Ghislaine Maxwell

**Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell** ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British former socialite and convicted sex offender. She is known as a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein. In December 2021, she was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy and, in June 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In 2025, she was moved to a prison in Texas; Earlier (and as late as July 2025), she had been in prison at Florida Correctional Institution-Tallahassee, in Florida.

## Early life

Maxwell was born in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, Île-de-France. She is the youngest child of a French mother (Elisabeth Maxwell) and Czech-born British publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell. She grew up in Oxford, England.  She has triple citizenship: American, British and French. She was a popular socialite in London in the 1980s.

## Career

She moved to the United States after her father drowned in 1991, where she continued as a socialite.

Maxwell founded the ocean-advocacy group The TerraMar Project in 2012. The organization announced it was closing on 12 July 2019, a week after the sex trafficking charges brought by New York federal prosecutors against Epstein became public.

## Epstein relationship

During the 1990s, Maxwell had a relationship with businessman and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After the relationship ended, they continued their association as friends. Maxwell faced allegations of sexually trafficking underage girls for Epstein and others, charges she denied.

## Sex trafficking trial and conviction

On 27 December 2019, _Reuters_ reported that Maxwell was among those under FBI investigation for helping Epstein.

On 12 March 2020, she filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in the U.S. Virgin Islands against Epstein's estate seeking compensation for her legal fees.

On 2 July 2020, Maxwell was arrested by the FBI in Bradford, New Hampshire. Earlier (and since Epstein's arrest), Maxwell [had] been in hiding, communicating with the courts only through her lawyers.

In 2021, she was the defendant in a trial in the lower federal court system; On December 29, she was convicted on five counts related to the sex trafficking of a child and conspiracy.

In July 2022, she appealed the verdict.

## 2025 meeting with the attorney general's deputy

In July 2025, she answered questions "during an interview with the United States Deputy Attorney General", according to media. The interview took a (day or a) "full day". She was asked about c. 100 people.

Later that month, media said that president Donald Trump was "asked [... if] he would [think about or] consider pardoning [... Maxwell]"; Furthermore, Trump said  “I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about".

## Infobox (person)

- **child**: yes
- **organisation**: TerraMar Project
- **mother**: Elisabeth Maxwell
- **father**: Robert Maxwell
- **relatives**: * Christine Maxwell (sister)
* Isabel Maxwell (sister)
* Kevin Maxwell (brother)
* Ian Maxwell (brother)


## Infobox (criminal)

- **name**: Ghislaine Maxwell
- **image**: Ghislaine Maxwell (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Maxwell in 2007
- **birth name**: Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell
- **birth place**: Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, France
- **citizenship**: United Kingdom
France
United States
- **education**: Oxford High School, England, Oxford High School
Edgarley Hall
Headington School
Marlborough College
- **alma mater**: Balliol College, Oxford
- **occupation**: Socialite, businesswoman
- **conviction**: *Sex trafficking a minor (law), minor
*Transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity
*Conspiracy (criminal), Conspiracy (×3)
- **criminal penalty**: Sentenced to prison
- **criminal status**: Incarceration, Incarcerated