Arts & Entertainment

Straight Outta West Roxbury: Famous Faces from Your Hometown

Taylor Schilling from "Orange is the New Black" grew up around West Roxbury.

WEST ROXBURY, MA - Taylor Schilling is arguably best known for her portrayal of the complicated character Piper Chapman in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.”

The actress split her time between her the homes of her divorced parents during her teen years. Her father was a prosecutor who lived in West Roxbury and her mother an MIT administrator who lived in Wayland, according to an interview with Boston Common.

Schilling told Boston Common it was a “nice experience.” She reminisced of Friday night pasta dinners in the North End, visiting the Arnold Arboretum and having eggs Benedict at Mel’s Commonwealth Café in Wayland with her mom.

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She’s also a Red Sox fan and grew up attending games at Fenway Park with her dad, according to the Boston Common interview.

Schilling got her start in a middle school production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” She went on to earn a degree in acting from Fordham University and then completed two years toward an MFA in acting at New York University, according to Boston Commons.

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Schilling landed a role in the movie ”Dark Matter” in 2007 and a role in the Television show “Mercy” in 2009. She has also appeared in films such as “Argo,” “Stay” and ”The Lucky Ones.” She was cast as Piper in the hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” in 2013.

Photo via Taylor Schilling’s Facebook page

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