Date of Birth
28 July 1929, Southampton, New York, USA
Date of Death
19 May 1994, New York City, New York, USA (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma )
Birth Name
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
Nickname
Jackie O
Supertanker
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28 1929 to Janet Norton Lee and John V. "Blackjack" Bouvier. Her sister Caroline Lee (aka Lee Radziwill) was born four years after her. She lived in posh penthouse apartments in New York City until her parents divorced when she was about six. Several years later her mother married Hugh D. Auchincloss and Jackie became the stepsister of two brothers and a sister from Hugh's previous marriages. Soon there were another brother and sister as a result of the new marriage.
Jackie attended boarding schools and then Vassar. After two years, though, she got tired of schools and spent her junior year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. When she got back to the US she did not want to go back to Vassar, so she enrolled in George Washington University in Washington, DC, graduating in 1951. She took a job at the CIA and in January of 1952 went to work at a Washington newspaper as a photographer. During an assignment, she met U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, who was 13 years her senior. They were married on September 12, 1953. After having one stillborn daughter, Arabella Kennedy, along came Caroline Kennedy, on November 27, 1957. Their first son John Kennedy Jr., who was born on November 25, 1960. In 1961 John Kennedy became the 35th President of the US. Jackie spent the White House years doing her best to save the historical landmarks around Washington. In August of 1963 she went into labor with their fourth child, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, but sadly, he died shortly after birth. Jackie was not scheduled to go to Texas with her husband, but decided to go as a means of perhaps putting the death of Patrick behind them. She was sitting next to him in the open-air limousine on November 22, 1963, when JFK was assassinated.
In 1968 her brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy, was also assassinated. The combination of the death of two children and the murders of her husband and brother-in-law proved to be too much for her, and she came to the conclusion that she and her family could not live safely in the US any longer. On October 20, 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis. After he died in the mid-'70s she returned to New York and became a book editor. She dedicated the last 20 years of her life to her children, her grandchildren and her friend Maurice Templeton. In the early 1990s she found out she had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and died on May 19, 1994. Shortly after her death there was a sale of some of her prized possessions. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent more than a million dollars on some of the things to honor the aunt and uncle of his wife, Maria Shriver.
Spouse
Aristotle Onassis (20 October 1968 - 15 March 1975) (his death)
John F. Kennedy (12 September 1953 - 22 November 1963) (his death) 3 children
Trade Mark
Her pillbox hats, tailored suits and dresses which were all made exclusively for her by French designer Oleg Cassini.
Facts::
Attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award posthumously in 1995.
First lady of the USA, 1960-63.
Mother of John Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy
Won an Emmy award for her 1962 televised tour of the White House.
During their stormy relationship, Aristotle Onassis unaffectionately referred to Jackie as "supertanker." This was because he thought her tastes cost him as much as a supertanker ship.
Could speak Italian, French, and Spanish.
Was of Irish (mother's side) and French (father's side) heritage.
Sister-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Daughter-in-law of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Kennedy.
Aunt of Christopher Lawford, Maria Shriver, director Burr Steers, Anthony Radziwill, Tina Radziwill, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., Rory Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy.
Sister-in-law of Jean Kennedy Smith, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Ted Kennedy. One-time sister-in-law of Peter Lawford and Joan Kennedy.
Was one of the 100 most important woman of the 20th century as selected by Ladies Home Journal.
She never spoke publicly about her husband's murder.
Older sister of Lee Radziwill.
Had the same stepfather as writer Gore Vidal.
Was named Debutante of the Year 1947-1948.
On her way back to Washington from Dallas after her husband's murder Lady Bird Johnson advised her to clean up and change her outfit so that she would be presentable for the television cameras. Mrs. Kennedy, mindful of the impact of the cameras, refused because she wanted the public to see her in the outfit that was still stained with her husband's blood. Being urged to change her mind by those around her she replied, "Let them see what they have done".
Niece of Edith Bouvier Beale, and cousin of 'Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale' of Grey Gardens (1975) and Grey Gardens (2009) (TV) fame.
In 1956, gave birth to a stillborn daughter. She was later named Arabella Kennedy.
Won the "Vogue" magazine contest in 1951 by making the best definition of Sergei Diaghilev as "unique alchemist in history of arts."
Frequented the Paris Salon of Yves Saint-Laurent, along with her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill.
Although her first husband, President John F.Kennedy was one of the wealthiest occupants of the White House, she received only a modest $25,000 bequest, $70,000 in cash, and $200,000 per year in income from his family trust fund,which would cease upon her re-marriage. The remainder of his $10 million estate was held in trust for his two children John and Caroline. Her marriage to Onassis guaranteed her financial freedom-he gave her $3 million at their marriage and established $1 million trust funds for John and Caroline. When he died, she negotiated a $26 million settlement from Christina Onassis, and with help from her companion, Maurice Templesman, her wealth was in excess of $200 million by the time of her death in 1994.
Personal Quotes
"I don't think there are any men who are faithful to their wives."
"The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship."
"The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse."
"I want to live my life, not record it."
"Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, Jack [President John F. Kennedy] always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer."
"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."
"What is my proudest accomplishment? I went through some pretty difficult times, and I kept my sanity."
"Our dreams and goals are never completely realized. They are always there before our eyes, but always just slightly out of reach. And so as we strive to fulfill our vision, we must make the most out of every living moment."
"They will never drag me out like an old widow like they did Mrs. Wilson when President Wilson [Woodrow Wilson] died. I will never be used that way."
"There are two kinds of women. Those who want power in the world, and those who want power in bed."