The cast of Orange Is the New Black: Where are they now?

Taylor Schilling (Piper Chapman)

Taylor Schilling was relatively unknown when she was cast as the lead in Orange Is the New Black as author Piper Kerman's real-life counterpart, Piper Chapman. Her biggest prior role had been Dagny Taggart in part one of the ill-fated 2011 film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged. She also played the wife of Ben Affleck's character in 2012's Oscar-winning Argo and appeared in The Lucky One that same year.

In 2014, Schilling's work on OITNB scored her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Actress. While the focus on Piper dissipated to other cast members the longer the show went on, Schilling stayed with the series for its entire run. She followed it up with appearances in other series like Hulu's Pam & Tommy, The Public (2018), and the upcoming Dear Edward. Schilling also officially came out via an Instagram story during Pride Month in 2020 about her then-relationship with artist Emily Ritz.

Laura Prepon (Alex Vause)

Before OITNB, Laura Prepon's most famous role was as beloved girl next door Donna on the teen sitcom That '70s Show. So she shocked many seven years later with her turn as Alex Vause, Piper's drug trafficking lover who is responsible for both of their sentences at Litchfield. Prepon not only won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 2017 SAG Awards with the rest of the cast, but she also directed three episodes of the series.

She now has two children with fellow actor Ben Foster, who she married in 2018 after having appeared in films The Girl on the Train (2016) with Emily Blunt and The Hero (2017) with Sam Elliott. In addition to acting, Prepon has turned her attention to a writing career; She co-wrote The Stash Plan: Your 21-Day Guide to Shed Weight, Feel Great, and Take Charge of Your Health, released in 2016, and appears to have found inspiration with her 2020 memoir: You and I, as Mothers: A Raw and Honest Guide to Motherhood. Since OITNB ended in 2019, her only screen credit has been reprising the character of Donna (now married to Eric) on the Netflix sequel series That '90s Show.

Uzo Aduba (Suzanne Warren)

Before OITNB, Uzo Aduba was mostly known as a stage actress, and ironically won the part of Suzanne Warren less than an hour after deciding to give up the profession for good following a number of failed auditions.

Aduba's OITNB character was originally dubbed "Crazy Eyes," a moniker that soon fell by the wayside in favor of her character's actual name, Suzanne. Aduba's sympathetic portrayal of the obsessively loyal Suzanne enabled her to become the first actress to win two Emmys in consecutive years in different categories for the same show, for comedy in 2014 and drama the following year.

She followed that portrayal up with another Emmy-winning performance, personifying Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm on the Hulu series Mrs. America. Aduba was nominated again in 2021 for her starring role as a therapist in HBO's In Treatment. Her notable voiceover credits include Bismuth on the Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe, Queen Novo in My Little Pony: The Movie, and Alisha Hawthorne in Lightyear (2022). But she never strayed too far from the stage, with her most notable work being her Tony-nominated performance in the 2021 Broadway play Clyde's. Aduba has been married to filmmaker Robert Sweeting since 2020.

Natasha Lyonne (Nicky Nichols)

Orange Is the New Black was a comeback of sorts for former child actor Natasha Lyonne. The star of multiple teen comedies in the '90s like American Pie, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Detroit Rock City, her career was unfortunately overshadowed by her addiction issues and brushes with the law, even though she worked steadily for several years. Lyonne was arrested for a DUI in 2001, and in 2005, she was admitted to the intensive-care unit of a New York hospital for a variety of ailments, including a collapsed lung and hepatitis C due to her drug use. She told EW in 2012, "I was definitely as good as dead, you know? A lot of people don't come back." She displayed her heart surgery scar in OITNB, where her addict character Nicky cited the same reason.

Once she got cast (as well as Emmy-nominated) in OITNB, Lyonne appears to have found salvation in working as hard as she possibly can, capitalizing on her charismatic, raspy-voiced, laid-back persona. Lyonne co-created and stars in the award-winning time-loop Netflix series Russian Doll. She followed up that triumph with her portrayal of Charlie Cale, the Columbo-inspired accidental detective of Poker Face, the Peacock series created by Knives Out director Rian Johnson. You can also hear her signature vocals in animated projects like Big Mouth and DC League of Super-Pets. Lyonne recently split from long-time partner Fred Armisen, but judging from his appearance at her recent hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, the split looks pretty amicable.

Danielle Brooks (Taystee Jefferson)

Like many on this list, Orange Is the New Black was the first major credit for Danielle Brooks. Taystee is one of the most joyous Litchfield inmates we meet, until the murder of her best friend Poussey by a prison guard shows us her darker side. She eventually winds up in prison without a parole for a crime she didn't commit, but later decides to devote her life to the Poussey Washington Fund (asking paroled inmate and domestic goddess Judy King for necessary funds) while helping others incarcerated to prepare for life outside of prison.

Unsurprisingly, Brooks' futures opened up post-OITNB: She has a current excellent turn as the brains of the operation in The Suicide Squad spinoff Peacemaker, and also voiced characters in animated series like Max's Close Enough, Netflix's rap series Karma's World, and starred in the TV movie Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia. She's also made waves in the theater scene with the musical The Color Purple, which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and a Grammy win for Best Musical Theater Album. Soon, she'll take the role of Sofia (Oprah Winfrey in the original film) to new heights in a movie musical version of The Color Purple. Brooks married Dennis Gelin in 2022 and they have one child.

Samira Wiley (Poussey Washington)

The death of Poussey Washington was arguably the saddest moment of the entire series, as she was killed by a guard during a violent outbreak in the prison. Samira Wiley's Poussey was a passionate, positive personality and a devoted friend, which made her death all the more heartbreaking. It's appropriate that the series ends by highlighting the real-life Poussey Washington Fund, a nonprofit that raises money for criminal justice- and policy reform-related interests.

Wiley's Juilliard classmate Danielle Brooks helped her rehearse to audition for her breakthrough role. She followed OITNB with another flagship series, winning an Emmy for playing June's friend Moira in The Handmaid's Tale. She has also made multi-episode appearances on Will & Grace and You're the Worst. Wiley lent her voiceover talent for the video The Walking Dead: Michonne (2016) as well. But her role as Poussey didn't just give Wiley a standout career; she also married OITNB writer Lauren Morelli in 2017 and they welcomed a daughter in 2021.

Taryn Manning (Pensatucky)

Taryn Manning's Pensatucky also has a tragic fate at the end of OITNB. After a volatile existence as a makeshift preacher and escapee, she eventually tries to better herself and takes the GRE. But when she fears she has failed the test, she overdoses, and it's revealed after her death that she had in fact passed the exam. The other inmates, led by Suzanne, held a memorial in her honor.

Unlike many of her castmates, Manning had an acting career going back several years before OITNB, including the Britney Spears film Crossroads, the Eminem movie 8 Mile, and as a sex worker in Hustle & Flow. She also appeared on a variety of TV series, from Sons of Anarchy to Burn Notice to Hawaii Five-0. And she hasn't slowed down since bidding OITNB farewell, working in thriller films like Karen (2019) and Miranda's Victim (2023) plus several upcoming projects, including the soon-to-be-released horror film The Skulleton.

Like her castmate Lyonne, Manning has been open about her struggles with addiction. The actress also formed the band Boomkat with her brother Kellin but spun off into her own solo musical career in 2009. She was engaged to musician Anne Cline, though the two ended their relationship in 2021.

Kate Mulgrew (Red)

The Irish-Catholic Kate Mulgrew transformed herself completely to become Red, the frighteningly maternal Russian and head chef at Litchfield. As Red's dementia progresses over the course of the series, it seems only appropriate that her surrogate daughter Nicky eventually takes over the kitchen in her honor.

Before OITNB, Mulgrew's notable roles included the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, the groundbreaking soap opera Ryan's Hope, and the TV series Mrs. Columbo. She famously portrayed Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager from 1995-2001 and later in Star Trek: Nemesis. As a consistently talented actress, she's been nominated for a Golden Globe (for Mrs. Columbo), an Emmy (for OITNB), and won a Saturn Award (for Star Trek: Voyager). Mulgrew discusses all her roles in her engrossing 2015 memoir Born With Teeth, followed by How to Forget: A Daughter's Memoir in 2019.

She has continued to work steadily post-OITNB with roles on series like Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and even a Flowers in the Attic origin series. The actress also has an extensive voiceover career, from Batman: The Animated Series to Bubble Guppies, as well as voicing Captain Janeway holograms in Star Trek Prodigy and Discovery Logs. Mulgrew has two sons with her first husband, theater director Robert H. Egan, and divorced her second husband, politician Tim Hagan, in 2014.

Laverne Cox (Sophia Burset)

Upon playing OITNB's glamorous Sophia Burset, Litchfield's resident beautician, Laverne Cox became a trailblazer in the industry, becoming the first openly transgender person nominated for an acting Emmy and the first trans person featured on the cover of TIME and Cosmopolitan, among other milestones. She has a twin brother, musician M Lamar, who played the pre-transition version of herself on the show.

Before stepping into the role of Sophia, Cox played Chantelle in the 2011 dance film Musical Chairs. While on OITNB, she did other projects like playing Frank N. Furter in a television remake of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Cox's star has only continued to rise since the show's closure. She's appeared in movies like Promising Young Woman (2020) and series like Inventing Anna and The Blacklist. She's also a producer of documentary projects like Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word (which won her a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Special) and Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen. Looking forward, Cox is slated to appear in the upcoming Netflix sci-fi production Uglies, directed by McG.

Dascha Polanco (Dayanara Diaz)

Dascha Polanco's Dayanara may have the most upsetting arc of any Litchfield inmate. When we first meet her, she's a sweet and romantic girl who's pregnant with a correctional officer's baby and incarcerated alongside her disappointed mother. But by season 7, Dayanara is an addict who has become the prison's drug lord, and she is strangled by her mom in the series finale, though the actress says the writers assured her that the character survives.

Before Orange Is the New Black, Polanco appeared in The Cobbler (2014) and the Oscar-winning film Joy (2015) starring Jennifer Lawrence. Polanco followed OITNB with a turn in Lin-Manual Miranda's cinematic version of his musical In the Heights (2021). She was the narrator of the HBO Max series Gordita Chronicles, portraying the unseen older version of the main character, and also makes appearances in Lyonne's series Russian Doll and Poker Face. Currently, Polanco portrays the title character in the podcast Michelle Rojas Is Not Okay. She has two children, one of whom played a younger version of herself in OITNB season 5.

Yael Stone (Lorna Morello)

Lorna is the first Litchfield inmate that we meet, as she drives the van that brings Piper to the prison. The pretty, always red-lipsticked inmate talks incessantly about her fiancé Christopher and their upcoming wedding — until we learn that Christopher is actually a man that Lorna is obsessed with, which is part of the reason she wound up at Litchfield in the first place. Unfortunately, Lorna's mental health issues never really improve over the course of the series.

Lorna actress Yael Stone is Australian (which makes that Brooklyn accent even more impressive). Before OITNB, Stone portrayed Linda on 16 episodes of the Australian supernatural comedy-drama Spirited, acted in the AMC vampire hunter series Firebite, and has an upcoming role in the Australian series Bay of Fires. Mid-OITNB, she also appeared in the film The Wilde Wedding (2017), as well as in the Amazon Prime series Picnic at Hanging Rock, which was shot in Victoria. She was previously married to actor Dan Spielman.

Annie Golden (Norma Romano)

Norma's wide-eyed stare and innocent-beyond her years look made it seem incongruous that the predominantly silent character was in prison in the first place. Incarcerated for murdering her polyamorous cult leader husband, she eventually becomes something of a group leader herself at Litchfield.

If Annie Golden looked familiar, you might be a big fan of the movie Hair (1979) where she starred as the lone female member of the band of hippies that soon attracts squares John Savage and Beverly D'Angelo (she had previously acted in the 1977 Broadway revival). Golden was also the lead singer for early punk band The Shirts. She's since worked steadily for decades, appearing in films like Baby Boom (1987), 12 Monkeys (1995), and I Love You, Phillip Morris (2009), as well as various episodes of series like Miami Vice, Third Watch, and Difficult People. OITNB was Golden's first regular TV series role, but she's also in three episodes of the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Lea DeLaria (Big Boo)

The character of Big Boo was based on an inmate Kerman talked about in her memoir, Big Boo Clemmons. We meet her in season 1 (with her therapy dog, "Little Boo") as a member of Red's crew who also engages in a sexual contest with Nicky. Eventually, she also befriends Pensatucky until she's moved out of Litchfield after the season 5 riot.

Big Boo actress Lea DeLaria is a standup comedian with a long stage history as a Broadway performer. She's famous for being the first openly gay comic to appear on a late-night talk show as a guest on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993. Later that year, she hosted Comedy Central's Out There, the first all-gay stand-up comedy special. In 1998, she notably portrayed Angie in the film Edge of Seventeen. She's also had guest appearances on series like Californication and Friends, as well as an extensive career in voiceover work in The Oblongs, Cars 3 (2017), and Clarence, along with a recurring role on the soap One Life to Live.

Post-OITNB, DeLaria continued her voiceover work on Netflix's Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and in Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye podcast as Mystique. She'll also appear in the upcoming musical films Glitter & Doom and Bollywood & Vine: The Original B-Movie Musical.

Michael Harney (Sam Healy)

Michael Harney is a classic character actor who found the perfect fit for a long-term TV role in Sam Healy. Corrections Officer Healy was a complex, being an apparent misogynist and xenophobe who found sympathy for the mentally ill due to his relationship with his similarly ill mother. So while he had antagonistic relationships with Piper and Alex, for example, he still managed to have valuable friendships with inmates like Pensatucky, Red, and Lolly (Lori Petty).

Harney's extensive career goes back decades to his TV debut on a 1994 episode of L.A. Law, followed by stints on Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and Deadwood. In fact, many of his screen appearances have been law-enforcement-related, playing an A.D.A. on The Practice, a detective on Without a Trace, a SWAT commander in Lincoln Heights, and detective Mitch Ouellette in Weeds. While OITNB was running, he appeared in movies like Bad Hurt (2015), Soy Nero (2016), Widows (2018), and A Star Is Born (2018). And he hasn't slowed down since, voicing Darth Marr in a variety of Star Wars projects and appearing on series like For All Mankind, Project Blue Book, Doom Patrol, and Space Command. Coming up: Hulu series Interior Chinatown, directed by Taika Waititi.

Jason Biggs (Larry Bloom)

Jason Biggs played Piper's husband Larry for the first few seasons of the series, but his part lessened as Piper's Litchfield relationships became much more important than her outside ones (remember, the series ends on a closing shot of Alex and Piper, although the real Piper and Larry are still together in real life). He appeared in 30 episodes overall, most from the first two seasons, and Larry ends up married and having a family with Piper's friend Polly, although he's still close enough to Piper to give her a pep talk in the finale.

Biggs became famous in the '90s for starring in American Pie (with fellow OITNB star Natasha Lyonne) followed by comedies like Loser (2000), Boys and Girls (2000), Saving Silverman (2001), and the American Pie sequels. But outside a few appearances on The Good Wife and voicing Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Orange is Biggs' highest profile series in recent memory. Post-OITNB, Biggs starred in the sitcom Outmatched, about a couple whose kids are smarter than they are, as well as a short-lived reality/game show series in 2021 called Jason Biggs' Cash at Your Door. He'll soon appear in the upcoming holiday movie Best. Christmas. Ever. with Heather Graham and Brandy Norwood. Biggs is married to writer and actor Jenny Mollen and they have two sons, Sid and Lazlo.

Selenis Leyva (Gloria Mendoza)

As the head of the "Spanish Harlem" section of Litchfield, Gloria was on equal par with Red as a leader and a maternal figure. She even took over the kitchen for a while. But Selenis Leyva was on the opposite side of the law in her previous TV role as Detective Mariluz Rivera on Law & Order. She's enjoyed many guest appearances on everything from Veep, Girls, the Saved by the Bell revival, and Our Flag Means Death. You can also spot her in blockbusters like Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Creed III (2023). She played the mom of the main character in the Disney+ series Diary of a Future President, and currently can be seen in the George and Mayan Lopez NBC series Lopez vs. Lopez. Leyva has been married to Raul Rivera since 2001 and has one daughter.

Pablo Schreiber (George "Pornstache" Mendez)

CO Pornstache was one of the most heinous characters at the start of the series. But over time, he displayed surprising moments of humanity — like falling in love with Dayanara and insisting on raising her daughter, who he mistakenly thought he had fathered. Our last glimpse of George Mendez shows him playing with little Armaria, hopefully indicating a happier future for both of them.

Before OITNB, Pablo Schreiber was best known for playing Nick Sobotka on HBO's seminal series The Wire. He also appeared in movies like Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and Nights in Rodanthe (2008). While on OITNB, he also appeared in American Gods as Mad Sweeney and acted in films like 13 Hours (2016), Den of Thieves (2018), and Skyscraper (2018). Following his tenure as Pornstache, Schreiber has returned to TV in series such as Defending Jacob, Candy, and as the lead in the Paramount+ video game-inspired sci-fi show Halo, which has already been renewed for seasons two and three. Schrieber is divorced and has two sons. Fun fact: Pablo's half-brother is fellow actor Liev Schreiber (a.k.a. Ray Donovan).

Matt McGorry (John Bennett)

CO John Bennett only appeared in the early seasons of OITNB, namely to function as a romantic interest for Dayanara. Prior to OITNB, Matt McGorry starred in the action-crime film Thursday (2006). He also had guest appearances on TV series like Royal Pains and Gossip Girl, but he easily rolled over from Orange right into How to Get Away with Murder as Asher Millstone for several seasons. In 2022, he was also in the cast of the Netflix horror series Archive 81. McGorry used to be a competitive bodybuilder, but is now an advocate for body positivity on Instagram.

McGorry was one of several OITNB cast members who recently criticized Netflix for not compensating them fairly considering they starred on a series that helped make the streamer a household name. "I kept my day job the entire time I was on the show because it paid better than the mega-hit TV show we were on," McGorry wrote in a comment on costar Kimiko Glenn's Instagram post. Glenn, who played activist Brook Soso, reposted a TikTok she made in 2020 of her royalty check statement for the series, which came out to just $27.30. And now with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions both on strike, all eyes are on Hollywood to see how payment in the entertainment industry could potentially change for the better.