Holmes’ New Look Revives Questions About Her Founder Image

WHO:

Inc - Elizabeth Holmes and critics are involved in a debate about founder culture and the Theranos story.

GQ - Elizabeth Holmes, who now goes by “Liz,” and her partner, hotel heir Billy Evans, object to a quote attributed to Holmes in a New York Times profile.

GQ - Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim co-directed the documentary *You Can See Everything*.

GQ - Amy Chozick wrote the New York Times profile about Holmes.

WHAT:

Inc - Critics are debating whether Theranos reflected a broader Silicon Valley culture that rewarded founder mythology, hard-tech hype, and big claims.

GQ - *You Can See Everything* references the New York Times profile that brought renewed attention to Holmes.

GQ - The profile attributes the quote “they’re playing a character I created” to Holmes, referring to film and television projects dramatizing the Theranos scandal. Holmes and Evans say she could not have made that statement.

GQ - The article describes Holmes’s changed appearance and domestic presentation, including a tan sweater, blue jeans, and no-makeup makeup.

GQ - In the documentary, Holmes rocks her infant daughter, Invicta, with her foot while speaking with Fielder, and whisks eggs in a yellow bowl before Evans takes over.

GQ - Holmes jogs on a San Diego beach in the documentary.

GQ - The article describes Theranos as a company whose blood-testing device was a “rickety toaster filled with blood.”

WHERE:

GQ - Holmes jogs on a beach in San Diego.

GQ - Holmes and Evans are described in connection with the Theranos scandal and its dramatizations.

WHEN:

GQ - The documentary depicts Holmes as due to report to prison “only days later”; the article does not give a calendar date.

GQ - The New York Times profile is described as having re-familiarized many readers with Holmes; no publication date is provided.

WHY:

Inc - The debate concerns whether Silicon Valley’s culture of rewarding founder mythology, hard-tech hype, and big claims helped shape the Theranos story.

GQ - Holmes and Evans object to the attributed quote about her supposedly created character because they insist Holmes could not have said it.

HOW:

GQ - The documentary presents Holmes through domestic scenes, including caring for her infant daughter and preparing eggs.

GQ - Holmes previously appeared in boardrooms and on magazine covers wearing clothing described as “Steve Jobs drag” and brick-red lipstick.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 05:08 UTC)

Elizabeth Holmes and her partner, hotel heir Billy Evans, are challenging a quote attributed to her in a New York Times profile by Amy Chozick. The profile says Holmes remarked that people dramatizing the Theranos scandal were “playing a character I created,” but Holmes and Evans insist she could not have said it. The dispute features in *You Can See Everything*, a documentary co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim that revisits the profile and Holmes’s public image. It shows her caring for her infant daughter, Invicta, preparing eggs with Evans, and jogging on a San Diego beach, contrasting with her former boardroom persona. The film depicts Holmes as due to report to prison only days later. Meanwhile, critics are debating whether Theranos was not just a tale of fraud, but also a product of Silicon Valley’s appetite for founder mythology, hard-tech hype, and ambitious claims.