The Dropout Fact Check: Did Elizabeth Holmes Actually Fake Her Voice?

Warning: Contains potential SPOILERS for The Dropout

It’s long been speculated, and now displayed in Hulu’s The Dropout, that Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes fakes her unusually deep voice – yet there may be more to this characteristic. Having dropped out of Stanford when she was 19 years old to create her startup biotech company in Palo Alto, California, Elizabeth Holmes went from being Silicon Valley’s darling to being a highly publicized disgrace ever since Theranos’ fraudulent practices came to light. Given the level of deception involved with Theranos, it’s understandable that questions remain over other aspects of Holmes’ personality and presentation.

Holmes promised to revolutionize healthcare, selling a machine known as the “Edison” that would test a single drop of blood for hundreds of possible ailments. The procedure would be less invasive and more convenient than modern venipuncture, and she promised to quickly develop this technology to save lives. In the face of being put in such a daunting role, Holmes was constantly in a position to prove herself. Her mannerisms and self-presentation were greatly inspired by Holmes’ idol, Apple CEO Steve Jobs. She wore crisp, black turtlenecks, drank green juice, and notably spoke in a deep voice. In The Dropout, Amanda Seyfried’s Holmes practices her voice in front of a mirror by repeating “This is an inspiring step forward” at progressively deeper intervals, implying that her voice was never naturally as low as she made it in public.

Faking her voice would align with her scam-artist persona as being yet another way in which Holmes would lie to those around her, and there are various video clips claiming to show her briefly speaking in a higher, supposedly more authentic voice – assuming such clips aren’t edited or taken out of context. The ABC News podcast The Dropout, which the Hulu show is based on, substantiates this narrative with recollections from colleagues citing that her voice before creating Theranos wasn’t as deep. While The Dropout isn’t always factually true, there are reasonable amounts of evidence supporting this theory. However, countering this argument are Holmes’ family members, who’ve gone on record saying that deep voices are genetic in the women of their family. They may be correct – her voice may truly be deep. However, this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t give it an affectation. Regardless of the voice’s tone, people still remark on how unnaturally forced it sounds. Whatever may be true, Elizabeth Holmes never commented on her unusual voice and likely never will.

Still, assuming the faking theory is correct, some believe that Holmes altered her voice to psychologically trigger people into seeing her as a strong leader. To this end, her fake voice is understandable. As deplorable as her fraudulent actions were, no one can fault Holmes for doing what she could to establish control in the intimidating position of being a young CEO. From what’s expressed through Holmes’ de facto Dropout theme song to her genuine appreciation of Yoda’s “Do or do not, there is no try” message, Holmes wove Silicon Valley’s ambitious hustle culture mentality into her being in a variety of ways – her authoritatively deep voice included.

Holmes wouldn’t be the first public figure to alter her voice. For example, Paris Hilton spoke in a nasally “baby voice” that she since admitted to being a part of her Paris Hilton “character.” Whether Holmes is playing a character or not, it’s still a key part of her. Holmes actress Amanda Seyfried expressed in various media outlets that she put an intense amount of work in perfecting Holmes’ voice and eventually opted to focus more on accurately portraying the speech mannerisms than the actual pitch. To this end, she avoids overly mocking or caricaturing Holmes’ voice, strengthening her performance in The Dropout all the more.

The Dropout releases new episodes on Thursdays on Hulu.

About The Author

Allison Wonchoba
(79 Articles Published)

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Allison Wonchoba is a Features writer on Screen Rant. She holds a degree in Cinema and English, and she knows (probably) all things film and TV. Working at Hot Topic for a couple years also helped her know all things pop culture-y. Once upon a time, she also interned at a radio station in Dublin, Ireland where she got more media training – and built up her Sudoku skills on the side. She likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain – and she knows that’s NOT a Jimmy Buffet song.

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