Elizabeth Holmes poses for a portrait with her husband Billy Evans and their two children at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.poses for a portrait with her husband Billy Evans and their two children at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.Photo:Philip Cheung for The New York Times
Philip Cheung for The New York Times
Elizabeth Holmesbecame a mother while undergoing her criminal trial for fraud and conspiracy.
The disgraced Theranos founder shares two children with her partner,Billy Evans. Her son, William, was born in July 2021, days before her criminal trial was set to start. She and Billy later welcomed their daughter, Invicta, around February 2023.
Just a few months after Invicta’s birth,Holmes reported to Federal Prison Camp Bryanin Bryan, Texas in May 2023 to begin serving an 11-year sentence (reduced to nine years for good behavior.)
Nearly two years into her sentence, Holmes spoke to PEOPLE in her first interview since being found guilty of fraud and saidbeing apart from her two young children “shatters” her world.
“I always wanted to be a mother,” she told PEOPLE in February 2025. “I truly did not think I would ever be convicted or found guilty.”
Still, William and Invicta are able to visit their mother twice a week.
Here’s everything to know about Elizabeth Holmes' two young children, William and Invicta.
News of her first pregnancy delayed her criminal trial
Elizabeth Holmes in 2019.Justin Sullivan/Getty
Justin Sullivan/Getty
According to court filings, Holmes’ trial — which was scheduled for July 2021 after having already beenmoved three timesdue to the COVID-19 pandemic — was pushed back again after she informed the court that she was pregnant.
Holmes' pregnancy was first disclosed to the court in March 2021 when her counsel and prosecutors filed court papersasking a judge to move her trial’s start dategiven that she was due in July,The Wall Street Journalreported.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach, who was prosecuting the case, said it was “frustrating and disappointing to learn about this now.”
Holmes' first child, son William, was born in July 2021
Elizabeth Holmes in 2019.Yichuan Cao/Getty Images
She became pregnant with her second child after her conviction
In a sentencing memo, her partner, Evans, asked the court to give Holmes a lighter sentence, saying she would miss out on milestone moments with the pair’s two young children,The Mercury Newsreported.
Holmes herself tearfully told the court, “I regret my failings with every cell of my body,“The Mercury Newsreported.
In photos taken at her sentencing, Holmeswas visibly pregnant, suggesting she would give birth before turning herself in to federal authorities in April.
Elizabeth Holmes in 2023.Philip Pacheco/Getty
Invicta was born a few months before Holmes reported to prison
When Holmes started her prison sentence in May 2023, Invicta was just a few months old. Holmes reported to Camp Bryan on May 30 and was allowed to bring two breast pumps with her to detention to collect milk for then-3-month-old Invicta.
“I wanted my daughter to have her mother’s milk,” she recalled to PEOPLE in February 2025. “It was important to me because it was a way to love her in here.”
Holmes' children have visited her in prison
Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, US, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty
Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty
“The people I love the most have to walk away as I stand here, a prisoner, and my reality sinks in.”
She also told PEOPLE, “It kills me to put my family through pain the way I do. But when I look back on my life, and these angels that have come into it, I can get through anything. It makes me want to fight for all of it.”
source: people.com
