The women pictured with Professor Stephen Hawking during a 2006 trip to the US Virgin Islands have been identified as his carers, amid renewed scrutiny following the release of images linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
The photographs, released by the US Department of Justice, show the late theoretical physicist relaxing outdoors, including one image of him on a deckchair being assisted with a red tropical drink. Hawking, who required round-the-clock medical support due to motor neurone disease, travelled with two regular British carers as part of a scientific conference attended by more than 20 academics.
Other images show a red-haired woman speaking to him at a barbecue at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St Thomas, where he delivered a lecture on quantum cosmology. The resort is located within sight of Little St James, Epstein’s private island. Another photograph shows a blonde woman with her arm around Hawking aboard a submarine that had reportedly been modified to accommodate his wheelchair.
A spokesperson for the Hawking family said: “Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century while at the same time being the longest-known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition which left him reliant on a ventilator, voice synthesiser, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care. Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme.”
Hawking and Epstein are not pictured together in the released materials, and the precise nature of their association has not been detailed in the documents. However, emails disclosed as part of court filings show discussions involving Epstein and associates about public relations strategies concerning Hawking’s participation in a submarine excursion during the 2006 conference.
In one email, MIT professor David Grosof suggested that images of Hawking entering the submarine could be presented publicly as a philanthropic gesture, likening it to a “Make-A-Wish” experience organised by a conference sponsor. “You did a good thing!” the email read, encouraging a narrative that framed the trip as a benevolent act.
Other correspondence revealed that Epstein had asked Ghislaine Maxwell about countering allegations that Hawking participated in misconduct. In a 2015 email, Epstein wrote about offering a reward to individuals who could help disprove claims, referencing “the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy.” There is no evidence that Hawking was involved in any wrongdoing.
Professor Stephen Hawking, born in Oxford in 1942, was one of the most influential physicists of the modern era. Diagnosed with motor neurone disease in his early 20s, he far outlived doctors’ expectations and continued groundbreaking work in cosmology and black hole theory for decades. He died in 2018 at the age of 76.
His family has strongly rejected any suggestion of misconduct, describing such claims as baseless and inconsistent with his life and legacy.
