The most popular show on Netflix right now depicts one of the most dramatic friendship breakups in history. Based on the infamous "Soho Dodger" Anna Delvey (née Sorokin), "Inventing Anna" chronicles the con artist's New York getaway. The show also depicts Delvey's friendship with Rachel, a former magazine editor who turned in a bill for more than $60,000 during a vacation in Morocco.

The real Rachel (full name: Rachel DeRoche Williams) was once one of Delvey's closest friends. After their falling out, she testified against the Dodger in court and later wrote a book about the experience. In "Inventing Anna," her story ends there, but the real-life Rachel continues to speak out against Delvey and contemplate the events dramatized by Netflix.

In real life, Williams worked as a photo editor for Vanity Fair and met Delvey through a mutual friend. Like the show, she wrote an essay about her experiences with Delvey and sued her former friend for $62,000 after she assisted in the sting operation that led to Delvey's arrest. Delvey was acquitted in real life and Williams was saddled with the debt, but the writer told ABC News (open in new tab) that her credit card company forgave most of the debt.

Williams also wrote a book about her experience with Delvey and the Dodger trial, My Friend Anna: The True Story of a False Heiress. The memoir was re-released in paperback this week, and a new afterword was published in Time magazine (opens in new tab).

Williams confirmed in a Q&A on her website (opens in new tab) that she is not involved with the Netflix show. She previously sold the rights to her story to HBO and Lena Dunham, but states on her website that the project is not currently in development.

Williams, a Tennessee native, left Vanity Fair after selling "My Friend Anna" in 2019. According to her website, she works as a freelance writer, photographer, producer, and creative consultant. She also expresses her passion for photography and travel on her Instagram (opens in new tab).

Prior to the release of Inventing Anna, Williams criticized the show in an essay for AirMail (opens in new tab), criticizing Netflix for giving Delvey more notoriety and attention.

"Coming from someone in the know, this is the art of the con, a shell game that offers irresistible thrills at low stakes, while clever tricks invisibly run the big-money business Netflix is not merely distributing fictional stories; it's distributing a story about a man and his family, a man and his family, a man and his family. Netflix is not just delivering a fictional story, it is, in effect, doing PR for a con artist and putting money in her pocket," she wrote.

She also speculated in an essay for Time (opens in new tab) about the media attention and money Delvey received from Netflix (although it sold the rights to her story) and other sources.

"If your crime is spectacular enough, media companies can take away the rights to your story before trial. They may pay you so much money that you are left with cash, even after your funds have been frozen and repaid to your victims. Not only that, but if you want fame, you can build your own 'brand,' create a platform, and find an audience that you can leverage for future opportunities," Williams wrote.

She also acknowledged that she gave Delvey "enormous power and influence over me - power and influence I then spent years trying to regain -" and told the audience to be careful to give Delvey more attention.

Speaking to Vanity Fair in the aftermath of the show's release, Williams said: "When Netflix released their description of the character Rachel, I was caught off guard. (Netflix calls Rachel "a natural born submissive whose blind adoration of Anna nearly destroys her job, her credit, and her life.") ("The woman she becomes because of Anna may be Anna's greatest creation."). She added, "It goes against the feminist narrative to say that women are someone else's creation. I saw that and thought, "Really."

Williams added of Katie Lowes, who plays her on the show: "Rose's interest in accuracy seems to be limited to spelling my full name as far as portraying me as I am."