Piper Chapman

Piper Elizabeth Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling) is the protagonist of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. The character is based on Piper Kerman, author of the non-fiction book Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, upon which the series is based. Schilling was nominated for awards in both comedy and drama categories for this role. Basis A Boston-born Smith College grad, Piper Kerman got involved in a relationship with an international drug smuggler, Catherine Cleary Wolters. Chapman's girlfriend in the series, Alex Vause, is based on Wolters, whom Kerman met circa 1991 in Northampton, Massachusetts. Eventually, 24-year-old Kerman flew a suitcase of money from the United States to Belgium for a West African drug lord and was named five years later as part of the drug ring. As part of her plea bargain, she declared that she made three overseas trips on behalf of the drug ring. After breaking up with Wolters, Kerman met Larry Smith and got engaged before being charged by the feds in 1998 and striking a deal. She spent 13 months in a Danbury, Connecticut women's prison, FCI Danbury. Kerman actually had a six-year delay between being sentenced to prison and entering prison in 2004. The show is based on Kerman's 2010 book Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison about her year in a minimum security federal women's prison. Chapman's fiancé, Larry Bloom, is based on Smith, Kerman's real life boyfriend and eventual husband. Series creator Jenji Kohan had initially considered casting Katie Holmes in the role, but decided against it as Holmes had too many commitments. Ultimately Kohan cast Taylor Schilling. Characterization