Who are the most prominent women accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault?

1. E. Jean Carroll — the writer who won a civil verdict

E. Jean Carroll publicly accused Trump of raping her in a department‑store dressing room in the mid‑1990s and later sued over his public denials; that case produced a jury finding that Trump was liable for sexual abuse and defamation in Carroll’s civil suit, making her one of the most legally consequential accusers .

2. Summer Zervos — the former contestant who sued for defamation

Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant, went public with allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her and filed a defamation lawsuit after he called her a liar; the suit was filed in New York state court shortly before his inauguration and kept her allegation in sustained public view because it tied into his campaign and presidency .

3. Jessica Drake and other models who went public in 2016

Jessica Drake, a former adult‑film actress, alleged that Trump kissed her and two other women without consent at a 2006 golf‑tournament event and went public with attorney Gloria Allred in 2016, a moment that amplified media focus on multiple contemporaneous allegations from models and entertainers .

4. Jill Harth, Amy Dorris, Kristin Anderson and the pageant/model cluster

Makeup artist Jill Harth sued Trump in the 1990s alleging groping and attempted rape and later contended the case was settled amid other legal actions; former models Amy Dorris and Kristin Anderson have similarly accused Trump of forcible kissing, groping and other assaults, and their stories have been repeatedly cited in investigative reporting because many of the alleged incidents involve pageant contexts or VIP events .

5. Recent and additional accusers — Stacey Williams, Karena Virginia and more

Newer allegations have continued to accrue over the years: Stacey Williams alleged groping at an event in 1993 and was noted as the 27th woman to go public in one 2024 report, while yoga instructor Karena Virginia and other women have described groping or non‑consensual touching at public events and Miss Universe–related settings, keeping the total count of women accusing Trump in public reporting in the dozens depending on the outlet .

6. The scale of accusations and the political and media context

Different outlets tally the number of women differently—“at least 25” in some summaries, 26 in a Business Insider list, and up to larger compilations claiming dozens more—reflecting differing thresholds for inclusion (public accusation, allegation of assault versus harassment, corroboration, or legal action) and editorial choices in aggregation ^[1]. Trump’s 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape—where he bragged about non‑consensual grabbing—served as a trigger for several women to come forward in 2016, and Trump’s campaign has responded to many accusations with blanket denials and claims of political motive ^[1].

7. Legal outcomes, disputes and limits of public reporting

Some allegations led to lawsuits—Jill Harth’s 1997 suit and Zervos’s defamation filing, for example—and one high‑profile civil verdict found Trump liable in Carroll’s case; other allegations remain public claims without criminal charges, and media tallies differ in part because reporting standards, settlement confidentiality, withdrawn suits, and corroboration vary across cases ^[1]. Reporting compiled here is limited to the named sources and does not adjudicate factual accuracy beyond the documented filings, statements, and verdicts those sources record .

8. Competing narratives and implicit agendas

The coverage reflects competing agendas: accusers and advocacy groups emphasize patterns and legal redress, journalists aim to compile and verify allegations, and Trump’s defenders cast the accounts as politically timed or fabricated; readers should note that sources vary from news agencies and investigative outlets to feature compilations that apply different criteria for who is listed as an accuser .