Elizabeth Holmes, the subject of Hulu’s The Dropout, is working on rebranding herself, though it’s undetermined how well that will go.
Elizabeth is a lot of things, including a mother and tech entrepreneur, but she’s mostly known for her fraud conviction.
The Dropout focuses on her journey with her company Theranos, a fraudulent cause that put people at risk.
Amanda Seyfried took on the role of Elizabeth and developed her own part in the role, and truly, Elizabeth isn’t bothered by it.
Most of Elizabeth’s known persona is completely made up, as she has admitted, so seeing people portray her in media doesn’t really bother her.
“They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created,” she told the New York Times.
That’s right — her style, makeup, and even her voice were all made up to create her entrepreneurial character.
Who is Elizabeth Holmes?
If everything everyone knows her for is nothing but an act, then who is the real Elizabeth Holmes?
That’s still hard to say, but we do know a decent amount about her.
The real Elizabeth Holmes is still a mother. She and her partner, Billy Evans, have two children together.
She’s also currently appealing her conviction after she was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
She first founded Theranos as a college student. She was trying to create a blood testing device that would collect enough blood for testing via finger pricking, and then the blood could be tested for health problems.
They raised about $6 million for this and quickly rose through the ranks in Silicon Valley, even becoming the youngest self-made female billionaire in 2014.
It didn’t take long for people to begin to question the company and the device she allegedly created, and eventually, Holmes and former Theranos president Ramesh Balwani were charged with several counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
She has been described as a master manipulator, though she has admitted her mistakes, whether sincerely or otherwise.
“I regret my failings with every cell of my body,” she told the court during her sentencing. “I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them.”
Still, it’s hard to get past her fraudulent persona, including the iconic voice she and Amanda Seyfried developed for their respective roles.
Amanda Seyfried on becoming Elizabeth Holmes
Black turtleneck? Check. Green smoothie? Check. Red lipstick? Check.
Baritone voice? It took some work.
Amanda Seyfried did her best not to make fun of Elizabeth when she portrayed the Theranos founder but rather wanted to expand on her characteristics.
That said, the deep baritone voice that wasn’t natural for Elizabeth was certainly not natural for Amanda, but she was able to develop the voice over time.
“I had a little freedom because her voice developed over time and because it wasn’t super natural for her, it wasn’t very natural for me,” Amanda revealed. “I could get away with, you know, falling out of it and inconsistencies that actually worked. So there wasn’t as much pressure in that respect.”
Fortunately, all of her hard work paid off for The Dropout, adding another incredible role to her roster.
The Dropout is now streaming on Hulu.