Virginia Giuffre's Family Speaks out After Her Death — "The World Lost a Fierce Warrior"

The life path of Virginia Giuffre was dotted by many speed bumps but marked by immense moments of bravery. In 2019, she told the Miami Herald that the birth of her daughter in January 2010 was the catalyst for coming forward about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, reports The New York Times. She explained to the outlet that they "seemed like nice people" and prior to meeting them, she had been physically and sexually abused. Some of that abuse, she said, occurred in her own home when she was a child.

In 2011, she spoke with The Mail on Sunday (via The Times) about what happened with Epstein. Their piece included a photograph of a 17-year-old Giuffre with Prince Andrew, whom she alleges sexually assaulted her, an act which was facilitated by Maxwell and Epstein. In the years following her accusations, Giuffre became an advocate for other survivors. She also became a mother. After she died by suicide in April 2025, Giuffre's family shed more light on who she really was.

On April 24, 2025, Western Australia Police were called to a home in Neergabby after 41-year-old Giuffre was found unresponsive, per People. Although life-saving interventions were performed, Giuffre was pronounced dead at the scene. Amanda Roberts, Giuffre's sister-in-law, told the outlet that the "world lost a fierce warrior." She went on to say that Giuffre "wished for all survivors to get justice. That is who she was."

Roberts described her sister-in-law as "one of the most beautiful souls you would ever have the chance to meet," but said she believed what ultimately killed Giuffre was all the trauma she endured. "When you go through what she’s been through her entire life, it's not over when the court case is over," Roberts explained. "You are still fighting for the rest of your life."

Giuffre shared three children with her estranged husband, Robert Giuffre, whom she alleged abused her during their 22-year marriage. "I was able to fight back against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, who abused and trafficked me," she told People, "but I was unable to escape the domestic violence in my marriage until recently." The two separated in August 2023.

Roberts was focused on making sure that Giuffre's children knew that her choice to take her life was not their fault. "I would never want them to think that she didn't love them, because they were always on her mind," she said. When it came to Giuffre's physical and mental pain, Roberts believed that the mental pain "overruled" her, so she couldn't see much else beyond that.

In 2015, Giuffre founded Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR), but really started focusing on it in 2021. The nonprofit organization aims to help survivors get their lives back by helping them speak out against their abusers and a system that often silences them. In the wake of her death, Roberts and the rest of Giuffre's family will continue to work with SOAR. "We’re going to do everything in our power to continue her legacy and will continue to advocate for survivors all over the world," she said.