Her death was reported by NBC News and announced by her family. She was 41 years old and died in Neergabby, Australia, where she had lived for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement to NBC News. “She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” they added. “In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Giuffre met Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell as a teenager in 1999. She groomed Giuffre, who was then underage, to service Epstein and his other associates sexually from that time until 2002. She alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with him and other high-profile men, including Prince Andrew.
Giuffre met her husband, Robert Giuffre, while on an assignment to bring a girl back from Thailand in 2002. The two quickly married and she ended her association with Epstein.
She first came forward publicly with her accusations in 2011. She founded the nonprofit group Victims Refuse Silence, relaunched as Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, or SOAR, in 2021. She settled a lawsuit against Andrew in February 2022, which involved an apology for his association with Epstein and the treatment of Giuffre. He also sent a “substantial donation” of unknown value to Giuffre’s charity.
Giuffre is survived by three children. She separated from her husband in 2023 and told People earlier this month that he had abused her for years. Her brother, Sky Roberts, alleged she almost died as a result of a physical assault in January.
On March 30, Giuffre posted a picture of herself badly bruised on Instagram, the result of a car crash involving a school bus. She said doctors gave her four days to live.
“I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology. I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes. S*** in one hand and wish in the other & I guarantee it’s still going to be s*** at the end of the day. Thank you all for being the wonderful people of the world and for being a great part of my life. Godbless you all xx Virginia,” she said.
PRINCE ANDREW REACHES SETTLEMENT IN VIRGINIA GIUFFRE LAWSUIT
Her brother, Danny Wilson, told NBC News that her suicide was likely motivated by a combination of physical pain from the crash and psychological pain from past abuse.
“Her biggest push was, ‘If I don’t do this, nobody’s going to do it,’” he said, referring to her advocacy. “She was in real physical pain — suffered from renal failure. But I think that the mental pain was worse.”
