The Dropout shows Elizabeth Holmes deepening her voice. Why women do it – to sound like a man and convey authority and strength, an expert says

The third episode of the series about the fallen tech exec shows her lowering the pitch of her voice. It’s done to convey competence and leadership, experts say

If the Theranos founder did intentionally modify her voice tone, she would not be alone – Britain’s first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, took lessons

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Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. Holmes lowers her voice in an episode of the series. Experts explain why a lower pitch can convey authority, strength and intelligence. Photo: TNS

Published: 5:45pm, 12 Mar 2022

The third episode of The Dropout, the series about fallen tech start-up founder Elizabeth Holmes, gives viewers an idea of how its subject lowered the tone of her voice and took to wearing turtlenecks.

Her pitch – like Paris Hilton’s baby voice or the unique accent of convicted con woman Anna Sorokin (the focus of Netflix’s Inventing Anna) – becomes a defining characteristic.

The eight-part Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried and streaming on Disney+, tells the story of the deliriously hopeful and deceitful founder and CEO of biomedical company Theranos, established in 2003 when the Stanford dropout was only 19.

Holmes, now 38, falsely claimed she could run elaborate tests using just drops of blood from the prick of a finger. A jury found her guilty of fraud and conspiracy in January. She is slated for sentencing in September.

Holmes, under fire for lacking leadership, adopted turtlenecks and black suits, channelling Steve Jobs, and according to The Dropout lowered her voice pitch. Photo: Instagram

As her business grows in the episode, titled Green Juice, Holmes begins to understand her image’s impact and starts to play with the pitch of her voice. She’s rightfully slammed for her lack of leadership abilities. She has yet to build a working machine, despite taking part in a clinical trial with live patients. But she also faces sexism as a young chief executive in the male-dominated tech industry.