• Inventing Anna premiered on Netflix in 2022
  • Is the crazy story based on real life?
  • Here's the truth about Inventing Anna

Inventing Anna arrived on Netflix just days ago, but many fans have already powered through the addictive miniseries.

It tell the story of journalist "Vivian Kent" (Anna Chlumsky), who investigates the case of "Anna Delvey" (Julia Garner). She's an alluring Instagram star, supposedly from Germany, who got caught stealing loads of money in New York.

True story? How much of Inventing Anna is real

The fascinating tale of deception has fans asking: is it a true story? Inventing Anna is, in fact, based on a New York magazine article about the real-life Anna Delvey.

Jessica Pressler wrote the 2018 NY mag piece on Delvey a.k.a. Anna Sorokin. She, it turns out, is a Russian-born fraudster who posed as a German heiress to con victims.

Sorokin served four years in prison for her crimes, and actress Julia Garner has received praise for matching her accent.

Inventing Anna creator Shonda Rhimes used the article as a template for Sorokin's story. But, as the Netflix show states: "This whole story is completely true. Except for the parts that are completely made up." So which is which?

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Anna Chlumsky in Inventing Anna

For starters, the main character "Vivian" is not a direct portrayal of real-life journalist Jessica Pressler. She actually told Vulture: "Vivian is like an all-caps angry email of me, but there are things that are very real mixed into it."

Creative liberties were also taken in other areas. For example, "Anna's" boyfriend "Chase" is a modified version of the real-life Anna's partner, who has never been identified.

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Meanwhile, "Rachel" is another real-life figure. She's the friend of "Anna" who got scammed and leaves Inventing Anna looking not so great.

The real Rachel DeLoache Williams, however, has slammed the Netflix series and plans to make her own at HBO Max. She called Inventing Anna "PR for a con woman."

Inventing Anna is streaming now on Netflix. The miniseries has nine episodes.