A look at the lives of John F Kennedy's children (2024)

JOHN F Kennedy was famously killed in 1963 during a parade, leaving behind his wife and children.

Here, we take a look at the lives of his children, and what they went on to do.

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Who are John F Kennedy’s children?

JFK and Jackie Onassis had four children – Caroline, John Jr, Patrick and Arabella.

Following a miscarriage in 1955, Jackie gave birth to a stillborn baby girl in 1956.

They named the baby Arabella.

In 1957, she gave birth to Carolineand in late 1960, the couple had son John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr - nicknamed "John-John" by the press.

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In 1963, months before JFK’s assassination, the couple had son Patrick.

Where are the children now?

Caroline is the only surviving child of the couple.

Arabella was stillborn and Patrick died aged two days old due to complications from birth.

John Jr died in 1999 when the small plane he was piloting crashed en route to Martha's Vineyard.

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Who is Caroline and where is she today?

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy was born on November 27, 1957, and is an American author, attorney and diplomat.

She served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017 and is the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

Caroline was described as a “remarkably unspoiled” child by her maternal grandmother Janet Lee Auchincloss.

She was just five days away from her sixth birthday when her dad was assassinated.

Two weeks later, the Kennedys moved to Georgetown, with their new home becoming a popular tourist attraction.

The following year, Caroline, her mother and brother relocated to New York, settling in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

She attended Radcliffe College, and worked at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It was while working at the Met that she met her future husband Edwin Schlossberg, an exhibit designer.

She went on to receive a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School.

Most of Caroline's professional life has spanned law and politics, as well as education reform and charitable work.

She has also acted as a spokesperson for her family's legacy and co-authored two books on civil liberties with Ellen Alderman.

During the 2008 Presidential election, she endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama, later serving as co-chair of his Vice Presidential Search Committee.

In 1968, when her mother married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, the family relocated to Skorpios – Onassis’ private island.

When she returned to the US a year later for the funeral of her granddad, a then 11-year-old Caroline confided in her cousin David that she did not like her stepfather.

She went back to New York to continue her studies and returned to the White House in 1971 for the first time since her father’s death following an invitation from President Richard Nixon for the family to view the official portrait of JFK.

In 1975, Caroline was visiting London to complete a year-long art course at the Sotheby's auction house, when a car bomb placed under the car of her hosts, Conservative MP Sir Hugh Fraser and his wife, Antonia, exploded.

The bomb detonated shortly before she and the Frasers were due to leave for their daily drive to Sotheby's.

Caroline had not yet left the house, but a neighbour, oncologist Professor Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, was passing with his dog and was killed by the explosion.

Caroline married husband Edwin Schlossberg in 1986 at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Massachusetts.

The couple had three children: Rose Kennedy Schlossberg (born 1988), Tatiana Celia Kennedy Schlossberg (born 1990), and John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, known as Jack (born 1993).

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Who was John Jr?

John Jr was born on November 25, 1960 – he was an American lawyer, journalist and magazine publisher.

His dad was assassinated just three days before his third birthday – JFK’s state funeral was held on John Jr’s birthday.

In what became an iconic image of the 1960s, John Jr stepped forward and rendered a final salute as his father's flag-draped casket was carried out from St Matthew's Cathedral.

The family continued with their plans for his birthday party to demonstrate that the Kennedys would go on despite the death of the President.

John Jr attended schools in Manhattan and Massachusetts, before going to Brown University to major in American studies.

He took a break from working after his graduation in 1983, and travelled to India where he met Mother Teresa.

He also worked with some of the Kennedy special interest projects, including the East Harlem School at Exodus House and Reaching Up.

Like his sister Caroline, he disliked his stepfather Aristotle Onassis and allegedly considered him to be “a joke”.

In 1976, John Jr and his cousin visited an earthquake disaster zone at Rabinal in Guatemala, helping with heavy building work and distributing food.

The local priest said that they "ate what the people of Rabinal, ate and dressed in Guatemalan clothes and slept in tents like most of the earthquake victims," adding that the two "did more for their country's image" in Guatemala "than a roomful of ambassadors".

On his 16th birthday, Kennedy's Secret Service protection ended and he spent the summer of 1978 working as a wrangler in Wyoming.

From 1989, Kennedy headed Reaching Up, a nonprofit group which provided educational and other opportunities for workers who helped people with disabilities.

William Ebenstein, executive director of Reaching Up, said: "He was always concerned with the working poor, and his family always had an interest in helping them."

That same year, he earned a J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law.

He then failed the New York bar exam twice, before passing on his third try in July 1990.

After failing the exam for a second time, Kennedy vowed that he would take it continuously until he was ninety-five years old or passed.

On August 29, 1991, Kennedy won his first case as a prosecutor.

He later went on to work as a journalist.

How did he die and who was he with?

John Jr married Carolyn Bessette in 1996 in a private ceremony on Cumberland Island, Georgia.

In April 1998, he received his pilot's licence, which he had dreamed about since he was a child.

On July 16, 1999, Kennedy departed from Fairfield, New Jersey, at the controls of his Piper Saratoga light aircraft.

He was travelling with his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette to the wedding of his cousin Rory Kennedy at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Carolyn and Lauren were passengers sitting in the second row of seats.

The 38-year-old had checked in with the control tower at the Martha's Vineyard Airport, but the plane was reported missing after it failed to arrive on schedule.

On July 19, 1999, fragments of his plane were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean after being detected by sonar technology.

The next day, divers found part of the shattered plane strewn over a broad area of seabed 120 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

On July 21, 1999, three bodies were recovered from the ocean floor by Navy divers.

Divers found Carolyn and Lauren's bodies near the twisted and broken fuselage while John Jr’s body was still strapped into the pilot's seat.

They had all died on impact.

His last will and testament stipulated that his personal belongings, property, and holdings were to be "evenly distributed" among his sister Caroline’s three children, who were among fourteen beneficiaries in his will.

A look at the lives of John F Kennedy's children (2024)

FAQs

What happened to JFK's children? ›

JFK fathered five children with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier. The first resulted in a miscarriage, the second was a stillborn daughter, then Caroline, next was John Jr. and lastly Patrick—who died 39 hours after birth.

Are there any original Kennedy children still alive? ›

Caroline Kennedy, the only member of JFK's immediate family who is still alive today, was born on November 27, 1957. She was nearly six when her father was assassinated, and then her mother moved her and her brother to Manhattan for school.

Is Jackie Kennedy Onassis still alive? ›

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (born July 28, 1929, Southampton, New York, U.S.—died May 19, 1994, New York City) was an American first lady (1961–63), who was the wife of John F.

Who lives at the Kennedy Compound now? ›

The Kennedy Compound became a U.S. National Landmark in 1972, but none of the homes are open for public visitation. Ethel Kennedy still owns and resides in the home she lived in with her late husband, while the Big House was donated to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in 2013.

Where are JFK's children buried? ›

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and two Kennedy infants are interred in Lot 45, Section 30, Arlington National Cemetery. The permanent graves are located about 20 feet east of the site where the President was temporarily interred on 25 November 1963. Each is marked by a simply inscribed gray slate tablet.

Did Ethel Kennedy remarry? ›

Following her husband's assassination, Ethel publicly stated that she would never marry again. For a time, she was escorted to dinners, parties, and the theater by singer and family friend Andy Williams.

Who was the forgotten Kennedy daughter? ›

Rosemary Kennedy, born Rose Marie Kennedy on September 13, 1918, was the third child and eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. She was slower to crawl, slower to walk and to speak than her brothers, and she experienced learning difficulties when she reached school age.

How old was Jackie Kennedy when JFK died? ›

On November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and Jacqueline Kennedy became a widow at age 34. She planned the president's state funeral, which was watched by millions around the world who shared her grief and admired her courage and dignity.

Who was the longest living Kennedy? ›

Smith attended Ted's funeral on August 29. Smith died at her home in Manhattan on June 17, 2020, at the age of 92; she was the last surviving, and the longest-lived, of the nine Kennedy children.

How much money did Jackie Kennedy inherit from John Kennedy? ›

According to reports, Jacqueline inherited a sum estimated at $20 million to $26 million after John F. Kennedy's death in 1975 [1]. In her last will and testament, Jacqueline named Maurice Tempelsman as the executor and left him a Greek statue.

How much money did Jackie Kennedy get from Onassis death? ›

After Onassis died, she was UNABLE to inherit his fortune due to GREEK LAW, her being foreign! He left it to his nearest GREEK next of kin, his daughter Christina. As his widow she was entitled to a portion and received $26 million plus a share of the private Island, Skorpios, and the yacht Christina.

Who did John F Kennedy Jr leave his money to? ›

Kennedy's last will and testament stipulated that his personal belongings, property, and holdings were to be "evenly distributed" among his sister Caroline Kennedy's three children, who were among fourteen beneficiaries in his will.

Who owns JFK Hyannis Port home? ›

In 2012, the compound's main house was donated by the Kennedy Family to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. All three properties are privately owned and are not open to the public.

Do the Kennedys still go to Hyannis Port? ›

In 1928, Joseph Kennedy bought a white-shingled cottage in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, for $25,000. The community became the home base for the Kennedy family for decades. It's also where several tragedies and scandals took place. Yet the family returns every year.

Where does the Kennedy family get their money? ›

The Merchandise Mart's revenues became a principal source of wealth that formed much of the Kennedy family's private fortune, including being a source of funding for financing his sons' future political campaigns.

How many of JFK's children are still alive? ›

Kennedy previously served in the Obama administration as the United States ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. She is a member of the Kennedy family, the only surviving child of US president John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Did JFK have a daughter? ›

How many Kennedy kids were there? ›

The Kennedy family tree includes more than 100 names, with branches that stretch as high as they do wide. At the base are Rose and Joseph Kennedy, who bore nine children, including, of course, a son who ascended to the presidency of the United States – John F. Kennedy.

Is Cheryl Hines still married to Robert Kennedy Jr? ›

Kennedy, who is running as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, is equally as enthusiastic about Hines, whom he married in August 2014. In honor of their wedding anniversary in 2020, the former environmental lawyer dedicated a now-deleted Instagram post to his wife.

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