Starting in 2004, she served 13 months of a 15-month sentence at FCI Danbury, a minimum security prison located in Danbury, Connecticut. In 1998, Kerman was indicted for money laundering and drug trafficking and she pled guilty. Kerman laundered money for the drug operation. In 1993, Kerman became romantically involved with Catherine Cleary Wolters (Nora Janson in her memoir: Laura Prepon's character Alex Vause in the series), a heroin dealer working for an alleged Nigerian kingpin. Kerman is a self-described WASP however, she had a paternal grandfather who was Russian-Jewish. She graduated from Swampscott High School in Swampscott, Massachusetts, in 1987, and Smith College in 1992.

For example, Den of Geek reported that a glamourous transgender woman referred to as Vanessa inspired Sophia's character in the show, and the Russian maternal figure referred to as Pop became Red in Orange Is the New Black.Kerman was born in Boston into a family with a number of attorneys, doctors and educators. Iterations of many of those women she met made it into the show. But Kerman said the inmates she interacted with in prison were actually incredibly welcoming. Orange Is the New Black showed Piper constantly feuding with other inmates, including Red, from the get-go. The two only saw each other during their trial. In fact, most relationships and interactions with other inmates were embellished for the show.

But, as TV Time reports, the real Piper wasn't in the same prison as her ex like the Orange Is the New Black character. In the show, Piper's prison reunion with this ex-girlfriend is a huge focus.

The real Piper did fall for a woman in a drug ring and was sent to jail because of it. Orange Is the New Black went on for seven years, eventually straying from the source material.

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