Arielle Holmes (born September 17, 1993) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for starring as a semi-fictionalized version of herself in the film ''

Heaven Knows What ''Heaven Knows What'' is a 2014 psychological drama film directed by Ben and Joshua Safdie and written by Ronald Bronstein and Joshua Safdie. The film stars Arielle Holmes, Buddy Duress, Ron Braunstein, Eleonore Hendricks, Caleb Landry J ...

'' (2014), based on an at the time unpublished memoir she wrote at the behest of the film's directors,

Josh and Benny Safdie Joshua Henry Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best known for writing and directi ...

Early life

Holmes was born in the United States on September 17, 1993, the daughter of an American mother and Irish father. She grew up in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

. She had her first experience with

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...

when she smoked it with her mother at the age of 12. She was raised by relatives in Bayonne after her mother passed away; her father had left the family while she was a baby. She dropped out of school in the 10th grade and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to live with her boyfriend, Ilya Leontyev, but the two fell into heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Holmes first tried

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

at the age of 17, and was largely homeless for the next three years.

Career

Holmes was scouted by ''

'' (2014) directors

in Manhattan's Diamond District, while they were working on a different film that would eventually become ''

Uncut Gems ''Uncut Gems'' is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. It stars Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian ...

'' (2019). She had been hired as an unpaid intern by a jeweler who saw her sketching on a subway train. Intrigued by her life story, Josh hired her to write a memoir, for which she was paid per page. The resulting unpublished book, ''Mad Love in New York City'', served as the basis for the screenplay of ''Heaven Knows What''. The film was dedicated to Holmes' ex-boyfriend Leontyev, who was found dead of an overdose in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

in April 2015. Holmes asked the Safdie brothers to help her get clean after completing ''Heaven Knows What'', and she completed rehab at Lucida Treatment Center in

Lantana, Florida Lantana is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is north from Fort Lauderdale and north of Miami. This town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Its population was 11,504 at the 2020 United States censu ...

. She later settled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She appeared in the 2016 films ''

American Honey "American Honey" is a song written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, and Shane Stevens, and recorded by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on January 11, 2010, as the second single from their second album '' Need You N ...

'' and '' 2307: Winter's Dream.''

Filmography

Film

Books

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Arielle American film actresses American people of Irish descent Living people Actresses from Bayonne, New Jersey Writers from Bayonne, New Jersey 1993 births 21st-century American women