Natasha was born Natasha Braunstein in New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and lived in Israel with her family during her childhood; her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. When her parents divorced, Lyonne moved back to New York and lived with her mother and older brother Adam in a one-bedroom apartment. Lyonne attended several schools. She first attended a private Jewish school at Ramaz in Manhattan. Her mother then moved to Miami, where Lyonne attended and graduated from Miami Country Day School.
With her wild curls, gawky build, and street-smart attitude, Natasha Lyonne presents a refreshing departure from the many blow-dried, plasticized young actors of her generation. Since appearing in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You in 1996, Lyonne has consistently wowed critics with her intelligent, no-nonsense portrayals of teenage girls who are anything but typical.
