Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice

Virginia Roberts Giuffre was an American social activist. Her work centered around advocating for women and girls who survived sexual abuse, sexual violence, and sex trafficking. While Giuffre was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s world for several years when she was a teenager, she did not come to the public’s attention until 2011. Shortly after her daughter’s birth, Giuffre “began speaking out about the abuse she endured at the hands of some of the world’s most powerful men,” beginning “when she was as young as 16 years old” (Davenport, Anne Azzi, Daria Nastasia, Amna Nawaz, and Courtney Norris. “Epstein Survivor Virginia Giuffre’s Posthumous Memoir Exposes Abuse by Powerful Men.” PBS News Hour, 23 Oct. 2025). Her allegations against the American financier (and his co-conspirator, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell) put Giuffre on the global stage. She opened a discussion on sexual abuse and misogyny in the pre-#MeToo era. Giuffre’s co-memoirist, Amy Wallace, has asserted that writing Nobody’s Girl was an extension of Giuffre’s activism, saying that she wanted “to help other survivors of sexual abuse, not just Epstein and Maxwell survivors, but anyone who’s been coerced into sex against their will” (Davenport). 

Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025, just months before her memoir was published. Giuffre lived with PTSD and depression throughout her life. She attempted to die by suicide multiple times in 2022 and developed a reliance on painkillers to dull her trauma. Giuffre’s death was preceded by tensions in her marriage to Robbie Giuffre and an ongoing custody battle over their children. Despite the circumstances surrounding her death, Giuffre is remembered as a fierce advocate for other women and a loving mother and friend.

Giuffre’s co-author, Amy Wallace, is an award-winning writer and journalist whose portfolio spans publications and subject matter. After getting her start at the New York Times, Wallace went on to work at venues including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Nation, and GQ, often covering topics related to technology and entertainment (“About.” Amy Wallace). She has collaborated on previous books, such as Creativity Inc., which recounts the story of Pixar Animation’s then-president, Ed Catmull. Though credited on such projects, Wallace served largely as a ghostwriter and played little role in publicizing the works. Giuffre’s death pushed Wallace into a more active position as a spokesperson for Nobody’s Girl, and she has given several interviews on her experiences working with Giuffre and on Giuffre’s hopes for the book (Gatens, Katie. “‘Tell Us Everything You Saw, Andrew, for Virginia’s Sake.’” The Times, 19 Oct. 2025).