‘Inventing Anna’: The Real-Life Neff Recently Admitted, ‘Anna Is My Friend and Always Will Be’
While watching Inventing Anna, Netflix viewers can’t help but Google Neff Davis to find out if she’s a real person in the life of Anna Delvey (aka Sorokin). Not only is the character of Neff portrayed accurately by Alexis Floyd, but the real-life Neff consulted on the Netflix show with Shonda Rhimes. Plus, she’s still friends with Anna Delvey (portrayed by Julia Garner) today. Find out more about why Neff remained loyal to Delvey despite the scams and lies.
Is Neff a real person in ‘Inventing Anna’?
The character of Neff in Inventing Anna is a real part of Anna Delvey’s life in 2022. The inspiration from the Netflix nine-episode drama came from the New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler, “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People.” Journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) becomes Pressler for the drama. Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal producer Shonda Rhimes was on her treadmill when she read Pressler’s article. She stopped running and began making phone calls to turn the piece into a Netflix series immediately after reading it. Although the article is written about Anna, the story starts with Neff.
Neffatari “Neff” Davis was a 25-year-old concierge at the 11 Howard hotel in Soho when she met Anna Delvey. She was around the same age as the fake-German heiress who constantly slipped the staff $100 bills. Neff was and still is an aspiring filmmaker. The pair quickly became friends, and Neff remains the only person that Anna ever paid back in full, by choice. A court ordered Sorokin to use the $320,000 that Netflix paid her for restitution to the defrauded banks, state fines, and attorney fees.
After ‘Inventing Anna’: Neff remains Anna’s friend today
In a Feb. 14, 2022, interview Neff explained to Bustle that the way Shonda Rhimes portrays Neff as a person set on defending Anna is true to life.
“Of course, I had to set boundaries with Anna,” she responded to the outlet. “But I truly stood by her side because she was there for me when I needed her. Loyalty is loyalty.”
She added that Neff and Anna continue to be friends today despite the former still residing in prison for overstaying her visa.
“Anna is my friend and always will be,” Neff explained. “We had to get to know each other again and develop healthy boundaries. We have blocked and unblocked each other, cried, and laughed. I get her.”
The loyal friend believes she knows her friend’s heart.
“I think I know her heart,” Neff told the outlet. “I’ll never know her mind, but her tenderness and comedic ways are something the world may never see. Her vulnerable and comedic sides make her so much fun to be around because she has truly mastered sarcasm. The b*tch is hilarious.”
Is Rachel Williams real in the Netflix series?
In Inventing Anna Episode 5, “Checkout Time,” viewers get to know Neff Davis and Rachel Williams. The real-life Neff gave us some insight into Rachel. Yes, Rachel Williams is a real person, and she did charge $62,000 on a credit card for Delvey in Morocco. However, Neff insists she is not sympathetic toward Rachel, much like her character in Inventing Anna.
“White people get enough sympathy,” Neff added in the Bustle interview. “Plus, Rachel got paid very well from her book, and AMEX forgave her charges. What is there to sympathise with?”
According to the New York Times, a grand jury convicted Sorokin of second-degree grand larceny, theft of services, and one count of first-degree attempted grand larceny. However, they did not find her guilty of stealing $60,000 from Williams. The friend, a former Vanity Fair photo editor, did write a book, My Friend Anna. Plus, American Express did forgive her charges.
All nine one-hour-long episodes of Inventing Anna are currently available for streaming on Netflix.
