ALISON BOSHOFF: The bombshell party snap that shows Liz Hurley posing with her ‘friend’ Ghislaine Maxwell

Actress Elizabeth Hurley poses with her ‘friend’ Ghislaine Maxwell at a party in October 1996 in an explosive photo posted on social media on Thursday night.

Shared on Instagram as a ‘Throwback Thursday’ item by TV host and producer Sean Borg, the photo shows Hurley at a birthday party alongside close friend and former roommate Julia Verdin and convicted child sex offender Maxwell.

At the time, Hurley was at the height of her fame after the 1995 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, which she attended in the famous Versace ‘safety pin’ dress with her boyfriend Hugh Grant.

By 1996, Ghislaine Maxwell was having an affair with Jeffrey Epstein, and Borg says she attended the party with several other celebrities, including Hurley and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

The photo is sure to serve as an unwelcome reminder to Hurley, who is known for her philanthropic work, that she was once in the same social circle as Maxwell and convicted pedophile Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

Maxwell, the daughter of Daily Mirror businessman Robert, had known actress and film producer Julia Verdin since the mid-1980s and was one of her best friends. Verdin and Hurley shared a home in Los Angeles from 1992 to 1995.

A source told me: ‘Ghislaine has been a part of Elizabeth’s life for years.’

In the caption at the bottom of her post, Borg writes that she and Verdin flew to New York for a James Bond-themed birthday party hosted by art gallery and socialite Tim Jefferies and businessman (and socialite) Robert Hanson.

The photo is sure to serve as an unwelcome reminder for Hurley (pictured this month) who is known for his philanthropic work

It says: ‘Julia stayed in Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s mansions; I wasn’t invited. It makes sense now!

‘I checked in at The Pierre Hotel, just up the street where Robert (Hanson) had his pied-à-terre and the party was happening.

‘The night shone like a movie. Pop! Swish! Swigs! Oh oh! Champagne! Sequins.

‘Supermodels are everywhere – Robert’s current squeeze is Brenda Schad, Naomi Campbell, Lisa B. Perfect glam – every pose is on point.

‘Elizabeth Hurley, at the height of her fame, mingled with us all night long. I was obsessed with her beauty. While posing for a photo, I asked “Sean, does my hair look good?” he asked. I laughed, “Darling, are you kidding?! You are perfect”.

‘In one picture – Julia Verdin, Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth Hurley and me – we are all part of the same team. I remember the giggles and jokes…too dirty to air.

‘Julia and Elizabeth had been friends for years; So are Julia and Ghislaine.

‘Epstein was just another guest; He was arrogant but not suspicious. Ghislaine was attractive, funny, smiling, and wearing her trademark gold-flecked turtleneck. Who knew what the future would bring?’

He continues: ‘Looking back, the smiles don’t mean the same thing. I have photos of Epstein, but they are hidden among photos in my party archive from when Julia and I ruled the social scene.

‘Jeffrey was often cold towards me; This makes sense now, considering I know almost every showbiz journalist from here to Timbuktu. And I was never invited to the island or its little black book… thank goodness.’

In December 2021, Maxwell was convicted by a jury in US federal court of five sex trafficking-related charges. He is expected to be released in 2037.

Virginia Giuffre, who said she was kidnapped by Ghislaine Maxwell to Prince Andrew in 2001, died by suicide this April. Her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Daughter, was recently published.

Recently revealed emails showing Prince Andrew maintaining friendly communication with Epstein, who claims to have cut all ties, led to Epstein agreeing to stop using his titles.

Mary: I still cook on gas at 90

Mary Berry’s remarkable late-blooming media career continues with her new show Mary At 90: A Lifetime Of Cooking, which will be shown on BBC2 on Tuesday next week.

And it may turn out that women’s financial success shows no sign of slowing down, either.

Accounts opened this week show their company is worth around £1.5 million; Mary Berry Limited has net assets of £821,000, while Mary Berry Merchandising Limited has total equity capital of £661,000.

She signs the accounts modestly under her married name, Mary Hunnings.

Loyd Grossman, the original host of MasterChef, opened up about his struggle to succeed in the world of cooking sauces.

‘They [the shops] I don’t understand olive oil.

‘I remember a buyer saying to me – and this was a real criticism – “I don’t like them, they have too much flavour.”‘

Mary Berry’s remarkable late-blooming media career continues with her new show Mary At 90: A Lifetime Of Cooking

An unusual bond emerged between the Boss and actor Paul Walter Hauser, who played Bruce Springsteen’s sound recordist in the movie Deliver Me From Nowhere.

Hauser says: ‘I lived briefly at 7965 Fareholm Drive in Laurel Canyon from May 2022 until October. While googling the house, I realized that Bruce Springsteen had owned the house for 20 years.

‘So yes, I conceived a child in Bruce’s bedroom. Then when I met Bruce, I told him this and he said: “Me too!” So we had a nice rapport right out of the gate.’

What kind of decline is this? Taylor Swift’s world-record-breaking new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, experienced a weekly decline of 92 percent in the United States.

Week one was a record for the modern era, thanks in part to the relentless release of 35 official formats, each with different artwork or other bonus features. It has sold four million units in the US.

It managed to achieve ‘only’ 338,000 units in the second week: a steep decline, but still managed to retain the number 1 spot.

It sold 432,000 units in its first week in the UK (also a record); It continues to remain at the top of popularity in its second week.

An unusual bond emerged between actor Paul Walter Hauser (pictured), who played Bruce Springsteen’s sound recordist in Deliver Me From Nowhere, and The Boss.

Jacko’s kids’ crazy spending

The gilded lives of Michael Jackson’s three children were revealed and it was revealed that his eldest son Prince spent a lot of money.

The 28-year-old actor spent $2,600 on hot dogs, $4,000 on valet parking and $25,000 at Cirque de Soleil in 2021. He also paid $1,700 for the balloons.

Meanwhile, her 27-year-old sister Paris’s $18,500 monthly rent was sorted by her father’s inheritance; and also paid $123,000 to a music producer. In total, he received $3.2 million from the estate.

Youngest brother Blanket, 23, who now goes by the name ‘Bigi’, was given $28,000 a year in tuition fees.

Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, also received about $100,000 a month from her son’s inheritance, which also paid his housing bills.

Some of Prince’s spending is thought to be related to the charity Halloween party he threw in 2021. So not all hot dogs were for him.

The amounts were disclosed in an attachment to the lawsuit Paris filed against her late father’s lawyers.

At the heart of the dispute is a 2010 court decision that allowed heirs to pay lawyers for the estate without prior approval from the court. Paris’s petition demands that it be annulled. Documents show the lawyers were paid $5.5 million in one year, and Ms. Jackson’s lawsuit alleges the lawyers received a whopping $65 million between 2010 and 2017.

When he died in 2009, the ‘King of Pop’ was more than $500 million in debt. Court documents obtained by People magazine in June 2024 showed that he owed money to more than 65 creditors. But since then, the property has generated more than $3.3 billion through the sale of music, merchandise and half of Jackson’s extensive back catalogue, as well as various entertainment projects.

A source close to the estate said Paris objected to some “relatively small bonuses” being given to firms working on the sale of Jackson’s shares in the EMI catalogue.

The gilded lives of Michael Jackson’s three children are revealed – and his eldest son Prince (filmed in 2023) is revealed to be a big spender

There is only one Jennifer Aniston, or is there?

Jennifer Aniston is one of the most well-known people on the planet, which makes her a perfect target for scammers who use AI to get ‘fake Jen’ to advertise all kinds of products.

The actor, who currently stars in Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, said about artificial intelligence: ‘Everything is so new. We’re all trying to figure this out. It’s like trying to catch a cloud in your hand.

‘It’s impossible to predict what this will mean. Obviously great things will come out of this… and also some really harmful things.

‘This is something where you should be posting videos of yourself promoting a product, and that’s definitely not you. I was promoting computers… skin care products. I have a hair care brand, but now I have competing brands that I don’t even know I’m a part of. Good luck to us all!’

Jennifer Aniston is one of the most recognizable people on the planet, which makes her a perfect target for scammers

Lots of rumors but no tune for Bowie movie

Suzi Ronson, the stylist who created David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust hair and slept with him, is in bad shape at the Bowie mansion.

I hear he managed to sell the film rights to his book Me And Mr Jones after detailing their encounter and more in his recent biography.

However, it seems there is no chance of licensing Bowie’s music, which will cripple the project’s prospects.

Speaking at an event in New York, Ms Ronson said: ‘It’s going to be a great film about the Ziggy days and his rise to fame.’ She added of their encounter: ‘The bedroom at her house was pink with a gold ceiling. Everyone thought he was so gay!

‘According to me [Bowie’s wife] Angie set me up. I went there on Wednesday to do her hair and she said, “I need to look gorgeous. I’m going on a date tonight.” She told me she had a torrid affair with Mickey Finn (from T-Rex).

Suzi Ronson, the stylist who created David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust hair and slept with him, is in bad shape at the Bowie mansion.

‘Then David called me and said: “Why don’t you come and do my hair?”

‘So I went to London, had a great meal, and he kind of seduced me.’ The book tells how Suzi, a hairdresser from Bromley, dyed David’s suspender red on her mother’s stove for a stage costume; and then traveled with Bowie and the band, taking care of his hair and wardrobe.

But she eventually fell in love with guitarist Mick Ronson and married him. They were together until his death in 1993.