John F. Kennedy Jr. and spouse Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s glamorous-turned-tragic courtship and marriage is featured in producer Ryan Murphy’s restricted collection Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, premiering this Thursday, Feb. 12 on FX/Hulu. However the relationship by no means would have by no means occurred if it hadn’t been for JFK Jr.’s iconic American household.
The Kennedy dynasty was generally known as Camelot (in reference to King Arthur and his Knights), for the kin’ political and cultural prominence for many years in the US. Nonetheless, the household additionally appears beneath a curse as its members have endured many tragedies in addition to triumphs. These embrace the surprising assassinations of John’s father, President John F. Kennedy, on Nov. 22, 1963, and his brother candidate for president, Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968 which lengthy preceded the deaths of JFK Jr. and his spouse.
Many hoped JFK Jr. may observe his dad’s footsteps into politics with Carolyn by his aspect after operating his distinguished Nineties political journal, George, however one other Kennedy catastrophe struck as a substitute. John and Carolyn tragically misplaced their lives on July 16, 1999, because the aircraft he was piloting crashed off the coast of Martha’s Winery. Kennedy was 38 whereas his spouse was 33. Within the crash, Bessette-Kennedy’s sister Lauren, 34, additionally perished.
Learn on to seek out out extra about JFK Jr.’s iconic household and who preceded him in Parade’s Kennedy information.
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The Kennedy Household Tree
Joseph P. Kennedy and his spouse, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy acquired married on Oct. 7, 1914, and had 9 kids collectively: Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915), John F. Kennedy (1917), Rosemary Kennedy (1918), Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy (1920), Eunice Kennedy (1921), Patricia Kennedy (1924), Robert F. Kennedy Sr. (1925) Jean Kennedy (1928) and Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy (1932).
Joseph’s father—bar proprietor P.J. Kennedy—was elected to the Senate in 1892, however later deserted politics to concentrate on enterprise. Son Joseph, nevertheless, had huge political ambitions for his household, and lots of imagine he wished to run for President himself. However he by no means did. As a substitute, he had a frenemy relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed him as the primary chairman of the Securities and Alternate Fee and the US Ambassador to the U.Okay. from 1938 to 1940. He died in 1969.
Associated: Every little thing to Know About FX’s ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier
Watchers of the collection Love Story ought to know JFK Jr.’s father John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953 within the society occasion of the yr in Newport, R.I. However their story was marked by scandal and unhappiness. JFK allegedly cheated consistently on his spouse and so they misplaced two youngsters. The president and his first girl had 4 kids: a stillborn daughter they named Arabella who died on Aug. 23, 1956; son Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, who died on Aug. 9, 1963; daughter Caroline Kennedy, who was born on Nov. 27, 1957; and son John F. Kennedy Jr.., who was born on Nov. 25, 1960, and died within the aircraft crash in 1999.
Associated: What Occurred to JFK Jr.? All About The American Icon’s Tragic Loss of life
John F. Kennedy
The long run thirty fifth President of the US, John F. Kennedy was the second-born baby of Joseph and Rose, and arrived in Brookline, Mass., in 1917. He graduated from Harvard after which was the PT-109 boat hero serving within the Navy throughout World Warfare II. His dad pushed him into politics and in 1947, JFK was elected congressman from Massachusetts. Voters selected JFK as their U.S. Senator from the state in 1952. He defeated Richard Nixon within the 1960 Presidential election. However as president on Nov. 22, 1963, the nation was horrified when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. A slew of conspiracy theories have swirled about his loss of life and the killing of his alleged murderer, Lee Harvey Oswald, ever since.
Getty/Bettmann
Jackie Kennedy Onassis
Jackie Kennedy Onassis was the oldest of 4 kids born to stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III and socialite Janet Lee Bouvier. She got here into the world in Southampton, N.Y., in 1929 and was identified for her early equestrian abilities. After attending Vassar School, Jackie labored on the Washington-Occasions Herald as a photojournalist.
She started her work as America’s most trendy First Girl on Jan. 20, 1961, sporting designer duds and reworking the White Home. Jackie was sitting by her husband’s aspect within the Dallas motorcade in a pink swimsuit when he was shot and killed. The nation mourned along with her as she returned to Washington, D.C. along with his physique and deliberate a funeral for the ages.
Associated: Jackie Kennedy Allegedly Confronted JFK About Marilyn Monroe Affair Rumors
Jackis raised her two youngsters in widowhood however hit the headlines once more by marrying Greek delivery multi-millionaire Aristotle Onassis in 1968. He died in 1975, making Jackie a widow, and he or she by no means remarried, though she had a longtime companion, businessman Maurice Templesman. On Might 19, 1964, Jackie died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 64.
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy is the final residing baby of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. She was born on Nov. 27, 1957, and made an cute First Daughter in her quick time within the White Home along with her child brother JFK Jr. After attending Radcliffe School and Columbia College Faculty of Legislation, Caroline labored for the New York Metropolis Division of Training and wrote books on civil rights points. President Barack Obama made brainy Caroline United States Ambassador to Japan in 2013 and in 2022, she turned United States Ambassador to Australia beneath President Joe Biden.
The Kennedy gal married artist Ed Schlossberg in 1986 and so they welcomed three youngsters: daughters Rose Kennedy Schlossberg in 1988 and Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg in 1990 and son John “Jack” Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg in 1993.
John F. Kennedy Jr.
Two weeks after John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency, his spouse Jackie gave delivery to son JFK Jr., who was born on Nov. 25, 1960. He was simply three years previous when his dad was assassinated in 1963; the boy famously saluted the president’s coffin. JFK Jr. graduated from Brown College in 1983, then went to New York College Faculty of Legislation. After media reported “the hunk flunks,” Jr. lastly handed the bar examination on his third strive. He turned {a magazine} writer in 1995 with George getting huge fanfare.
Evan Agostini/Getty Photographs
After assembly Carolyn Bessette round 1992, they married in a tiny shock ceremony on Cumberland Island Sept. 21, 1996. Camelot followers hoped they’d begin a household, however that they had no youngsters earlier than passing away on July 16, 1999. The Piper Saratoga he was piloting that night time crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Winery in Massachusetts. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board finally determined that Kennedy’s spatial disorientation within the hazy climate had triggered him to lose management.
Jack Schlossberg
Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg share their solely son Jack, born on Jan. 19, 1993, who later graduated from Yale College in 2015 and Harvard Enterprise Faculty in 2022. Now 33, Jack is lastly becoming a member of the household political enterprise! On November 11, 2025, Jack introduced he’s operating to turn into the 2026 Democratic candidate for New York’s twelfth congressional district within the U.S. Home of Representatives. He’s hoping to interchange the retiring Jerry Nadler. Esteemed longtime consultant Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Jack.
Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy’s Household Tree
Amongst Joseph P. Kennedy’s and spouse Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy’s 9 kids was seventh baby Robert F. Kennedy Sr. RFK Sr. married Ethel Kennedy in 1950 and so they had the next 11 youngsters: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (1951), Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (1952), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (1954), David Anthony Kennedy (1955), Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill (1956), Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958), Mary Kerry Kennedy (1959), Christopher George Kennedy (1963), Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (1965), Douglas Harriman Kennedy (1967) and Rory Elizabeth Kennedy (1968). Lots of RFK Sr. and Ethel’s brood have completed political and charity work over time. RFK Jr. has confronted huge criticism as President Donald Trump’s controversial Secretary of Well being and Human Providers.
Robert F. Kennedy Sr.
Robert “Bobby” F. Kennedy Sr. is the seventh baby of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. He served as his brother JFK’s Lawyer Basic of the US till the president’s loss of life in 1963. RFK Sr. ran for president himself however after successful the Democrat California major on June 5, 1968, he was assassinated at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Lodge. Though Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the killing, many don’t imagine he acted alone.
Ethel Kennedy
Ethel Skakel Kennedy got here into the world in 1928 because the sixth baby of George and Ann Skakel (who had seven youngsters). Her businessman dad based the Nice Lakes Carbon Company.
After Ethel grew up in Greenwich, Conn., she raised her 11 kids with RFK Sr. in “Hickory Hill,” a mansion McLean, Va. Ethel was the face of the Robert F. Kennedy Heart for Justice and Human Rights till daughter Kerry Kennedy took over. After being grandmother to many, the fierce matriarch handed away at age 96 in 2024 from a stroke.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third baby of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy, was born on Jan. 17, 1954. As a teen boy, he dealt along with his namesake dad’s assassination.
RFK Jr.’s household contains six youngsters. He had Robert “Bobby” Kennedy Jr. III (1984) and Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy (1988) with first spouse Emily Ruth Black and Conor Kennedy (1994), Kyra Kennedy (1995), William Kennedy (1997) and Aidan Kennedy (2001) with late second spouse Mary Richardson. In 2012, Mary killed herself. Two years later, RFK. Jr. wed his third spouse, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines.
RFK Jr. attended Harvard, the College of Virginia and Tempo College, however needed to endure therapy after drug issues. The controversial anti-vaccine crusader pursued environmental regulation after which ran for president as an impartial in 2024. However he quickly determined to drop out of the race and endorse Trump, who later appointed him as his second time period Secretary of HHS.
The Kennedy-Shriver Household Tree
JFK’s youthful sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, walked down the aisle with Robert Sargant Shriver Jr. in 1957. They produced 4 sons, Robert “Bobby” Sargant Shriver III (1954), Timothy Perry Shriver (1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver (1964) and Anthony Paul Shriver (1965), and one daughter Maria Owings Shriver (1955).
Eunice Kennedy Shriver and household
The fifth child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Eunice arrived in 1921. She’s a beloved Kennedy for founding of the Particular Olympics attributable to her sister Rosemary being mentally sluggish. In her life, Eunice additionally did political work, significantly serving to her brother turn into president, however shall be most remembered for philanthropy. She handed away on Aug. 11, 2009.
Maria Shriver
The second baby of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Former U.S. Ambassador to France Robert Sargant Shriver Jr., Maria’s birthday is Nov. 6, 1955. Maria lived partly in Paris throughout her dad’s Ambassador profession after which attended Manhattanville School and Georgetown College. Lovely Maria turned well-known as a journalist for NBC Information, particularly on its Dateline present from 1992 to 1994.
She turned a part of a supercouple in 1986 by marrying Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom she had 4 kids: Katherine Schwarzenegger (1989); Christina Schwarzenegger (1991); Patrick Schwarzenegger (1993); and Christopher Schwarzenegger (1997). Arnold’s scandalous affair with the household housekeeper wrecked the wedding. Maria and former California governor Arnold’s divorce was ultimate in 2021.
Picture by Nancy Lane
Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy’s Household Tree
Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy
Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy was the ninth and final baby born (in 1932) to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The famed Democrat was the lion of the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts for nearly forty years, however a run for president flopped in 1980—probably attributable to his 1969 Chappaquiddick scandal through which Ted drove his automobile off a bridge and his feminine passenger drowned to loss of life. Ted had a malignant mind tumor and died at age 77 in 2009.
Joan Kennedy
Ted tied the knot with stunning blonde Joan Bennett in 1958 after his sister Jean launched them. Their household line produced three kids, Kara, Ted Jr. and Patrick Kennedy.
The senator and Joan’s relationship was rocky, marred by his alleged infidelity and her alcoholism. Whereas she stood by his aspect in his 1980 run for president, their divorce turned official in 1983. Joan was 89 when she died in 2025. Her youngsters’ cousin Kerry hailed her charity work and piano enjoying on Fb and added, “Joan Bennett Kennedy was stunning, stylish, caring, and brave.”
Victoria “Vicki” Reggie Kennedy
Ted married his second spouse lawyer/diplomat Victoria Reggie in 1992. Her political astuteness was excellent for his household and so they’d been married 16 years when he handed away.
Subsequent, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette: ‘Love Story’ Reveals Glamour and Drama of ’90s Romance
