Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein was born born April 4, 1979. She is an American actress best known for her role role as Jessica in the American Pie series.

Natasha Lyonne has been acting since she was six when she was cast on the show Pee-wee’s Playhouse as Opal. Then at seven she appeared in a film called “Heartburn,” acting along side Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. She has acted in many movies such as Slums of Beverly Hills, American Pie, Detroit Rock City, Kate & Leopold, Blade: Trinity and Girl Most Likely to name a few. She has also appeared in television shows such as Will and Grace, New Girl, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Weeds.

She currently plays Nicky Nichols, a sarcastic, fun, down to earth person with a healthy sexual appetite in the Netflix Original Series “Orange is the New Black.” She received a nomination for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Natasha Lyonne made her stage debut in the award-winning New Group production of “Two Thousand Years” in New York. Later in 2011, she was in Tommy Nohilly’s “Blood From a Stone.”

“There’s something about theater that squashes the self-critical voices because you have to be in the moment. I’m glad that I didn’t do this before I was ready, before I was capable of showing up every day. That is not a skill set I had before.” ~ Natasha Lyonne