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Years after their string of celebrity burglaries, The Bling Ring still remains an infamous name in Hollywood.
Between October 2008 and August 2009, the crew of seven fame-hungry teens broke into the homes of several celebrities — including Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom and Lindsay Lohan — and stole an estimated $3 million in cash and belongings. The members were subsequently tried and convicted and were all found guilty on several counts of residential burglary despite their pleas.
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A year after their misdeeds were publicly blasted, The Bling Ring earned a Vanity Fair profile, written by veteran journalist Nancy Jo Sales and aptly titled “The Suspects Wore Louboutins.” And three years later, the piece garnered a film adaptation — Sofia Coppola’s glitzy satirical crime film, simply called “The Bling Ring” — with Emma Watson, Katie Chang and Israel Broussard starring as the group’s ringleaders.
Now, the bombshell tale is being spotlighted again in Netflix’s latest docuseries, “The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist.” The three-part series stars two members of the group, Nick Prugo and Alexis Neiers, who recount their involvement and attempt to set the record straight on the crimes, despite their contradictory firsthand accounts. A swanky real estate agent, a celebrity stylist and the investigators and attorneys who were all part of the case provide additional insight and background information to really provide a “fly-on-the-wall” viewing experience.
Here are 7 shocking revelations from the docuseries:
Neiers eventually moved in with Prugo and per the latter, first expressed interest in joining Prugo and Lee.
“This was me and Rachel’s thing,” Prugo said in the documentary. “I didn’t really want to expand the enterprise. I think I was smart enough to realize, you have to share more the more people that are there, it’s less of a profit. So it was on to the next.”
Their next victim was actor Orlando Bloom who, at the time, was working on a movie and away from his Los Angeles home. Prugo said he was initially planning on robbing Bloom’s house with Rachel, but Neiers had “begged” him to join. Neiers, however, refuted the claims, stating, “I wasn’t saying, ‘Hey, Nick, next time you rob a house, involve me.’ But I was open to the idea of robbing a house to get money for drugs.” She also said she was unaware that the trio were going to Bloom’s house, adding that she was under the influence of opiates and Benzodiazepine. But Prugo asserted she was aware and sober.
Prugo and Lee spent most of their time in Bloom’s closets, stealing his clothes, a Louis Vuitton computer bag, Rolex watches, cash and accessories. Neiers recalled feeling sick throughout the burglary while Prugo said she was enthusiastically stuffing her bag with stolen goods.
The following morning, Bloom’s home break-in became public news. Investigators also noted that the same group of teens who broke into Bloom’s house had also broken into Audrina Patridge’s home just a few months prior.
“We felt like criminals in the most chic way,” Prugo said. “We felt like we were these, like, maybe sexy bandits committing these intelligent cat burglaries…We wanted to be our own celebrity, just using other people’s shit.”
Prugo said he continued committing these burglaries alongside Lee to promote a lavish lifestyle he concocted on social media. On August 23, 2009, the duo, alongside their classmate, Diana Tamayo, broke into Lindsay Lohan’s Hollywood Hills residence and stole approximately $130,000 worth of clothes and jewelry. Unfortunately, Lohan’s security cameras were able to provide clear footage of the perpetrators’ facial features. Prugo and Lee were eventually arrested after Neiers and Taylor called the Hollywood Police Department and turned them in.
“The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist” is available for streaming on Netflix. Watch a trailer below, via YouTube:
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Joy Saha is a staff writer at Salon, covering Culture and Food. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.
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