What the real Anna thinks of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series ‘Inventing Anna’

“Inventing Anna” — the story of how Anna Sorokin deceived and defrauded major financial institutions in New York — is up for three Emmy Awards Monday night, including outstanding limited or anthology series.

Ahead of the Emmys, here’s a look at the hit Netflix series, which covers the rise and fall of Sorokin.

What is ‘Inventing Anna’ about?

“Inventing Anna” explores how Sorokin, who is from Russia, pretended to be a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, and convinced friends and businesses in New York to give her money that funded a lavish lifestyle.

But the nine-episode series also reveals how for Sorokin, it wasn’t just about the lifestyle.

Told through the research of reporter Vivian Kent — based on real-life journalist Jessica Pressler, who wrote a major piece on Sorokin for New York magazine around the time of her trial — “Inventing Anna” shows how Sorokin also attempted to create an elite arts foundation, working her way into some of New York’s biggest social scenes and financial institutions to secure funding.

• “I was never trying to be a socialite,” she told Pressler. “I had dinners, but they were work dinners. I wanted to be taken seriously.”

Throughout Pressler’s research, the journalist said the following question about Sorokin came up frequently: “How did she manage to convince an enormous amount of cool, successful people that she was something she clearly was not?”

• Pressler concluded: “Anna looked at the soul of New York and recognized that if you distract people with shiny objects, with large wads of cash, with the indicia of wealth, if you show them the money, they will be virtually unable to see anything else. And the thing was: It was so easy.”

Where is Anna Delvey now?

Sorokin, who is 31, was convicted on one count of attempted grand larceny, three counts of grand larceny and four counts of theft services, Today reported.

Sorokin ended up serving close to four years in prison before being released in February 2021, NBC News reported. That freedom was short-lived, though, as she was taken into federal custody six weeks later for overstaying her visa, according to NBC News.

Sorokin remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention at a facility in New York, where she is fighting deportation to Germany, Today reported.

What does the real Anna Delvey think of ‘Inventing Anna’?

Cosmopolitan reporter Emily Palmer, who has covered Sorokin’s financial crimes for The New York Times, recently watched parts of the series with Sorokin over video chat.

Sorokin apparently laughed through much of it.

• “I think I’m more self-aware of the way I come across, not all of the time, but I just don’t think that I’m so brazen and shameless,” she told Palmer of the series’ portrayal, according to NBC News.
• “I don’t think, like, I order people around as much,” she said with a laugh.

• “I personally moved on a very long time ago, and I’m absolutely not in the same place,” she continued. “But I’m also being affected by the way the world sees me and by what people think of me.”

‘Inventing Anna’ Emmy nominations

“Inventing Anna” managed to snag a few Emmy nominations. Here are all the Emmy nods the hit Netflix show received:

• Outstanding casting for a limited or anthology series or movie.
• Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie (Julia Garner as Anna Delvey).
• Outstanding limited or anthology series.

Some might be surprised to see that “Inventing Anna” received Emmy nominations — the Netflix show was received with mixed reviews. Rolling Stone gave the show two stars earlier this year, calling it “an overly long muddle, never quite sure what it wants to say about its title character, or how to say it.”

Whether you’re rooting for or against “Inventing Anna” this year, don’t miss the Emmy Awards: the Emmys are on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. EDT and 5 p.m. PDT. You can watch it on NBC or stream it on Peacock.