Caroline Kennedy Fights Tears to Break Silence on Daughter Tatiana Schlossberg's Death
Caroline Kennedy Fights Tears to Break Silence on Daughter Tatiana Schlossberg's Death
Joseph Konig, Juliet PenningtonMon, June 1, 2026 at 4:16 PM UTC
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Caroline Kennedy (left) spoke of her late daughter Tatiana Schlossberg (right) at the JFK Profile in Courage Awards on May 31
Credit: Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty; Craig Barritt/Getty
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Caroline Kennedy memorialized her late daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, in an emotional speech at the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony
The former U.S. ambassador opened her remarks at the Sunday, May 31, ceremony by remembering the work of her 35-year-old daughter
Tatiana died in December 2025 after battling acute myeloid leukemia, a blood cancer
Caroline Kennedy memorialized her late daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, in an emotional speech at the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony held at her father’s presidential library.
The former U.S. ambassador and daughter of President John F. Kennedy opened her remarks at the Sunday, May 31, ceremony by remembering the work of her 35-year-old daughter, who died in December 2025 after battling acute myeloid leukemia, a blood cancer.
Caroline also gave a shout out to Tatiana's in-laws, Garrett and Mary Moran, who are the parents of Tatiana’s husband, George Moran, a doctor with whom she shared two young children.
The Morans were attending the event for the first time, along with Sargent Shriver’s youngest granddaughter, 21-year-old Emma Shriver.
“This year we even have new family members here. I am so happy to welcome Emma Shriver and Garrett and Mary Moran,” Caroline, 68, said, after noting “politics is a family endeavor and I am so grateful to the members of my family who are here tonight and whose support over many years has kept my father’s spirit alive and made this institution a living memorial.”
Tatiana Schlossberg, Jack Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg, Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy attend a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit by President John F. Kennedy to Ireland in 2013.
Credit: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty
Caroline then, voice wavering and appearing to fight back tears, commemorated the work and life of her late daughter.
“Most of all, we remember Tatiana, who served on the board of this library, and represented everything my parents stood for in her beautiful, amazing and too-short life,” she added.
The crowd of more than 650 people clapped for Tatiana for nearly 20 seconds as Caroline collected her strength, quietly telling the audience "thank you" in the midst of the applause.
Tatiana died on Dec. 30 and was honored with a Jan. 5 memorial service at New York City’s St. Ignatius Loyola church.
Before her death, the environmental journalist and author penned a heartbreaking essay for The New Yorker, disclosing her fatal disease and reflecting on both the decades of tragedies that plagued the extended Kennedy clan — as well as the harm she said her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was doing through his attacks on the U.S. public health system and his alliance with President Donald Trump.
“I watched from my hospital bed as Bobby, in the face of logic and common sense, was confirmed for the position, despite never having worked in medicine, public health, or the government,” Tatiana wrote in the Nov. 22 essay, published just over a month before her death. “As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly half a billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers.”
Caroline Kennedy, left, arrives with her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, center left, and her children Tatiana Schlossberg, center right, and Jack Schlossberg, right, at the 2023 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony in Boston.
Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne
She also noted the estranged Kennedy cousin “slashed billions in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest sponsor of medical research; and threatened to oust the panel of medical experts charged with recommending preventive cancer screenings.”
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Tatiana’s mother Caroline, father Ed Schlossberg, brother Jack Schlossberg — who is running for Congress in Manhattan — and guests, including David Letterman, attended the ceremony to grant the 2026 JFK Profile in Courage Award.
This year, the award was granted to people who stood up to the Trump administration in different ways: the people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Letterman joked with PEOPLE before the event that “I’m a big fan of the Fed. From the time I was a child, I just couldn’t get enough of the Fed,” teasing that he was hopeful to get a selfie with the professorial central banker who has helped set interest rates and dictate U.S. monetary policy since 2012.
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In her remarks, Caroline said the foundation was honoring “Americans who risked their careers, their safety and even their lives to hold politicians to account and keep America true to her promises.”
“Gov. Powell never wavered in his duty to the public interest,” she said. “With dignity and resolve, he demonstrated his commitment to the American people and to America’s leadership role in the global economy, despite years of personal attacks, baseless prosecution, and efforts to undermine him.”
President Donald Trump looks on as his nominee for the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks at the White House on Nov. 2, 2017.
Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty
As for the Twin Cities, the former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia said that the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul who stood up to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown “reminded all Americans that we cannot take our democracy for granted.”
“They mobilized, organized, and refused to be terrorized by an overwhelming federal crackdown which sent 3,000 heavily armed ICE agents into their communities to arrest and deport citizens and non-citizens alike,” Caroline said.
“Across racial, religious, and political lines, and across business and labor, volunteers mobilized to protest peacefully, document violent overreach, build rapid response networks, provide food and clothing to immigrant neighbors, and so much more,” she added.
Several thousand people march demanding ICE out of Minnesota immediately, and justice and accountability for Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and all victims of ICE on Feb. 16.
Credit: Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty
Caroline memorialized Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two Minneapolis residents and U.S. citizens who were killed by federal agents in January amid the protests. She noted Good’s father, brother and sister were in attendance.
“We especially remember the courage of Renée Good and Alex Pretti who gave their lives for their community and our country. We are honored to have with us here tonight Renee’s father, Tim Ganger, her brother Brent, and her sister Anne,” she said.
After a video honoring the people of the Twin Cities featuring Bruce Springsteen, Jack Schlossberg introduced Powell, who has frequently clashed with Trump as chair of the Fed and is set to remain on the central bank’s board through 2028 as the president has threatened him with criminal prosecution and removal.
“Thank you to my amazing mother. She has taught me how to handle life's challenges with grace and determination," Jack said.
Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg during the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Ceremony in Boston on May 31.
Credit: Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty; Scott Eisen/Getty
Both Jack and his mother noted that the Profile in Courage Award, handed out each year at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, is typically intended for elected officials.
Powell “is not an elected official and these are not ordinary times,” Jack said. “Few have done more under more difficult circumstances than Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jay Powell."
"His commitment to the public interest never wavered,” the 33-year-old congressional candidate added.
Powell thanked Jack after taking the stage and expressed gratitude to the Kennedy family, saying, “It is a great privilege to be here tonight with you and your family, Ambassador Kennedy."
Recalling the news of JFK's assassination when he was a fifth-grader in 1963, Powell said, "I remember that moment very clearly, and the dark days that followed. They made an indelible impression on me and, looking back, that was really the time I first felt the pull of public service."
He ended his remarks with a line from JFK's "amazing" 1961 inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."
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