The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes

She promised to overhaul blood testing. Now, the disgraced Theranos founder is serving time in prison for fraud. A new documentary takes us inside her final days before incarceration.

By Janet Grant

Elizabeth Holmes was once hailed as Silicon Valley’s next big visionary. Adopting the signature black turtleneck, deep voice, and bold promises, she captivated investors. She convinced victims that she would revolutionize healthcare. Instead, the company and Theranos collapsed amid scandal.

In January of 2022, Holmes was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors argued that Elizabeth misled investors about Theranos’ blood-testing technology. The judge sentenced Holmes to 11 years and three months in federal prison. Sentence in May 2023.

How did a young woman who seemed destined for greatness end up behind bars?

THE MAKING OF A SILICON VALLEY STAR:

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1984, Holmes grew up in Houston, Texas. Academically ambitious, she enrolled at Stanford University in 2001 to study chemical engineering. After a summer internship in Singapore, where she worked in a laboratory, she became interested in finding a less invasive way to conduct medical tests.

In 2003, she left Stanford to pursue that ambition and founded Theranos. Her vision was simple but compelling. Instead of drawing several vials of blood, patients could have numerous tests performed using only a few drops collected from a finger prick.

Elizabeth’s idea appealed to high-profile investors. They believed she could transform the medical industry and make them money. Theranos eventually attracted billions of dollars in investment with a reported valuation of about $9 billion.

Holmes became a business-world celebrity. She was a young woman breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry. Behind the carefully constructed image, however, the technology could not reliably deliver what she promised. Theranos eventually collapsed.

The scandal raised uncomfortable questions about ambition, accountability and why so many powerful people accepted Holmes’ claims without sufficient scrutiny.

THE FINAL 34 DAYS BEFORE PRISON:

“You Can See Everything”, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, approaches the familiar Theranos story differently. Rather than simply revisiting the scandal, the nearly three-hour documentary follows Holmes during the final 34 days before she reports to prison.

The filmmakers gain access to Holmes and her family, capturing an unusually intimate portrait of a woman facing the consequences of her actions. The camera observes domestic life, family interactions and conversations that reveal how Holmes presents herself when the spotlight is no longer entirely under her control.

The documentary’s tension stems from the contrast between the public record and Holmes’ own account of what happened. Even after her conviction, she continues to defend aspects of her vision and Theranos.

Holmes is currently serving her sentence at a federal prison in Bryan, Texas. She was approved for transfer to a halfway house in August 2027. Her scheduled release date is February 2030.

At 2 hours and 54 minutes, You Can See Everything asks viewers to look beyond the familiar headlines. It offers no easy answer to whether Holmes is a fallen visionary, a skilled manipulator, or someone who still cannot fully confront the damage she caused.

Perhaps its most unsettling question is this: when someone has spent years selling the world a carefully constructed version of herself, can we ever be certain we are seeing the real person?