Despite the hardship and trauma, there is a ray of light at the heart of true crime stories. For "Inventing Anna," the Netflix hit about fake socialite Anna Delvey, that ray of light is Casey Duke. A former personal trainer and friend of Delvey's, played by Laverne Cox, she slips from scene to scene with a positive outlook and some much-needed drugs while dealing with the fallout from Delvey's crime.

The real-life Duke, referred to only as "trainer" in the original article, works as an A-list personal trainer (opens in new tab) and life coach in New York City and was previously the founding group fitness director for Equinox. Her long list of celebrity clients is intense and includes Dakota Johnson, Denzel Washington, Gwen Stefani, and Monica Lewinsky (opens in new tab). After Delvey, Duke is still thriving. Here's everything we know about this fitness guru's recent work.

In an interview with SheKnows (opens in new tab), Cox praised the trainer, describing her as a "vibrant, fit, healthy, sexually vibrant woman in her 60s."

"As I get older, Casey is an inspiration. She is a pioneer in the fitness industry and a black woman. Certainly, Casey has had a great life."

Cox also provided insight into Duke's training process, explaining that the positive mantra portrayed in the show is part of Duke's work in real life. 'She becomes invested in her clients. She does her job, but she really cares. She really cares about you and wants you to be your best self," Cox said.

Although anonymous in the initial article, Duke is a consultant for Inventing Anna and promotes the series in interviews and on her Instagram, according to Vanity Fair magazine (opens in new tab). The trainer has reposted several behind-the-scenes clips originally shared by Laverne Cox, in which the actors, inspired by the trainer's teachings, dance between takes. In one of these clips, filmed in Morocco (opens in new tab), Cox quotes Duke: "If you can move, you should move. If you can move, you should move."

In addition to promoting the show, Duke shares updates on her amazing life in New York City, working, training, and teaching her life coaching method, The Art of The Graceful Gangster. She spends her free time with friends, her puppy Zeus (opens in new tab), and her adorable grandchildren. (opens in new tab)

In an interview with Vanity Fair (opens in new tab), Duke revealed that after Delvey was released from prison, a trainer called her to see if she would be reunited with her on camera. At that point, Duke had signed on to a Netflix show and used the contract as an excuse to refuse.

"I told her. You have this opportunity. You've got all this fame, so you've got to do better. You're a smart girl. Choose to do better. That was the last thing we talked about," Duke said. That was the last time we talked."

But for Duke, Anna Delvey's story did not end there. The fake heiress had moved into her neighborhood, and when reporters began showing up in Duke's lobby, the life coach suspected that Delvey might have given her the address or approached her on the street.

"I said. 'If she approaches me with a camera crew, I'm going to beat her up.' ...... I don't want to be responsible for what I do,'" Duke said. 'For months, every time I left the house, I was very uncomfortable.'

Now, of course, we know that the footage Delvey was filming at the time will probably be used in the con artist's upcoming documentary (opens in new tab). Her former trainer is not likely to appear in the film.

In an interview with Vanity Fair (opens in new tab), Duke explained that her feelings about the Morocco trip and its aftermath are the same as those portrayed on the show, and also shared her thoughts about Delvey's former friend Rachel Williams (opens in new tab).

"The bottom line is that Anna did something wrong," Duke said of the Morocco trip. 'And no matter what you see or who you root for, Rachel was a victim. Rachel is a victim. But someone had used her credit card, she couldn't pay her rent, and she didn't want people to know about her job. It was hard. That was the reality. They can make Anna sound crazy, but at the end of the day, she hurt people. ...... Rachel was a working girl just like us."

As depicted in the show, Williams' actions after the Morocco trip, including her cooperation in the FBI arrest, left Duke feeling conflicted about her friendship; in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" (opens in new tab), the life coach said that during her trial testimony, she first He recalled hearing about Williams' involvement and described the moment as "pretty hurtful."

"Rachel, you know, I wish [she] had been more honest with me, but I kind of understood," Duke told the outlet. '[She] was a victim, just like everybody else. But I wanted her to be honest with me about the book deal and the HBO contract and all that stuff. Because I took time off work and spent a lot of money to support her in court. But I wanted her to be a little more honest."

Duke told Vanity Fair that he did not think Delvey was a bad person at heart. "She really believed that if she could have gotten that [loan] repaid, she would have given people their money back because she didn't want to be seen as poor. ...... I think she had a really great idea. I don't think she knew how to execute it. She took advantage of people. But she had something. She was ambitious."

She also said that her experience with Anna reaffirmed one of her major beliefs. 'When people come into my life, I treat them with respect and give them what they need. But set boundaries and back off when you need to back off. That way, they won't stop walking away for too long. ......" . I refused to lose faith in people and distrust people because of Anna."