Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein (born April 4, 1979), better known as Natasha Lyonne, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jessica in the American Pie series and her appearances in the films Everyone Says I Love You, Slums of Beverly Hills, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Blade: Trinity. She currently portrays Nicky Nichols in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, for which she received a nomination for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Biography

Lyonne lives in New York City. Lyonne was evicted by her landlord, actor Michael Rapaport, following numerous complaints by other tenants about her behavior. She is currently dating actor Fred Armisen.


Legal issues
August 2001: Lyonne was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after she ran her rented car onto a Miami Beach sidewalk, hitting a road sign and causing minor damages. In August 2002, Lyonne pled guilty to drunk driving and 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 one year.
December 2004: Lyonne was arrested after verbally threatening her neighbor, breaking a mirror in the neighbor's apartment, and threatening to molest the neighbor's dog. She spent a night in jail before being arraigned on charges of criminal mischief, harassment, and trespassing. The details of this incident did not become publicly known until two years had passed. In April 2005, an arrest warrant was issued for Lyonne for failure to appear in court on the charges. Prosecutors say she attended court, but arrived an hour late and only stayed for 30 minutes. Police were unable to locate Lyonne until her hospitalization was reported in August. Charges were later dropped.
Health issues
2005: Lyonne was in Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan under a pseudonym, and had been there for over a month after being transferred from Bellevue Hospital. She reportedly suffered from hepatitis C, a heart infection, and a collapsed lung, and was undergoing methadone treatment. In January 2006, another arrest warrant was issued for her after she missed another hearing. Her lawyer said an emergency had arisen, but did not give details.
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. A judge sentenced her to conditional discharge.
2012: Lyonne underwent open heart surgery to correct damage caused by her heart infection. She quickly recovered from the surgery, and discussed her past health problems on The Rosie Show in March 2012.

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