Is Piper Chapman a real person?

Question

Is Piper Chapman a real person?

1 Answers

Answer Question

Answer 1

Piper Chapman is the lead character in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. In the show, she is played by actor Taylor Schilling, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1984. Although Piper Chapman is not a real person, she is based on a real person.

The woman pictured above is Piper Kerman, who published a book in 2010 entitled Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison.

The TV series is based on the book and the character of Piper Chapman is based on Piper Kerman's personal experiences after she was jailed for 13 months for money laundering and drug trafficking. Although indicted in 1998, Kerman did not go to jail (in an institution in Danbury, Connecticut) until 2004.

Many of the Show's Characters are Based on Real People

Alex Vause, Piper Chapman's one-time girlfriend, who had enticed Chapman into a life of crime, is based on Piper Kerman's former girlfriend Nora, who persuaded Kerman to launder money and traffick drugs for a Nigerian businessman.

Miss Claudette, Crazy Eyes and Red Reznikov are all based on inmates Piper Kerman encountered during her time at Dansbury.

Nowadays, Piper Kerman serves on the Women's Prison Board Association and often speaks out on issues concerning the incarceration of women.

A bisexual, she is married to writer Larry David, who visited her every week while in prison. The character of Larry Bloom is based upon Larry David.

Here's an interview with both Taylor Schilling and Piper Kerman: