India Oxenberg
Oxenberg in 2011
Born
India Riven Oxenberg

(1991-06-07) June 7, 1991
Malibu, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • television personality
Years active2001–present
Spouse
Patrick D'Ignazio
​
(m. 2020)​
Parent
FamilyKarađorđević

India Riven Oxenberg (born June 7, 1991) is an American actress and documentary film producer. A granddaughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, she is a relative of the House of Karađorđević, the former royal family of Serbia and, later, Yugoslavia. Oxenberg began her career as a child actress, with small roles in film and television projects that her mother, Catherine Oxenberg, and then-stepfather, Casper Van Dien, were involved in. As a teenager, she was a cast member of the reality television series I Married a Princess.

From 2011 to 2018, Oxenberg was involved in NXIVM, an American multi-level marketing company that was later exposed as a cult. While in NXIVM she was introduced to a secret group "DOS" and was groomed to be a sexual partner of NXIVM's founder, Keith Raniere. In 2020, she published the book Still Learning: A Memoir. She also produced and stars in the documentary series Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, which details her time in the cult.

Early life and family

Oxenberg was born on June 7, 1991, to actress Catherine Oxenberg and William Weitz Shaffer.[1] Oxenberg's father was arrested in 1992 for smuggling marijuana from Thailand, reportedly profiting $50 million from drug trading.[2] Her maternal grandparents are Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and Howard Oxenberg, a Jewish dress manufacturer.[3][1][4] As a great-granddaughter of Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia (Elizabeth's father), Oxenberg is a descendant of the House of Karađorđević, which ruled Serbia and Yugoslavia. Oxenberg is also a relative of the British royal family, the Danish royal family, and the Greek royal family through her great-grandmother, Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark.[5][6] Finnish philanthropist Princess Aurora Demidova was her maternal great-great-great-great-grandmother.[7] She is a niece of writer and fashion designer Christina Oxenberg.

She grew up in Malibu, California, and graduated from Malibu High School.[8]

In 2008, Oxenberg was presented to society at Le Bal des débutantes at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris.[9][10] She was one of two members of the Karađorđević dynasty to make her debut at Le Bal that year, alongside her cousin Victoria de Silva, the daughter of Princess Katarina and Sir Desmond de Silva.[9][11]

Acting career

Oxenberg (right) with cast members of Noobz in 2011

Oxenberg's first film was the 2001 television drama The Miracle of the Cards. In 2002, Oxenberg played the role of Mattie in the science fiction television film The Vector File.[2][12]

Oxenberg was a cast member on the 2005 Lifetime reality television series I Married a Princess, which followed her family while her mother was married to Casper Van Dien.[13][2] That year, she also had minor role in the video game adaptation of the film Starship Troopers and a role in the Syfy original movie The Fallen Ones.[12]

In 2009, she had a small role in the Disney film Princess Protection Program.[14] In 2012, she portrayed a Pixie Teammate in the comedy film Noobz.[12]

NXIVM

Upon leaving college after one year, Oxenberg attended a self-help entrepreneurship course hosted by NXIVM with her mother at the recommendation of a family friend.[1][15][16] They started the program together, but Oxenberg's mother later left.[1] She was mentored by Sarah Edmondson, Mark Vicente, and Bonnie Piesse.[15] In January 2015, after five years in NXIVM, Oxenberg was approached by Allison Mack about joining a secret sorority, "DOS".[17][18][19] In DOS, Mack became a mentor to Oxenberg.[17][1] Oxenberg was instructed to provide personal family secrets and pose for nude photographs for Mack, who also limited the amount of food Oxenberg could eat and required her to cook and clean for her while living with Mack in Albany, New York.[17][1][20] Throughout this process, Oxenberg was reportedly groomed to become a sexual partner for NXIVM's founder and the leader of DOS, Keith Raniere.[17][1][21] She was one of multiple women in the organization who became Raniere's sexual partners.[15] In January 2016, Oxenberg was held down and branded with the initials of Raniere.[18] She was told, at the time, that the brand was a representation of the "elements" and was unaware that it was actually Raniere's initials.[18][2] Oxenberg left NXIVM in 2018.[22]

While Oxenberg was involved in NXIVM, her mother Catherine tried to get her out of the organization and expose the cult through media in 2017.[22][18] In 2018, Catherine wrote the book Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult.[17] In 2019, Catherine produced the Lifetime television movie Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter. Oxenberg officially left NXIVM in the summer of 2018 and moved back to Malibu with her mother.[23][24]

Oxenberg's time in the cult was discussed in the HBO 2020 documentary The Vow.[25] Oxenberg produced and starred in the 2020 Starz documentary series Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.[26][27] The documentary details her life while she was an active member in NXIVM.[17][22][20] In 2020, she also published the memoir Still Learning: A Memoir, which revisits the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse she endured as a member of NXIVM, and her steps to recovery.[1][23]

Oxenberg had her NXIVM brand covered up with a tattoo of a mandala and the inscription "ancora imparo" (i'm still learning) by a tattoo artist in New York City's East Village.[1]

Personal life

In 2018, Oxenberg met Patrick D'Ignazio, a chef, while working as a manager for a restaurant in New York City.[22] They got engaged in October 2019 and were married in December 2020.[28][29] The couple moved to Key West in 2022, where D’Ignazio opened a restaurant.[30]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Oxenberg, India; Minutaglio, Rose (October 19, 2020). "I Was In NXIVM For 7 Years. Here's the Truth". Elle. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brow, Jason (October 18, 2020). "India Oxenberg: 5 Things To Know About Catherine Oxenberg's Daughter Starring In New NXIVM Doc". Hollywood Life.
  3. ↑ "Le Bal des Débutantes à l'hôtel de Crillon". La Revue du Liban.
  4. ↑ Mason, Christopher (July 21, 1997). "Royal Flush". New York Magazine. p. 28. Retrieved December 14, 2020 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Sisavat, Monica (October 5, 2020). "The Vow: The Surprising Connection Between Catherine Oxenberg and the Royal Family". POPSUGAR Entertainment.
  6. ↑ "'The Vow' on HBO: Who Are Catherine and India Oxenberg?". Decider. September 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ "HRH Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (Regent)". Royal Family of Serbia. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  8. ↑ FitzSimons, Amanda (November 25, 2008). "Having a Ball".
  9. 1 2 Vanity Fair (December 3, 2009). "The Crillon Ball: 24 Princess Gowns and One Lady". Vanity Fair.
  10. ↑ "Le Bal des Débutantes 2013". November 30, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Official program" (PDF). Le Bal Paris. 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 Walsh, S. M. (August 6, 2018). "India Oxenberg: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com.
  13. ↑ "Lifetime Channel's 'I Married a Princess'". NPR.org.
  14. ↑ "Princess Myths – Princess Protection Program Featurette" – via video.disney.com.
  15. 1 2 3 Berman, Sarah (October 26, 2020). "NXIVM Survivor India Oxenberg on Why She Didn't Believe She Was Brainwashed". Vice. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  16. ↑ Licea, Melkorka (October 22, 2020). "How India Oxenberg went from an aspiring entrepreneur with dreams of launching a catering business to being lured into a cult". Business Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "India Oxenberg Was 'Afraid' of Former Nxivm 'Master' Allison Mack — 'But She Can't Hurt Me Anymore'". People.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Catherine Oxenberg's Daughter India Recalls Harrowing Moment She Was Branded in Nxivm Sex Cult". People.
  19. ↑ "India Oxenberg On NXIVM, Her New Docuseries & What She Thinks Of Allison Mack". Bustle. October 26, 2020.
  20. 1 2 "'I felt so much stronger': India Oxenberg speaks out about NXIVM leader's sentencing". Today. November 6, 2020.
  21. ↑ Sharma, Aayush (October 26, 2020). "India Oxenberg, Princess Of Yugoslavia's Granddaughter, Talks About Nxivm's Alleged Sex Cult". International Business Times.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Catherine & India Oxenberg: Surviving NXIVM". peopletv.com.
  23. 1 2 Miller, Julie (October 13, 2020). "India Oxenberg Opens Up About Her Family's NXIVM Nightmare: "It's Like Freaking Shakespeare"". Vanity Fair.
  24. ↑ "India Oxenberg Thinks NXIVM's Keith Raniere Deserves Life in Prison". Entertainment Tonight. October 27, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Keith Raniere slammed as 'entitled little princess' by former NXIVM member at sentencing hearing". The Independent. October 27, 2020.
  26. ↑ Myrtil, Bianca (November 2, 2020). "Lost and found: How India Oxenberg regained her identity after NXIVM". Film Daily.
  27. ↑ Vincenty, Samantha (October 27, 2020). "India Oxenberg Says NXIVM's Keith Raniere Starved Her to Look Like a 12-Year-Old". Oprah Magazine.
  28. ↑ Roberto, Melissa (October 18, 2019). "Hope After Heartbreak! Allison Mack's Former NXIVM Slave India Oxenberg Engaged To Chef Boyfriend". Radar Online.
  29. ↑ Block, Jenny (March 9, 2022). "Tying and Re-Tying the Knot". The New York Times.
  30. ↑ Finan, Eileen (September 20, 2023). "India Oxenberg Opens Up About Her Healing Journey Five Years After Leaving the NXIVM Cult (Exclusive)". People.
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