Ghislaine Maxwell before the fall: As she sits in a US cell, photos reveal the her society life
Ghislaine Maxwell before the fall: As she languishes in a US cell, photos reveal the life of unbridled hedonism that Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘madam’ enjoyed for decades at society events
- Ghislaine Maxwell is currently in a US prison cell after she was arrested in America this week
- Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘madam’ lived a life of glamour that is hard to reconcile with the charges now facing her
- Growing up as a millionaire’s daughter, Ghislaine was a leading figure in 1980s London’s social scene
- Photographs reveal her glamorous outfits, impeccable connections and her lavish nights out in London
By Claudia Joseph For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 17:00 EDT, 4 July 2020 | Updated: 11:07 EDT, 5 July 2020
From graceful Oxford ingenue to New York party queen, Ghislaine Maxwell lived a life of glamour that is hard to reconcile with the charges now facing her.
Growing up as the indulged daughter of millionaire publishing baron Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine was a leading figure in the hedonistic social scene of 1980s London.
She used her father’s credit card and her personal charm to create a matchless network of friends and contacts that would go on to include Prince Andrew and the late financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Arm in arm: Ghilane Maxwell (left) with Oxford contemporary David Faber (right) at high-society hangout Annabel’s in 1984
Society darling: Maxwell parties with friend Julia Verdin (pictured right) at the exclusive Boisdale Ball in 1986
Gala Girls: Ghislaine Maxwell (left) gives a hug to aristocrat’s daughter Ariadne Beaumont (right) at a social event
Absolutely fab: Ghislaine Maxwell (left) pictured with PR guru Nadine Johnson (right) during a 1996 event in New York
Daring in Denim: Ghislaine Maxwell wows in a stunning blue dress at New York’s Met Gala ball in December 2003
These previously unpublished images taken by photographer Dafydd Jones show her starring at a succession of society events – the Chelsea Arts Ball in 1985, the Boisdale Ball in 1986 – where she was known as charismatic, expensively turned out and, as she was fond of making clear, impeccably connected.
Following the sensational 1991 death and disgrace of Robert Maxwell, who was found to have stolen millions from the Mirror Group pension scheme, his youngest daughter decamped to New York.
And there, armed with her contacts book and the cash of her new friend Epstein, Maxwell set about rebuilding a stellar social life, as happy to spend thousands on a hairdo as she was to capitalise on her ‘Mary Poppins’ English accent.
Dripping in Jewels: Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured) dressed in a stunning animal print dress at Miami Art fair party in 2011
Impeccable connections: Oxford graduate Maxwell (middle) socialising with society pals at the Chelsea Arts Ball in 1985
Chic: Ghislaine Maxwell looking picture perfect in a stunning long dress while sitting on a stage in 1980s London
Sparkle: Maxwell (right), wearing long earrings and a necklace jewellery, puts on a charm offensive at country house Cliveden
Life and soul: Maxwell (pictured left) clearly seeing the funny side during a conversation with writer Toby Young (right)
By the late 1990s she had made it on to the guest list for Anna Wintour’s exclusive Met Gala Ball, joining guests such as Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney on the red carpet, and flashing her legs in a denim creation for one year’s Rock Style theme.
When Dafydd Jones last saw Maxwell, she was dripping in jewels at the Miami Art fair, the epitome of a wealthy New Yorker.
‘She seemed to have prospered,’ he says.
That life now must seem a world away from a jail cell in New England.
