• Full Name: Elizabeth Anne Holmes
  • Known As: The founder and former CEO of Theranos
  • Nickname: N/A
  • Father: Christian Holmes IV
  • Mother: Noel Anne Daoust
  • Husband: William “Billy” Evans
  • Daughter: Two daughters (names unknown)
  • Son: N/A
  • Date of Birth: February 3, 1984
  • Birthplace: Washington, D.C., U.S.
  • Date of Death: N/A
  • Death Place: N/A
  • Cause of Death: N/A
  • Remains: N/A
  • Gender: Female
  • Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
  • Religion: N/A
  • Race or Ethnicity: White
  • Education: Stanford University (dropped out)
  • Nationality: American
  • Influenced: N/A
  • Occupation: Entrepreneur and convicted fraudster

Career: Holmes started her career as a student entrepreneur at Stanford University, where she studied chemical engineering. She dropped out of Stanford in 2003 to pursue her startup, Theranos, which she claimed had developed a revolutionary technology to test for hundreds of diseases using just a few drops of blood. She attracted top investors and partners with her charismatic pitch and vision of making healthcare more accessible and affordable. She was hailed as the “next Steve Jobs” and became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2014, when Forbes estimated her net worth at $4.5 billion.


However, Holmes’ success was built on lies and deception. In 2015, a Wall Street Journal investigation exposed Theranos’ technology was unreliable, inaccurate, and fraudulent. The company had only ever performed a fraction of the tests it offered using its proprietary device, and often relied on conventional machines from other companies. Holmes and her company faced multiple lawsuits, investigations, and sanctions from regulators, investors, patients, and partners. In 2018, Theranos shut down and Holmes was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) with fraud. In 2022, Holmes was found guilty on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a federal jury. She was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in 2023.


Early Life & Childhood: Holmes was born in Washington, D.C., on February 3, 1984, to Christian Holmes IV and Noel Anne Daoust. Her father was a vice president at Enron and later worked for various government agencies. Her mother was a congressional committee staffer. Holmes grew up in Houston, Texas, with her younger brother Christian Holmes V. She attended St. John’s School, a private school in Houston, where she excelled academically and showed an interest in science and technology. She learned Mandarin Chinese and started her own business selling C++ compilers to Chinese universities when she was 13. She also participated in various science fairs and competitions.


Holmes enrolled at Stanford University in 2002 as a President’s Scholar, a program that awarded her $3,000 to pursue a research project of her choice. She studied chemical engineering under Professor Channing Robertson, who became her mentor and later joined Theranos as a board member. Holmes became fascinated by the potential of microfluidics, the manipulation of fluids at the nanoscale level. She filed her first patent application for a wearable drug delivery patch in 2003.


Personal Life & Family:

Holmes has been notoriously secretive about her personal life and family. She rarely gave interviews or spoke publicly about anything other than Theranos. She adopted a distinctive style of dressing in black turtlenecks, jeans, and flats, which she said was inspired by Steve Jobs. She also spoke in a deep voice that some speculated was fake or altered.


Holmes dated Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was 19 years older than her and served as the president and chief operating officer of Theranos from 2009 to 2016. They kept their relationship hidden from investors and employees until it was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in 2015. They broke up in 2016 amid the fallout of the Theranos scandal.


Holmes married William “Billy” Evans, a hotel heir and former tech executive, in a secret ceremony in 2019. They have two daughters together, born in 2021 and 2023. Evans has been supportive of Holmes throughout her trial and sentencing.


Later Life & Death:

Holmes is still alive but facing a long prison term for her crimes. She was convicted on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a federal jury in January 2022. She was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in November 2022. She has filed an appeal, claiming that she did not receive a fair trial due to prosecutorial misconduct and juror bias. However, a judge denied her request to stay out of prison while awaiting her appeal and ordered her to report to prison on April 27, 2023.


Some Unknown Information:

  • She was named after Elizabeth I of England, her ancestor through her mother’s side.
  • She learned Mandarin Chinese at a young age and sold C++ compilers to Chinese universities when she was 13.
  • She dropped out of Stanford with only two semesters of credits and used her tuition money to start Theranos.
  • She was obsessed with Thomas Edison and had a quote from him on her office wall: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
  • She had a phobia of needles and claimed that her technology would eliminate the need for painful blood draws.
  • She owned a Siberian husky named Balto, whom she sometimes brought to Theranos’ headquarters and claimed was a wolf.
  • She was inspired by Yoda from Star Wars and often quoted his lines such as “Do or do not. There is no try.”
  • She was fascinated by cryptography and used codes and symbols to communicate with her inner circle.
  • She had a habit of staring at people without blinking for long periods of time.
  • She was once ranked as the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. However, after Theranos’ collapse, her net worth dropped to zero.