‘Inventing Anna’: The Real-Life Neff Davis Admits She Saw Red Flags With Anna Sorokin
The Netflix original series Inventing Anna brings enigmatic con artist Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, into the spotlight, dramatizing her now-famous time as a fake heiress and swindler. But the series led to some major plot twists for Sorokin’s real-life friend Neff Davis, like receiving a personal invite to Hollywood from legendary producer Shonda Rhimes.
Davis admits Inventing Anna fudges some of the details. But the aspiring screenwriter has no complaints about how everything worked out even with all of Sorokin’s red flags.
Neff Davis developed a bond with the inspiration for ‘Inventing Anna,’ Anna Sorokin
The 11 Howard hotel in New York City is an easy place to find eccentric guests, according to Davis who sat down with Vanity Fair. This is part of the reason why Davis didn’t pick up on the red flags while regularly interacting with Sorokin as the concierge of the upscale hotel. “We had so many different, crazy guests and famous guests at the hotel that, when Anna left, I was just like, ‘Oh, that was a cool friend. I wonder what happened to her?'”
Davis, who doesn’t hold back, says she was surprised when journalist Jessica Pressler tracked her down in 2018, several months after Sorokin was arrested. At the time, Davis claims she didn’t even know of the arrest and still thought Sorokin’s name was Anna Delvey. When Pressler reached out, Davis was managing a Starbucks during the 5 am shift and chasing Hollywood dreams of being a screenwriter after work.
While Sorokin swindled people for over $200,000, she also regularly gave Davis $100 tips for little more than restaurant suggestions. The two soon became genuine friends, according to Davis. Sorokin would often hang around the hotel for the full length of Davis’ shifts.
After the conviction, the former hotel concierge visited Sorokin several times at Rikers Correctional Center. Although Davis, played by Alexis Floyd, has minor quibbles about the prison visits in Inventing Anna, she retains a sympathetic ear for the disgraced Sorokin.
Donald Trump was an example for Sorokin, says Davis
While supportive, Davis laments that Sorokin went down the path she did. “She could have did it the legit way,” Davis told Vanity Fair. “But Anna was just like Trump and these other politicians, like, ‘Well I’m gonna cheat and lie and maybe I’ll get away with it,’ because, you know, a lot of times they do.”
On the surface, the comparison to Trump is an easy one. In sworn testimony before Congress in 2019, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen called his former boss a habitual “conman” and a “cheat” after being at his side for years. (Here is NPR’s transcript of the testimony.)
For those on the inside, Trump’s ability to get away with his lies was central to his rise to power. Likewise, Sorokin’s lying talent was just as critical to her success. It left Davis and many others believing she was truly a wealthy heiress.
But the rest of Davis’ description doesn’t track too closely with the life experience of the former president. “I just got to be closer to her because Anna was just like me,” Davis said. “She had no money.” Davis eventually saw Sorokin as someone just trying to make it in NYC with limited resources. According to the infamous NY Times report on Trump’s finances, the former president inherited more than $400 million from his father — before adjusting for inflation.
Neff Davis ended up with a ticket to Hollywood
Davis wasn’t in a position to see Sorkin’s frauds for what they were. But she does admit she saw some red flags. She recalls Sorokin screaming at people on the phone and now wonders whether Sorokin staged those calls to throw others off the scent. She also remembers Sorokin carrying around handwritten credit card numbers.
Davis originally chalked this up to Sorokin relying upon her presumably wealthy parents. But she is also not exactly upset she encountered Sorokin. Davis’ friendship with Sorokin opened many doors that were previously shut, including getting paid as a consultant by A-list TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal).
More than just a consulting gig, Rhimes helped Davis shadow directors and get a firsthand glimpse of production. Davis ended up quitting the grind of Starbucks and moving to LA. Despite some social-media hatred inspired by her portrayal in Inventing Anna, Davis takes everything with a grain of salt. “No, baby, it’s a show,” she said about the difference between reality and fantasy.
For Davis, her new reality is developing a script for Rhimes and negotiating over other Sorokin-related productions. But even with fresh opportunities before her, Davis looks forward to life beyond “the circus that’s Anna Delvey.”
