5 Things to Know About the Real Bling Ring Before Watching the New Netflix Docuseries
The new Netflix documentary The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist hits the streamer on Sept. 21, 2022. It features commentary from Bling Ring members Alexis Neiers and Nick Prugo, as well as Alexis’ mom, Andrea Arlington-Dunne. The group of teen burglars ransacked the homes of A-list celebrities like Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan, and more in the early aughts. Here are five things you need to know about the real Bling Ring before watching the Netflix docuseries.
There were seven Bling Ring members total
The real-life Bling Ring started with only Nick Prugo and Rachel Lee. Prugo and Lee started small by stealing from cars in affluent neighborhoods before they moved on to bigger targets. Eventually, they invited more people to get involved, and there were seven total teens and young adults who helped commit the crimes. Other than Prugo and Lee, Neiers, Diana Tamayo, Courtney Ames, Johnny Ajar, and Roy Lopez Jr. all stole from celebrities’ homes at one point during the crime spree. However, Neiers claims that Lee “started it all.”
Eight celebrities reported their belongings stolen by the group
Prugo and Lee first targeted Paris Hilton’s home. They learned of Hilton’s address and, using gossip websites like Perez Hilton, pieced together when Hilton wouldn’t be home. Prugo used Google Earth to determine the best way to access Hilton’s house, and he and Lee managed to steal thousands of dollars worth of items on their first trip.
The other celebrities the Bling Ring stole from were Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr, Rachel Bilson, Brian Austen Green, Megan Fox, and Lindsay Lohan.
The Bling Ring hit the celebrities’ homes multiple times
Apparently, once wasn’t enough, and the Bling Ring stole from certain celebrities multiple times. The group targeted Hilton’s house several times and Rachel Bilson’s house between three and six times. Lee and Prugo stole so many clothing items from Bilson’s house that they sold much of them on the Venice Beach boardwalk because they didn’t have room to keep it all for themselves.
The A24 film made it seem like Alexis Neiers was the mastermind behind the Bling Ring
In 2013, the production company A24 released a film based on the teen burglars titled The Bling Ring. The film stars Emma Watson as Neiers and Israel Broussard as Prugo. In the movie, it portrays Neiers as the mastermind behind the burglaries, but Neiers and Prugo both deny her as having started the group. Neiers didn’t join in the crime spree until Prugo invited her along on a heist.
Alexis Neiers shared a cell block with one of her victims
In a wild coincidence, Neiers ended up in the same cell block as one of her victims. Just before Neiers’ sentence ended, Lohan was booked into the same cell block. Neiers spoke to E! Online and bragged about sharing the space with one of her victims.
“She was crying. She was talking to deputies and, you know, just trying to—I couldn’t really like make it out, but from what I saw the first day, I mean, she was lying in there and just trying to like calm down,” Neiers told E! News.
The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist premieres on Sept. 21, 2022.
