Christine Maxwell

Background

Christine Maxwell was born in 1950, the twin sister of Isabel Maxwell and among the oldest of Robert Maxwell’s nine children. The twins shared a childhood defined by their father’s powerful and controlling personality, his business empire, and the social prominence that came with being a Maxwell. Christine pursued a career in information science and technology.

She co-founded the McKinley Group with her sister Isabel, operating internet directory and search services during the pioneering era of the web in the early-to-mid 1990s. The McKinley Group’s Magellan search engine was one of the early web directories before the era of modern search engines. Christine also pursued work in library and information science, including a research position at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, focusing on cybersecurity and information management.

Christine has lived in the United States and has maintained connections to academic and technology communities.

Connection to Epstein

Christine’s primary connection to the Epstein case is through her sister Ghislaine. When Ghislaine was arrested in July 2020 and subsequently prosecuted, Christine was among the family members who publicly expressed support for her sister and challenged the prosecution’s narrative.

Christine attended proceedings connected to Ghislaine’s case when possible and was among the family members who argued that Ghislaine was being unfairly targeted as the accessible proxy for accountability after Epstein’s death made him unavailable to prosecute. She participated in media efforts to provide a family perspective and context around Ghislaine’s background and character.

Christine, like Isabel, has attributed aspects of Ghislaine’s life choices to the influence of their domineering father and the trauma of his death and its aftermath. This psychological narrative — that Ghislaine sought a powerful controlling figure to replace Robert Maxwell and found Epstein — has been explored in various analyses of the case.

Aftermath

Following Ghislaine’s conviction and sentencing, Christine continued to advocate for her sister through appeals processes. She has maintained that the trial was influenced by an atmosphere of public pressure that made fair proceedings impossible.

Christine Maxwell continues to live in the United States. Her profile in the Epstein case has been secondary to Isabel’s, but both sisters represent the Maxwell family’s ongoing effort to contest the narrative established by the prosecution and conviction. Their defense of Ghislaine stands at odds with the testimony of the four women whose accounts formed the core of the successful prosecution.