Inside the Kennedy Family: 50+ Facts You May Not Know
Inside the Kennedy Family: 50+ Facts You May Not Know
Alexandra HurtadoThu, February 12, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC
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Camelot may have ended with JFK, asJackie Kennedy once suggested, but the Kennedys have continued to captivate far beyond that brief shining moment. Members of the famous family, often regarded as American royalty, have inspired film and TV projects over the years, with JFK Jr. getting the Hollywood treatment in FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, premiering Feb. 12. From weddings and deaths to surprising awards, learn more about the Kennedys with these 50 facts.
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50 Kennedy Family Facts
1. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, JFK, was born on May 29, 1917.
2. JFK was the second oldest of nine siblings.
3. JFK was named in honor of his maternal grandfather, John Francis Fitzgerald, who was the mayor of Boston.
4. Jacqueline Bouvier worked for the Washington Times-Herald, where she had a column called "Inquiring Camera Girl."
5. Jackie covered Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953.
Bachrach/Getty Images) (Bachrach/Getty Images))
6. Jackie and John met in 1952. "We met at the house of a friend about two years ago," she told CBS News in 1953.
7. Jackie and JFK were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
8. For her wedding, Jackie wore an ivory silk taffeta gown designed by Ann Lowe.
9. John and Jackie honeymooned in Mexico.
10. Jackie delivered a stillborn daughter named Arabella in 1956.
11. JFK and Jackie welcomed their daughter Caroline in 1957.
12. The couple's son, John Jr., was born in 1960.
13. The president was a Pulitzer Prize winner. Profiles in Courage, which he dedicated to Jackie, received the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.
Apic/Getty Images (Apic/Getty Images)
14. JFK and Jackie had a son named Patrick Bouvier Kennedy who died 39 hours after his birth in 1963.
15. John F. Kennedy was elected the 35th President of the United States in 1960.
16. President Kennedy was 43, making him the youngest person ever elected president of the United States. He was also the first Catholic president.
17. JFK delivered his memorable line "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" in his 1961 inaugural address.
18. Maria Shriver is among JFK's nieces and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. among the former president's nephews.
19. Jackie, at the age of 31, became the third youngest first lady in U.S. history.
20. The White House Historical Association was established by Jackie in 1961.
Getty Images) (Getty Images))
21. JFK's daughter Caroline received a pony named Tex from Vice President Johnson.
22. Motherhood is said to have been Jackie's priority. She is quoted as once telling a reporter that "if you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."
23. The family's dog Pushinka was a gift from a Soviet leader. Per the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, before the pup "arrived at the White House as a surprise in June of 1961," Jackie had, earlier that month, "asked Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev about the dog Strelka, who had been sent into space as part of the Soviet space program and was about to have a litter of puppies." JFK thanked the leader for the pup, writing: "Her flight from the Soviet Union to the United States was not as dramatic as the flight of her mother, nevertheless, it was a long voyage and she stood it well."
24. Jackie won an award at the 1962 Emmys, the Trustees Award. The first lady received the special award for her hourlong tour of the newly restored White House.
GHI/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (GHI/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
25. Caroline learned of her father's death from her nanny. Per PEOPLE, Maud Shaw wrote in her memoir: "I sat on the edge of [Caroline's] bed [that night] and felt tears well up in my eyes. Caroline looked up at me. ‘What’s the matter, Miss Shaw? Why are you crying?’ I took her in my arms. ‘I can’t help crying, Caroline, because I have some very sad news.'"
Shaw added, "Then I told her. It was a dreadful time for us both. Eventually she fell asleep while I sat on the bed, still patting her. At last I tiptoed from the room, leaving the door open just a crack, as always."
26. The iconic pink suit Jackie was wearing the day her husband was killed was from the New York shop Chez Ninon. According to TheNew York Times, the first lady had worn it at least six times other times.
27. Jackie's pink suit was donated by her daughter Caroline to the National Archives "through a deed of gift, signed in 2003." Per the National Archives, "Access to the clothing and personal effects of Mrs. Kennedy are restricted for 100 years from the date of execution of the deed of gift."
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28. Jackie became a widow at the age of 34 following the assassination of her husband JFK.
Keystone/Getty Images) (Keystone/Getty Images))
29. JFK is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Jackie lit the eternal flame at her husband's grave.
30. Jackie married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Socrates Onassis in 1968. After his death, Jackie is quoted as saying via History News Network: "Aristotle Onassis rescued me at a moment when my life was engulfed with shadows… We lived through many beautiful experiences together… for which I will be eternally grateful."
Express Newspapers/Getty Images) (Express Newspapers/Getty Images))
31. Jackie, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, died on May 19, 1994 in New York City, and is buried next to her first husband in Arlington National Cemetery.
32. John F. Kennedy Jr. launched his magazine George in 1995.
33. JFK Jr. once dated Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker.
34. Caroline Kennedy married designer Edwin Schlossberg on July 19, 1986.
NEW ROSS, IRELAND - JUNE 22: Tatiana Schlossberg, Jack Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg, Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy attend a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit by US President John F Kennedy, on June 22, 2013 in New Ross, Ireland. The Eternal Flame from Kennedy's grave was used to light a flame on the quayside where he gave a speech in 1963. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty Images) (NEW ROSS, IRELAND - JUNE 22: Tatiana Schlossberg, Jack Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg, Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy attend a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit by US President John F Kennedy, on June 22, 2013 in New Ross, Ireland. The Eternal Flame from Kennedy's grave was used to light a flame on the quayside where he gave a speech in 1963. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty Images))
35. JFK and Jackie had three grandchildren through their daughter, Caroline: Rose, Tatiana and John "Jack" Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg.
36. According to the New York Post, Caroline's eldest child's name is an homage to President Kennedy's mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy...and it was chosen by Jackie.
37. Tatiana Schlossberg married her college sweetheart George Moran in 2017 at her family’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard.
38. Tatiana shared two kids with her husband: son Edwin and daughter Josephine.
Related: Look Back at Photos of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
39. Rose Schlossberg reportedly married her wife, restaurateurRory McAuliffe, in 2022.
40. Jean Kennedy Smith, who was President Kennedy's last surviving sibling, passed away at the age of 92 in 2020.
41. Tatiana, an environmental journalist, died on December 30, 2025, at the age of 35. The month before her death, JFK's granddaughter revealed that she had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2024 following the birth of her daughter.
42. Author Andrew Lownie wrote in the biography Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York (via PEOPLE) that Sarah Ferguson, Queen Elizabeth's former daughter-in-law, had a "schoolgirl crush" on JFK Jr.
Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Images) (Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Images))
43. JFK Jr. was named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 1988.
44. The son of the late president and first lady earned his private pilot license in April 1998.
45. According to E! News, Caroline was her sister-in-law Carolyn's matron of honor.
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) (Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images))
46. JFK Jr. and Carolyn tied the knot on September 21, 1996 in a private ceremony at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia.
47. PEOPLE has previously reported that JFK Jr. honored his father on his wedding day wearing the late president's watch.
48. Anthony Radziwiłl, the son of Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill, served as his cousin’s best man.
Related: Kennedy Family Member Issues Bold Statement About Showrunner of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette TV Series
49. JFK Jr.'s cousin Anthony was married to Carole Radziwill, who later appeared on TheReal Housewives of New York.
50. JFK Jr. and Carolyn were going to attend his cousin Rory Kennedy's wedding before their plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean in 1999.
51. JFK Jr. and Carolyn were buried at sea from the USS Briscoe.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))
52. Caroline Kennedy has served as a United States Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017 and United States Ambassador to Australia from 2022 to 2024.
53. Neil Diamond's popular song "Sweet Caroline" was inspired by Caroline Kennedy. Recalling telling Caroline about her being the inspiration, the singer told the (via NME), "I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seemed to be struck by it and really, really happy."
54. JFK's grandson announced in 2025 that he was running for congress.
Related: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette: ‘Love Story’ Reveals Glamour and Drama of '90s Romance
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
