


She has dabbled in environmental philanthropy. (She has been overheard in court speaking fluent French with her brother.) She is believed to hold licenses to pilot both helicopters and submarines. She holds French, British and United States passports and is reputed to speak four languages. Her father, the newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell, named his yacht after her (the “Lady Ghislaine”). Born to great wealth, she was raised mainly in England in an Italianate mansion and educated at Oxford University. And because a socialite’s success depends upon an array of attributes still largely considered feminine: charm, poise, grace, beauty, cultivation and polish. While some men may operate similarly, they would never be labeled socialites because men are presumed to have individual identities beyond their social interactions. In both cases, though, “socialite” is a term reserved for women. Solomon said, but “she had to shift gears and become that other kind of socialite,” after her family lost its money. And there are those who earn their place, by constantly bringing together people, and then bask in the reflected glory of those introductions.” Ghislaine Maxwell, he said, was in an “ironic position.” She was to the manner born, Dr. Andrew Solomon, a psychologist and the author of “Far From the Tree,” suggests: “Socialites who are to the manner born, whose function is to have connections made with them. There are two kinds of socialites, as Dr. In fact, examining her particular talent for this avocation - and how her style contributed to it - explains a lot about the workings of Mr.
#Socialite definition trial#
As many headlines about this trial remind us, she is a “socialite,” and socialites harness style and status to create connections. Maxwell has some familiarity with moving between worlds. Epstein and a conduit to his bizarre, bifurcated world - whose glittering surface camouflaged a troubling lower depth. But symbolically, she is also a stand-in for Mr. Maxwell has been occupying something of a dual role: Officially, she must answer for her own alleged crimes. Epstein’s suic ide in jail last year, Ms. Epstein, describing how she offered them attention, praise, gifts and promises of financial support to ensnare them, they say, in a cycle of exploitation. Maxwell allegedly primed them for interactions with Mr. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty and denied the accusations.įour women offered emotional testimony over two weeks, each recounting the detailed ways Ms.

10, in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who stands accused of helping the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein recruit, traffic and sexually abuse underage girls.
