Moments into Inventing Anna, one thing is blatantly clear: Everyone who knows Anna Delvey (Julia Garner) knows a different person. To some, she’s an antiheroine or a businesswoman; to others, she’s a “fake heiress,” even a bona fide scam artist. In any case, she’s arrested and dubbed nothing but a wannabe socialite by New York tabloids. And that’s when journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) comes in.
In order to unravel the story of who Anna really is (and how she got away with stealing an alleged $275,000 worth of goods and services), Vivian’s tasked with tracking down all of her one-time allies, frenemies and victims — and there are, um, a lot. Here’s the only guide you’ll ever need to everyone sucked into Anna’s orbit… and a few sucked into Vivian’s, too.
Where to begin with Anna Delvey (or Sorokin, depending on who you ask)? Love her or hate her, she successfully lures everyone — and we’re talking everyone, from fabulous socialites to high-powered lawyers — under her spell. On a mission to build an exclusive art club (and make a name for herself in the process), Anna misleads New York’s elite, gets herself in and out of several tenuous situations, and ends up charged with multiple counts of grand larceny and theft of services.
Garner isn’t new to Netflix, complicated characters or outlandish accents: She’s won Emmys for her performance as potty-mouthed, take-no-crap money launderer Ruth Langmore on Ozark. You might also recognize her from The Americans, Maniac and Waco.
Vivian is stuck: Not only is she still reeling from a professional scandal that hurt her journalism career years ago, but she’s worried about what her career will look like after giving birth. Anna Delvey is perfectly positioned to help Vivian tell the story she’s waited for, and Vivian is determined to figure out how Anna fooled so many influential people into believing she was an heiress with a bottomless well of family money.
Chlumsky is best known for her Emmy-winning performance in Veep. Rewind even further, though, and you might recognize her as the precocious star of the ’90s classic My Girl.
Celebrity fitness maven Kacy Duke enters Anna’s universe as her personal trainer, but it doesn’t take long for Kacy to turn into Anna’s friend and confidant. Cox, meanwhile, is even more revered than her character: She first became a household name after starring in Orange Is the New Black, and her credits since have included Bad Hair, Promising Young Woman and the award-winning documentary Disclosure, which she also executive produced.
Neff crosses paths with Anna while Neff is working as a concierge at a trendy SoHo hotel. They strike up a friendship — in fact, Neff might be one of the last people from Anna’s social scene to really stick by her side once she’s incarcerated — but Neff also gets a front-row look at Anna’s deceptions and all the wreckage she leaves in her wake. Floyd is best known for her stint as Tia, Kat’s campaign manager turned love interest in The Bold Type, and she’s also appeared in Dickinson.
Like Neff and Kacy, Rachel — a Vanity Fair photo editor — is a close friend and confidant of Anna’s, but their relationship takes a sour turn on a group trip to Marrakesh. As for Lowes, Inventing Anna isn’t her first Shondaland series: She previously played Quinn Perkins on Scandal. Elsewhere, she’s voice-acted roles in Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph and more.
Moayed plays Todd Spodek, Anna’s underdog lawyer who cares about her but doesn’t exactly understand her motives and plans. (To be fair, many people don’t!) You’ve probably seen Moayed in Succession and the second season of Love Life or maybe Spider-Man: No Way Home.
An early member of Anna’s crew, Val is a scrappy but sophisticated fashion designer in awe of her style, taste and confidence. It doesn’t take long for him to learn that she’s hiding something — and face the consequences of Anna’s actions. Cusati-Moyer’s prior credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Prodigal Son and False Positive.
In a way, Val’s best friend/roommate Nora represents everything Anna wants: She’s a glamorous, cultured, uber-wealthy philanthropist with a penchant for art and shopping sprees at Bergdorf’s. She isn’t sucked into Anna’s world right away, but eventually, they form a unique bond. Burton’s previously been in Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, and outside of Shondaland, she’s appeared in movies like Unfaithful and What Just Happened.
Vivian’s sweet, devoted husband doesn’t exactly understand his wife’s fixation on Anna (especially when all he can think about is his impending fatherhood). Holm is best known for starring in Workaholics and The Mindy Project, and he’s also appeared on shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
This trio of Manhattan writers may have been banished to so-called Scriberia, but they’re more than eager to help Vivian track down Anna’s accomplices and victims. You might recognize Perry as Scandal’s Cyrus Beene and Kinney as Hall from Billions; Smith, also an award-winning playwright, is a West Wing and Nurse Jackie alum.
Paul is an assignment editor at Manhattan, but unlike the writers of Scriberia, he’s less than invested in Anna’s story and not exactly on Vivian’s side as she tackles it. Guinee’s appeared in Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and as far as TV goes, you might have seen him in The Good Wife or Homeland.
Henderson plays Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw, a prosecutor on Anna’s case who clashes with Todd. In real life, Henderson’s been in shows like Russian Doll and Westworld, and she also currently stars in Freeform’s Single Drunk Female.
Wunderkind and startup founder Chase Sikorski — simply dubbed the “Futurist” in Vivian’s article — was once Anna’s boyfriend. But like Anna, his motives weren’t exactly clear: Were they working together? Was one using the other? No one can agree, but Vivian’s definitely going to try to figure it out. Usmani also starred in the Netflix miniseries What/If, and he’s also guest-starred on Succession, The Other Two and more.
Much like Vivian’s husband Jack, Todd’s glam, high-society wife wishes he’d spend a little less time on Anna and more time with his family. Like her on-screen husband, FitzGerald stars in HBO’s Succession, but you also might have seen her in Sweetbitter and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Domińczyk's Talia Mallay is a well-off leader of a lifestyle brand and one of the first people we watch Anna schmooze. In real life, Domińczyk recurred on Grey’s Anatomy and more recently appeared on Hawaii Five-0 and Whiskey Cavalier.
In the scammer crossover of the century, Fyre Festival mastermind Billy McFarland (played by Ben Rappaport of Younger, Mr. Robot and For the People) shares a brief moment with Anna at a co-working space. Oh, and for what it’s worth? She’s not too impressed by his vision for the festival.
