By SOPHIA PALUGHI
After landing freshly in Los Angeles, cross country from her socialite throne in New York City, Anna Delvey slams the taxi door shut. She hands the driver a thick stack of bills, to which he replies, “It doesn’t cost this much to get to West Hollywood.” Delvey replies, “This isn’t for the ride, it’s to get you to shut up”, through her thick German accent. This scene from the Netflix series, “Inventing Anna” positions her as a heartless scammer. But is this image fully accurate? Or is it heightened for television? Is Delvey a ruthless manipulator or simply a girl with a dream, and bit of attitude?
“Inventing Anna” starts off by showing viewers Delvey’s rise through the circles of New York City, her glamorous wealthy lifestyle, art, finance, fashion, to investing what led to her ultimate downfall that landed her in prison.
Anna comes across as beautiful, young, smart, business woman. She wanted to set up an exclusive members-only club which focussed on art, and was similar to a Soho House. She planned it to have restaurants inside, exclusive lounges, work spaces and hotel rooms. The Netflix series does a great job presenting the true story of what really happened.
Anna Soarkin is her real name. Now this leaves us all wondering, who is the real Anna Delvey/Soarkin?
From her last name to her personality traits, the definition of her public image is more blurred than ever. From being labeled a ruthless “scammer” by the NYT, a criminal by New York State court, and an “aspirational icon” by her famous friend Julia Fox- there is no clear image of who Delvey truly is using both intrapersonal and mass communication.
Fans of Anna such as Los Angeles drag queen, Baby Long Legs, insist that the media reporting of Anna is not entirely accurate. Long Legs proudly states that, “Anna is a hustler, and while she has admitted guilt to several counts of fraud, it does not deny her of being a good person”. Long Legs has performed several drag performances utilizing snippets from the Netflix series, but simultaneously trashes it claiming, “It doesn’t show all the aspects of Anna that fans have grown to love through her social media presence”.
Who is Anna?
Anna Soarkin a.k.a Anna Delvey came to notoriety in the mid 2000’s through her elite socialite status. She became known in New York City elite circles, partying with marketing executives and famous actors such as Macaulay Culkin. She introduced herself at elite parties as a german heiress, despite being of slavic heritage and born into a family tied to a rural trucking business. Her elite party attendance and voracious spending appetite came to a sudden halt when she was arrested in a FBI sting operation in 2017.
Soarkin with marketing mavin, Tommy Saleh, in 2012.
On October 3, 2017, Anna was charged with two counts of larceny, one count theft of services, and one count of grand larceny. Her plea deal was rejected by her judge due to a reported, “lack of remorse”. This decline from elite society status to convicted criminal is what makes Anna such a fascinating individual. Is truly remorseless and greed-filled?
These ideas are explored in the new hit Netflix series, Inventing Anna, created by the prolific Shonda Rimes. The series has amassed, “3.3 billion minutes watched for the week of February 14-20“, as reported in its Nielsen rating. The blurred image of Anna is emphasized heightened through the series, providing audiences with moments that depict her as both a bitter scheme and a small town girl in busting New York City. The series reignited the discussion over Anna’s morality, and just in time- Anna was up for deportation after her brief release from prison, during the Netflix show’s release. And while Soarkin’s deportation status is now final, media outlets are ablaze with headlines surrounding Anna. But, is the sensationalism of television drama positive for Anna’s already murky public images.
Julia Fox’s Forbidden Fruits podcast
In the Forbidden Fruits podcast with actress/muse/starlet, Julia Fox, Anna bears her soul in a way that she has never done before. Anna has been notoriously hesitant to give interviews in the past, but was fully willing to share intimate details with her longtime pal. In the interview, Anna herself admits that, “Netflix took certain qualities of me and played them up to the max”. She admits to her past mistakes, and even cops to a few of her fraud crimes, but equally stands her ground that her media reception transformed her into a martyr for youth with dreams of elitism. It seems that Anna is able to recognize her flaws and laugh them off. Which may be difficult to do as she await for her deportation status in a jail cell. Yet, this podcast interview conducted through a prison face-timing system, presents her as someone with heaps of confidence and little guilt. And why SHOULD she feel guilty? Is she not allowed to take credit for her mistakes and present her most honest, yet ruthless, self?
Friend to friend, Julia Fox tells Anna that, “I feel that after the show people sympathized with you… white men do this all the time, taking out crazy loans and all that sh**…”. Fox even cites former president and bankruptcy claimer, Donald Trump, as an example. Fox closes the discussion by stating, “I feel that you were punished for having the same dreams as a white man”.
Inventing Anna- Netflix Series
What’s next for Anna?
Sorokin was released from prison in 2021, but six weeks later, she was rearrested by immigration authorities for having overstayed her visa. She is currently in ICE detention, where she is fighting deportation to Germany.
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) March 10, 2022
This story is captivating and engaging. I enjoyed reading it. You have a real knack for video editing… your choices of pictures, music, and text make it so interesting to watch. I did want to know more about what one of her crazy nights out in NYC looked like… was she spending $5,000 on a bottle of champagne? Or was she buying a $250 steak. Thats something i wouldve liked more on