A resurfaced photograph of the late physicist Stephen Hawking, included in recently unsealed court documents connected to financier Jeffrey Epstein, has ignited widespread speculation online. The image shows Hawking reclining poolside with two women in bikinis holding drinks at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas in 2006.
While the image has circulated rapidly on platforms such as X, media investigations and statements from Hawking’s family stress that the scene has been taken out of context and does not suggest any wrongdoing.
The photograph was taken in March 2006 during a science symposium on gravity and black holes held in St. Thomas, near Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James. Hawking was among 21 scientists invited to the event, where he delivered a lecture on quantum cosmology. The visit occurred roughly five months before Epstein faced his first criminal charges in Florida related to soliciting prostitution.
Hawking appears smiling in the undated image, holding a glass while seated between the two women. According to reporting by CNN and British outlet The Independent, the women were not social companions but members of his professional care team.
A representative for Hawking’s family told the UK’s Daily Mail that the two women were his “long-term carers from the UK.” Hawking, who lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—also known as motor neurone disease—required constant medical supervision and physical assistance. One of the women in the image appears to be steadying him, consistent with the support he routinely needed due to his condition.
The family’s spokesperson dismissed online insinuations as “wrong and far-fetched in the extreme,” emphasizing that the photo captured a moment following his academic engagement, not a social gathering linked to Epstein’s misconduct.
Though newly circulated in legal filings, the unredacted version of the photograph has been publicly accessible since 2008, when it appeared on a now-defunct travel blog authored by one of Hawking’s caregivers. The post discussed accessibility challenges for disabled travelers and was published with Hawking’s consent. In the court-released version, the women’s faces were obscured for privacy reasons.
The Epstein document collection reportedly references Hawking multiple times, largely in connection with the 2006 conference. One mention stems from an allegation made by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who claimed the physicist had participated in misconduct in the Virgin Islands—an accusation that has not been substantiated. In a 2015 email exchange with associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein discussed offering a reward to disprove Giuffre’s claims, including those involving Hawking. No evidence has emerged supporting the allegation.
Hawking, who died in 2018 at age 76 after living more than five decades with ALS, remains one of the most influential physicists of the modern era. His pioneering work on black holes and general relativity reshaped contemporary cosmology, and he became an enduring symbol of scientific resilience.
Previously released images show him attending an outdoor dinner on Little Saint James and exploring marine environments in a specially adapted submarine during the same trip. However, no photograph has surfaced showing him in private interaction with Epstein beyond the academic setting.
Media analysts note that the renewed attention appears driven less by new revelations and more by the striking visual nature of the image, detached from its original context. With no allegations of wrongdoing against Hawking in court records or investigative findings, news organizations reviewing the documents have reiterated that the viral narrative lacks evidentiary support.
As the Epstein files continue to generate public scrutiny, Hawking’s family has urged observers to distinguish between documented fact and online conjecture—particularly when assessing the legacy of a scientist whose career was defined by groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics rather than scandal.
