Piper Chapman

Piper Chapman
Orange Is the New Black character
Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman in a promotional poster for Orange Is the New Black
First appearance	"I Wasn't Ready" Season 1, episode 1 July 11, 2013
Portrayed by	Taylor Schilling Clare Foley (young Piper)
Information
Family	Carol Chapman (mother) Bill Chapman (father) Cal Chapman (brother) Celeste Chapman (grandmother)
Significant other(s)	Alex Vause (prison wife) Larry Bloom (ex-fiance)

Piper Elizabeth Chapman is a fictional character (played by Taylor Schilling) and the protagonist of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. She 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.

Jenji Kohan had initially considered casting Katie Holmes but decided against it since Holmes had too many commitments. Ultimately Kohan cast Taylor Schilling.

A Boston-bred Smith College grad, Kerman got involved in a relationship with an international drug smuggler. Chapman's girlfriend Alex Vause is based on Catherine Cleary Wolters, whom Kerman met in approximately 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. In fact, as part of her plea bargain, she has 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 fiance, Larry Bloom, is based on Kerman's real life boyfriend and eventual husband, Larry Smith.