Taylor Schilling

Taylor Schilling Bio

Taylor Schilling (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress whose career has spanned independent film, network television, streaming series, and stage productions. She is best known for her leading role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, which ran from 2013 to 2019 and earned her widespread recognition, including nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. Schilling has continued to build a versatile résumé across genres, with credits ranging from science fiction thrillers and romantic dramas to horror films and off-Broadway theatre.

Early Life and Background

Taylor Schilling was born on July 27, 1984, and is the daughter of Patricia (née Miller), an MIT administrator, and Robert J. Schilling, a former prosecutor. Following her parents’ divorce, she grew up dividing her time between West Roxbury and Wayland in Massachusetts, living between the two homes of her mother and father. She has described her upbringing as shaped by the practical, working sensibilities of both parents, whose careers in administration and law provided a structured environment in which she pursued her growing interest in the arts.

As a child, Schilling was a fan of the NBC medical drama ER, which sparked her early fascination with acting. She became active in theatre during middle school when she appeared in her school’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, an experience that cemented her desire to pursue performing as a vocation. She went on to graduate from Wayland High School in 2002, completing her secondary education in the same Massachusetts community where she had spent much of her adolescence.

Path to Acting

After high school, Schilling attended Fordham University at Lincoln Center, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006 while continuing to take part in stage productions. During her undergraduate years she won the Emerson College Playwright’s Festival Outstanding Performance Award, an early signal of her dramatic promise. Following her graduation she entered the graduate acting program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to refine her craft further, although she ultimately left the program after her second year to pursue professional opportunities.

While attempting to break into the industry, Schilling supported herself by working as a nanny for a Manhattan-based family, a job that gave her the flexibility to attend auditions and workshops. Her early training across both Fordham and NYU, combined with stage work in New York, gave her a strong foundation before she transitioned into screen acting.

Taylor Schilling Career

Early Career (2007–2012)

Schilling made her feature-film debut with a supporting role in the independent drama Dark Matter in 2007. In 2009 she landed her first major television role, starring in the NBC medical drama Mercy as Veronica Callahan, a former military nurse returning home after a tour in Iraq. Schilling auditioned for the part via videotape from New York City, and the show’s creator, Liz Heldens, was impressed enough to fly her to Los Angeles for an in-person meeting. Mercy ran for one season, from September 2009 to May 2010.

In 2011 she portrayed the leading role of Dagny Taggart in the political science fiction film Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the first installment of a planned trilogy adapted from Ayn Rand’s novel of the same name. The following year she starred opposite Zac Efron in the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), based on Nicholas Sparks’ 2008 novel. Though the film drew mixed reviews from critics, it grossed over $99.4 million worldwide. In 2013 she had a supporting role in the Oscar-winning film Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, although most of her scenes were ultimately cut from the final release.

Breakthrough (2013–2019)

In 2013 Schilling began starring as Piper Chapman in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, based on Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. The role became her signature performance and earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014, as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. She also won three Satellite Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series during the show’s run, which concluded in 2019.

While leading Orange Is the New Black, Schilling balanced a busy film slate. She played the lead in the 2013 Canadian romantic drama Stay, and in 2015 starred opposite Adam Scott in the sex comedy The Overnight, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. That same year she made her off-Broadway debut in the play A Month in the Country. In 2016 she made a guest-starring appearance on the comedy series Drunk History.

From 2017 through 2019, Schilling’s film work expanded into multiple genres. She starred in the comedy Take Me (2017) directed by Pat Healy, appeared in the comedy-drama Phil directed by Greg Kinnear, and co-starred with Emilio Estevez in the drama The Public, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. She also starred opposite Sam Worthington in the science fiction thriller The Titan (2018), played the lead in the comedy Family (2018), and headlined the horror film The Prodigy (2019).

Notable Works and Milestones

Her most enduring signature role remains Piper Chapman on Orange Is the New Black, a performance that anchored one of Netflix’s first major original series and helped redefine prestige streaming television. The series earned her two Golden Globe nominations, one Emmy nomination, three Satellite Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards for ensemble performance, marking the most decorated stretch of her career.

Taylor Schilling Award Nominations

Across her career, Taylor Schilling has received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations, all for her work on Orange Is the New Black. In 2014 she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. She also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for the same series, and a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Actress: Romance in 2012 for The Lucky One.

Taylor Schilling Awards Won

Taylor Schilling has won three Satellite Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, all of them for her work on Orange Is the New Black. She received the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and shared in the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2014, 2015, and 2016 with her cast mates.

Taylor Schilling Family

Taylor Schilling is the daughter of Robert J. Schilling, a former prosecutor, and Patricia Miller, an MIT administrator. Following her parents’ divorce, she divided her childhood between her mother’s home in West Roxbury and her father’s home in Wayland, Massachusetts. She has spoken little publicly about siblings, and her parents remain her most prominently referenced family members.

Personal Life

Schilling has generally kept her personal life private, and has stated in interviews that she resists labeling her sexuality, describing herself as an expansive human who has had serious relationships with many different people. In 2020 she revealed in an Instagram post that she was dating Emily Ritz, a musical and visual artist, and the two were reported to be in a relationship through 2021. In 2023 Schilling confirmed on the podcast Expanders with Jess Rona that she and Ritz had broken up two years earlier. She is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, a discipline she has integrated into her daily life.