Inventing Anna is the latest Netflix series to have us gripped to our TV screens.
The new binge-worthy series tells the story of Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, who defrauded New York’s elite by pretending to be a German heiress.
She posed as a heiress who hailed from Europe with a trust fund of $60 million (£44million), and lived a life of luxury thanks to her fake persona.
However, Anna's quest for luxury saw many hurt, as she scammed more than $200,000 (£147,000) from banks and luxury hotels, and even conned a 'friend' out $62,000 (£45,000)
Inventing Anna is based on real events, but comes alongside a disclaimer that reads: "This whole story is completely true. Except for all the parts that are totally made up," which looks to be a nod to Anna Delvey's original string of lies, as well as the fictionalisation of certain elements in the show.
Here, we take a look through which parts of Inventing Anna are fictional, and which are fact…
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Anna's sentencing
The real Anna Delvey was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, just like in the Netflix adaptation.
The show also truthfully reflects her charges, with her being found guilty of grand larceny and theft of services.
Anna was released from prison on 11 February 2021, which is shown at the end of Inventing Anna.
Vivian Kent
In the Netflix show, actress Anna Chlumsky portrays Vivian Kent, which is a character based on journalist Jessica Pressler.
While Vivian Kent is an entirely made-up name, the character does give an accurate retelling of Jessica's story.
Jessica originally wrote a story for New York Magazine website The Cut, titled How Anna Delvey tricked New York's party people, which saw the story of the fake heiress catch the attention of millions – including producers at Netflix!
Much of Vivian's story reflects truthful aspects of Jessica's life, including the fact that she was pregnant when she worked on the original article, and she did go and visit Anna in prison at Rikers Island.
Jessica has also spoken about the character, and she told Vulture: "It was not a thing I wanted, but I understand the impulse of why they wanted to do it."
She did say that her bosses at New York Magazine are very much "the opposite" to Vivian's fictional bosses however.
Chase Sikorski
In Inventing Anna, we see Anna spending a lot of time with boyfriend, Chase Sikorski, portrayed by Saamer Usmani.
While Anna did have a boyfriend, the character Chase as well as his app Wake appear to both be fictionalised.
In Jessica Pressler's initial article, she mentioned a boyfriend, but he was left unnamed.
Rachel DeLoache Williams
In the Netflix show, Nicole Rivelli plays Anna's friend, Rachel DeLoache Williams.
Rachel is real, and she claims that she was left to pay a $62,000 (£45,000) bill after the pair took a trip to Morocco together – which is true.
Anna was ultimately found not guilty of stealing from Rachel, which is shown in the series.
In Inventing Anna we watch Rachel pen a book about her experiences, which is also true as she published her story first in Vanity Fair in 2018, before publishing a book, My Friend Anna.
Rachel's real life involvement with the FBI to help arrest Anna is also true, and parts of her original court testimony are believed to have been used to in the show too.
While Netflix's portrayal of Rachel appears to reflect the reality of her friendship with Anna, she has criticised the streaming giant for the show.
Speaking to theVanity Fair newsletter, Rachel said: "This show is playing a fine line – peddling it as a true story, but also [in the title sequence disclaimer] saying, 'except all the parts that aren't'.
"At what point is the half-truth more dangerous than the lie?"
Other fun facts
The majority of Inventing Anna reflects reality, including many characters who are, or based on, actual real-life people.
Celebrity trainer Kacy Duke was friends with Anna and did go to Morocco with her, while lawyer Todd Spodeck did represent Anna in court.
Anna's finance lawyer, Alan Reed, also appears to be based on her real-life lawyer, Andy Lance.
The fake heiress did work on the Anna Delvey Foundation, and she did fly to Warren Buffet's conference in Omaha via private jet.
Other fictional aspects
By comparing the series to Jessica Pressler's original New York Magazine article, it becomes apparent them there are a handful of events which are fictionalised.
When Anna goes to Morocco with her pals, the series shows trainer Kacy Duke flying home due to being ill, which is true. Anna then claims to have been mugged, and asks Kacy to foot the bill for her flight home, which isn't shown in the Netflix series.
In the show, Vivian, the character based on Jessica Pressler, flies out to Germany in the hope of tracking down Anna's parents, and breaks into their home.
However, Jessica has since confirmed that while she did go to Germany, she definitely didn't break into anyone's home while she was there.
Inventing Anna is available to stream now on Netflix.
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