was
homeless during
this time and
living on the
streets.
Lyonne's father
denies she was
homeless and
claims she owns
her own co-op.
In August 2005,
Lyonne
resurfaced when
the New York
Post and Access
Hollywood
reported that
she was in Beth
Israel Hospital
in Manhattan
under a
pseudonym, and
had been there
for over a
month, suffering
from hepatitis
C, a heart
infection, and a
collapsed lung.
She was also
allegedly
undergoing
methadone
treatment for
her heroin
addiction and
her body was
covered in track
marks.[6] It is
not clear how
Lyonne
contracted
hepatitis C, but
according to a
Mayo Clinic
report, the
primary mode of
transmission of
hepatitis C is
via contaminated
blood - through
needles shared
by drug users or
through blood
transfusions.
The disease can
lead to serious
liver damage.
In an interview
on Access
Hollywood,
Lyonne's father
threatened to
sue the New York
Post. "There's a
confidentiality
between patient,
doctor, and
hospital, so all
of this is
probably going
to be a major
lawsuit."
Contrary to news
reports, her
father said he
believes she
contracted
hepatitis C
after falling in
with a "bad
crowd" while
filming 2001's
The Grey Zone in
Bulgaria.
After her
release from
hospital, Lyonne
has been
allegedly
spotted in New
York.
Unconfirmed
reports claim
that she appears
to be between 70
and 80lbs, has
scabs on her
face and is
losing her hair.
In January 2006,
another arrest
warrant was
issued for
Lyonne for
missing a fourth
hearing on
charges she
s--ually
molested a
neighbor's dog.
Lyonne's failure
to turn up at
the Manhattan
Criminal Court
prompted her
lawyer, Terry
Karl, to explain
"An emergency
has come up",
adding that he
didn't know what
the emergency
was.
Quotes
Trivia
Selected Filmography
This Natasha Lyonne Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Chuck Ayoub