Elizabeth Holmes may be serving time in prison now, but her journey started with big dreams—dreams encouraged by her parents, Christian and Noel Anne Holmes. They always pushed her to do something great, and in a way, she did—but not the way they expected.
Growing up, Elizabeth admired her father’s work. Christian Holmes had a career in humanitarian aid and environmental protection, and he often told stories about his family’s history of ambition and success. His great-grandfather, also named Christian Holmes, was an engineer-turned-physician who married into the wealthy Fleischmann yeast empire. But by the time Elizabeth’s father was born, much of that fortune was gone. Still, Christian wanted his children to believe in the power of ambition and purpose.
Elizabeth’s mother, Noel, also had a strong career before becoming a full-time mom. She worked in foreign policy and defense on Capitol Hill, where she met Christian. Together, they encouraged Elizabeth’s curiosity, especially when it came to innovation and learning. As a teenager, she took an early interest in Mandarin, inspired by her father’s frequent trips to China for work. By the time she graduated high school, she had already completed years of Mandarin classes at Stanford University and enrolled there full-time.
But college didn’t last long for Elizabeth. After spending a summer working at the Genome Institute of Singapore, she became obsessed with the idea of revolutionizing healthcare. She locked herself in her room for nearly a week, barely eating or sleeping, as she drafted a patent for a groundbreaking new medical device. Her parents watched in awe. Christian had hoped she would go on to earn a PhD, but when Elizabeth decided to drop out of Stanford to start her company, they supported her completely.
Theranos was born out of that dream. Elizabeth pitched it as a company that would change medicine forever, using tiny blood samples to run hundreds of tests quickly and affordably. She used money her parents had saved for her education to fund the early stages of the company. Christian and Noel didn’t fully understand the science behind it, but they believed in their daughter’s vision and even used their connections to help her find investors.
For years, it seemed like Elizabeth had pulled it off. Theranos became a Silicon Valley sensation, and Elizabeth was celebrated as a genius, often compared to Steve Jobs. But behind the scenes, things weren’t adding up. By 2015, whistleblowers exposed that Theranos’ technology didn’t work as promised. The company had been misleading investors, doctors, and patients all along. The fallout was massive, leading to criminal charges against Elizabeth and her business partner, Sunny Balwani.
Her parents stood by her side throughout her legal battle. They attended her fraud trial, sitting in the courtroom as their daughter faced the consequences of her choices. Elizabeth was found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison in 2022. Thanks to good behavior, her sentence has since been reduced to nine years, with a release date set for 2032.
Despite everything, her parents remain in her corner. They have visited her in prison several times, including on her 40th birthday. And even behind bars, Elizabeth is still dreaming big. She’s working on a bill she calls the American Freedom Act, aiming to improve criminal justice policies. She told PEOPLE, “This will be my life’s work.”
Christian and Noel once supported their daughter’s dream of changing the world. Now, as she serves her sentence, they continue to stand by her, waiting to see what she does next.
