
Everyone has an opinion about Anna Delvey (opens in new tab). The notorious scammer who became famous for tricking New York's elite has taken over the Internet yet again, thanks to the Netflix hit Inventing Anna (opens in new tab), based off the scheme that landed her in prison. While most of the characters' opinions of the faux heiress are negative—in keeping their real-life counterparts—Neff, played by Alexis Floyd, is Delvey's ride-or-die best friend who stays by her side throughout the trial, even running an Instagram dedicated to her trial looks.
The real-life Neff, full name Neff Davis, remain one of Delvey's best friends to this day. Her nuanced depiction on Inventing Anna is thanks in part to her involvement in the show; the aspiring filmmaker served as a consultant on all nine episodes. Now she's going after her dreams in LA (and still running Delvey's Instagram).
She served as a consultant on 'Inventing Anna'.
In real life, Davis met Delvey while working at 11 Howard in Soho and got wrapped up into her world, including "lavish New York City restaurants, expensive apartment hunting, and getting her rent paid by Delvey," per her interview with OkayPlayer (opens in new tab). She also stood by Delvey's side throughout the trial.
After the Shondaland show was announced, Rhimes made Davis a consultant on the series. "Shonda was the first to say, 'We'll buy your life rights and you’ll be a consultant. I got to go on set and I got to shadow Nzingha [Stewart] who’s an amazing Black film director," Davis told the outlet.
Speaking about her experience to Bustle (opens in new tab), Davis said, "Shonda is the GOAT. It was amazing. Shondaland and Shonda made me feel like I had a comfort blanket at all times. I was involved with the development of my character. I was able to go on set. I worked closely with the head of research at Shondaland while consulting. It was literally a dream come true. They nurtured my love for film and didn’t treat me like just a character."
Davis also told OkayPlayer that Delvey had previously said that she would be the reason the filmmaker's first movie got made.
"Now when I look back at it, she kept her word in an evil, dark, twisted, Tim Burton movie way," Davis said of Inventing Anna. "I love [that] she kept her word."
She's now working in Los Angeles.
The Maryland native keeps her life relatively private, along with her Instagram account (opens in new tab). Per Newsweek (opens in new tab), Davis now lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing her dream of being a director, having recently finished her first TV script. Davis also told Okayplayer that people have been reaching out and asking to see her work after finding out about her story.
"I got over the nervous part of people not liking it and I am ready to show the world. Hopefully this summer I can come up with a decision on who I would like to house my film or my script, and we could get started filming," she told the outlet.
A post shared by Anna Delvey2.0 (@theannadelvey) (opens in new tab)
A photo posted by on
She's still friends with Anna.
Davis and Delvey are still very close, and Davis even runs Delvey's official Instagram. In an interview with Bustle (opens in new tab), Davis said, "Anna is my friend and always will be. We had to get to know each other again and develop healthy boundaries. We have blocked and unblocked each other, cried, and laughed. I get her."
Davis also said that she didn't believe Delvey was a scammer because "Anna never scammed me and I never saw her not being legit." She added that the scammer never told her about her crimes, and said she "would’ve told Anna to make a GoFundMe instead of bank hopping."
The real life Neff's thoughts about Rachel Williams also seem similar to the show's version. When asked why Inventing Anna depicted the show's Neff of being unsympathetic towards Rachel, Davis told the outlet, "I’m not sure why Shondaland did it. But I loved it. White people get enough sympathy. Plus, Rachel got paid very well from her book and AMEX forgave her charges. What is there to sympathize with?"
Quinci LeGardye is a Contributing Culture Editor who covers TV, movies, Korean entertainment, books, and pop culture. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.
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