Ivy Wolk (born August 24, 2004) is an American actress and comedian. She played Crystal in Sean Baker's film Anora (2024). She is also known online for her provocative social media presence on TikTok and Twitter.
Life and career
Ivy Wolk was born on August 24, 2004, and raised in Los Angeles.[1] Her mother is a landscape architect and her father is the censor for Jimmy Kimmel Live![2] As a child, she was a member of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls, a roller derby league.[3] At the age of 13, she began posting comedic videos on TikTok under the handle @fathoodbitch and gained more than 200 thousand followers. She had her first professional onscreen role as Tellulah, a drama-starting high schooler and frenemy to main character Genevieve, played by Maeve Press, on the first season of the Freeform comedy television series Everything's Gonna Be Okay, which aired in 2020.[4] She deactivated her account soon after booking the role in 2019 at the request of Freeform executives.[5][6]
Entertainment Weekly's Alamin Yohannes called her a standout among the show's recurring characters.[7] She did not return for its second season.[8] She later rejoined TikTok under the username @lives_in_a_society during the COVID-19 pandemic and gained a following for her provocative persona. After old offensive tweets of hers were shared online and garnered controversy, she soon deleted her TikTok account.[9][10] While finishing high school, she played a small role in Judd Apatow's 2022 film The Bubble.[5]
Wolk briefly attended Emerson College in Boston, where she joined a sketch comedy group, but dropped out in her first year after shooting the film Anora at the start of 2023.[11] In the film, she played Crystal, a teenage candy shop employee whose friend, Vanya (played by Mark Eidelstein), hires a sex worker, Anora (played by Mikey Madison), to be his girlfriend. Wolk had direct messaged the film's director, Sean Baker, on Instagram while in high school after attending a screening of his film Red Rocket; she said Baker was drawn to her "weird internet presence" and invited her to audition. Anora won the Palme d'Or on its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.[5][2] Wolk appeared later that year in the ensemble cast of the FX television series English Teacher as Chelsea, a sardonic high school student and best friend to Kayla, played by Romy Mars.[12][13] Michael Cuby of Them praised Wolk as "a more-than-welcome screen presence" in the series.[14] Also that year, she had a supporting role in Eugene Kotlyarenko's comedy film The Code as Colette.[15][16] Wolk moved to Brooklyn after appearing in Anora and began performing stand-up comedy in New York.[5]
Wolk became known for her presence on Twitter, where her tweets have routinely garnered controversy, and is associated with the Dimes Square group.[10] Wolk has been described by Tobias Hess of Paper as an "internet provocateur" whose tweets "frequently invite virality and vitriol" and by Michael Cuby of Them as a "Twitter sensation".[17][14]Interview's Emily Sandstrom wrote in 2024 that her tweets consisted of "unbridled, witty and perverse cultural commentary" as well as "more vulnerable personal accounts of coming of age in the thorny entertainment industry".[9] For Teen Vogue, Jose Useche and Allison Bloom wrote that she was "known for her dry humor, tasteful apathy, and sardonic delivery". She was included on GLAAD's 20 Under 20 list in 2024.[6] Jason P. Frank of Vulture wrote that she typically portrayed Zoomers "who have a tendency to say cancellable things". Wolk is also known online for her appearance, particularly her sharp bangs and her unibrow.[10][2] Wolk has listed Courtney Love, Amy Winehouse, and Sandra Bernhard as her biggest inspirations.[11]