Get to know the actresses who play the inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary
Piper Chapman
Played by Taylor Schilling
Schilling is known for her role as Veronica Flanagan Callahan on NBC’s Mercy and made her debut on the big screen in 2007 in Dark Matter, which co-starred Meryl Streep.In 2012, Schilling appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Argo.
Schilling grew up in Massachusetts and graduated in 2006 from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting. She entered New York University's Graduate Acting Program and left after her second year to pursue her acting career, landing Mercy within four months.
Alex Vause
Played by Laura Prepon
Prepon is a versatile actress whose career spans both film and television. She made her television debut on the long-running sitcom That '70s Show, where she portrayed Donna Pinciotti, the girlfriend of next door neighbour Eric Forman.
She appeared opposite Ashley Judd in the critically acclaimed feature film Come Early Morning, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Prepon is also at ease behind the camera. She directs, produces, and edits the comedic web series Neighbros.
Sophia Burset
Played by Laverne Cox
Cox is the first transwoman of colour to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show.
On the silver screen, Laverne can next be seen as "Deathy", a supporting role in the Lily Tomlin film Grandma from acclaimed writer and director Paul Weitz. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it was acquired by Sony Picture Classics and showed at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
Laverne’s work as an actress and advocate landed her on the cover of TIME Magazine, as well as an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.” Laverne continues to break boundaries and make history with accolades including a SAG Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series", a Critics Choice nomination for “Best Supporting Actress", and an NAACP Image Awards nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series".
Nicky Nichols
Played by Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Lyonne began her acting career and gained notoriety on the small screen as Opal in the classic Saturday morning series, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
She is best known for her acclaimed performances in Slums of Beverly Hills, the beloved comedy directed by Tamara Jenkins, and co-starring Alan Arkin and Marisa Tomei; the coming-of-age comedy, But I’m a Cheerleader, with Clea Duvall; Woody Allen’s all-star romantic musical comedy, Everyone Say I Love You; and the Holocaust drama, The Grey Zone, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and co-starring David Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, and Steve Buscemi.
Lyonne was reunited with the cast of the highly-successful American Pie series for the latest instalment, American Reunion. Released in April of 2012, audiences had the pleasure of seeing the beloved American Pie cast on the big screen one more time.
Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren
Played by Uzo Aduba
Aduba made her television debut in 2012 on the hit CBS show Blue Bloods. For her role in Orange is the New Black, Uzo Aduba won the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards for “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy” and was a part of OITNB’s win for “Best Ensemble in a Comedy". She also won the 2014 Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy” and the 2014 Broadcast Television Journalists Association Award for "Best Guest Performer in a Comedy". Along with her SAG and Emmy honours, Uzo became the firstAfrican-Americann actress to win the award in each category.
Aduba recently wrapped production on Michael Wilson’s Showing Roots alongside Maggie Grace. The film is about a small Southern town in 1977 whose balance is turned upside down when the slavery miniseries Roots hits the airwaves. Aduba and Grace play two denizens of a local beauty parlour who are inspired by the Alex Haley adaptation to integrate their community, only to see pent-up racial tensions erupt in the process.
Lorna Morello
Played by Yael Stone
In her native Australia, Yael Stone has earned a reputation as one of the country's leading stage actresses. After graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Stone worked with all the major theatre companies in the country, alongside some of the most influential theatremakers and performers.
She has been both a nominee and a recipient of multiple awards for her work. In 2010, Stone appeared in the two-hander, The Diary of a Madman, opposite Geoffrey Rush. The much lauded production then toured to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York for a sold out season in 2011.