Caroline Bouvier Kennedy was born on November 27, 1957, atNew York Hospital toJacqueline Bouvier Kennedy andJohn F. Kennedy, then aU.S. senator fromMassachusetts. She is named after her maternal aunt,Lee Radziwill, and maternal great-great-grandmother, Caroline Ewing Bouvier. A year before Kennedy's birth, her parents had a stillborn daughter, Arabella. Kennedy had a younger brother,John Jr., who was born two days before her third birthday in 1960. Another brother,Patrick, died two days after his premature birth in 1963. Kennedy lived with her parents inGeorgetown, Washington, D.C. during the first three years of her life.[9]
Historians described Caroline's childhood personality as "a trifle remote and a bit shy at times" yet "remarkably unspoiled."[14] "She's too young to realize all these luxuries", her paternal grandmother,Rose Kennedy, said of her. "She probably thinks it's natural for children to go off in their own airplanes. But she is with her cousins, and some of them dance and swim better than she. They do not allow her to take special precedence. Little children accept things".[15]
Kennedy with her father aboard the yachtHoney Fitz off the coast ofHyannis, Massachusetts at age five, August 25, 1963
When Kennedy'sfather was assassinated in 1963, nanny Maud Shaw took her and John Jr. from the White House to the home of their maternal grandmother,Janet Bouvier Auchincloss, who insisted that Shaw be the one to tell Kennedy about her father's assassination. That evening, Kennedy and John Jr. returned to the White House, and while Kennedy was in bed, Shaw broke the news to her.[16] Shaw soon found out that Jacqueline had wanted to be the one to tell the two children, which caused a rift between Shaw and Jacqueline.[16] On December 6, two weeks after the assassination, Jacqueline, Caroline, and John Jr. moved out of the White House and returned to Georgetown.[17] Their new home became a tourist attraction, and the family left Georgetown the following year. They later moved to a penthouse apartment at1040 Fifth Avenue on theUpper East Side.[9]
In 1967, Kennedy christened theU.S. Navyaircraft carrierUSSJohn F. Kennedy in a widely publicized ceremony inNewport News, Virginia.[18][19] Over that summer, Jacqueline took the children on a six-week "sentimental journey" to Ireland, where they metPresidentÉamon de Valera and visited the Kennedy ancestral home at Dunganstown. In the midst of the trip, Caroline and John were surrounded by a large number of press photographers while playing in a pond. The incident caused their mother to telephone Ireland's Department of External Affairs and request the issuing of a statement that she and the children wanted to be left in peace. As a result of the request, further attempts by press photographers to photograph the threesome ended with arrests by local police and the photographers being jailed.[20]
Caroline and John Jr.'s uncleRobert F. Kennedy became a major presence in both children's lives following their father's assassination, and Kennedy saw Robert as a surrogate father. However, whenRobert was assassinated in 1968, Jacqueline sought a means of protecting her children, stating: "I hate this country. I despise America and I don't want my children to live here anymore. If they're killing Kennedys, my kids are the number one targets. I have the two main targets. I want to get out of this country".[21] Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping tycoonAristotle Onassis several months later and she and the children moved toSkorpios, his Greek island. The next year, 11-year-old Caroline attended the funeral of her grandfather,Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Her cousin, David, asked Caroline about her feelings towards her stepfather, and Caroline replied, "I don't like him".[22]
In 1970, Jacqueline wrote her brother-in-lawTed Kennedy a letter stating that Caroline had been without a godfather since Robert Kennedy's death and would like Ted to assume the role. Ted began making regular trips from Washington to New York to see Caroline, where she was in school.[23] In 1971, Caroline returned to the White House for the first time since her father's assassination when she was invited by PresidentRichard Nixon to view the official portrait of her father.[24]
Onassis died in March 1975, and Caroline returned to Skorpios for his funeral. A few days later, she and her mother and brother attended the presentation byFrench presidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing of the Legion of Honor award to her aunt,Eunice Kennedy Shriver.[25] Later that year, Kennedy was visitingLondon to complete a year-long art course at theSotheby's auction house, when anIRA car bomb placed under the car of her hosts, Conservative MPSir Hugh Fraser and his wife,Antonia, exploded shortly before she and the Frasers were due to leave for their daily drive to Sotheby's. Kennedy had not yet left the house, but a neighbor, oncologist ProfessorGordon Hamilton Fairley, was passing by when he was walking his dog and was killed by the explosion.[26]
Kennedy with brotherJohn Jr. in Washington in 1985
Kennedy began her education with kindergarten classes in the White House organized by her mother.[27] Before the family's move to New York, Kennedy was registered atStone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart.[28] She attended theBrearley School andConvent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan, and later graduated in 1975 fromConcord Academy in Massachusetts.[29] Kennedy was a photographer's assistant at the1976 Winter Olympics inInnsbruck, Austria.[30] In 1977, she worked as a summer intern at the New YorkDaily News, earning $156 a week ($809 in 2024 dollars), "fetching coffee for harried editors and reporters, changing typewriter ribbons and delivering messages."[31] Kennedy reportedly "sat on a bench alone for two hours the first day before other employees even said hello to her"; and, according to Richard Licata, a formerNews reporter, "Everyone was too scared."[30] Kennedy also wrote forRolling Stone about visitingGraceland shortly after the death ofElvis Presley.[30]
In 1980, Kennedy earned aBachelor of Arts degree fromRadcliffe College in fine arts.[32][33] During college, she had "considered becoming a photojournalist, but soon realized she could never make her living observing other people because they were too busy watching her."[30] After graduating, Kennedy was hired as a research assistant in the Film and Television Department of theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She later became a "liaison officer between the museum staff and outside producers and directors shooting footage at the museum", helping coordinate theSesame Street specialDon't Eat the Pictures.[34] On December 4, 1984, Kennedy was threatened when a man telephoned the museum and stated his name and address while reporting that a bomb had been planted there. Three days later, he was arrested for the threat.[35] In 1988, Kennedy earned aJuris Doctor fromColumbia Law School, graduating in the top 10 percent of her class.[36] The following year, Kennedy passed the New York State bar exam.[37]
Raised in Manhattan and somewhat separated from theirHyannis Port, Massachusetts cousins,[40] Caroline and John Jr. were very close, especially following their mother's death in 1994.[41] After John Jr.died in a plane crash in 1999, Kennedy was the only remaining survivor of President Kennedy's immediate family, and she preferred not to have a public memorial service for her brother.[42] Kennedy decided that his remains would be cremated, and his ashes scattered into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast ofMartha's Vineyard, where John Jr. met his fate.[43] John Jr. bequeathed Kennedy his half ownership ofGeorge magazine, but Kennedy believed that her brother would not have wanted the magazine to continue following his death,[44] and the magazine ceased publication two years later.[45]
Kennedy owns Red Gate Farm, her mother's 375-acre (152 ha) estate inAquinnah, Massachusetts (formerly Gay Head) on Martha's Vineyard.[46] The New YorkDaily News estimated Kennedy's net worth in 2008 at over $100 million.[47] During her 2013 nomination to serve as ambassador to Japan, financial disclosure reports showed her net worth to be between $278 million and $500 million, including family trusts and commercial property in Chicago.[48]
In January 2025, Kennedy publicly spoke out against her cousinRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination forSecretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in a letter and video to US senators ahead of confirmation proceedings. Within this letter, Kennedy labelled her cousin a "predator" and stated his views and actions on vaccinations to be "hypocritical" and financially motivated. The letter was also posted on her son Jack's Instagram page,[49] and was supported by other members of the Kennedy family.[50][51]
On December 30, 2025, her daughter Tatiana died fromleukemia at the age of 35.[52] Her son Jack is the most public of her children.[53]
Kennedy is an attorney, writer, and editor who has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations. With Ellen Alderman, she co-wrote the book,In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action, which was published in 1991. During an interview regarding the volume, Kennedy explained that the two wanted to show why theFourth Amendment to the United States Constitution was written.[54] She attended the Robin Hood Foundation annual breakfast on December 7, 1999. Her brother, John Jr., had been committed to the organization, which she spoke of at the event.[55] In 2000, Kennedy supportedAl Gore for the presidency and mentioned feeling a kinship with him since their fathers served together in the Senate.[56] She spoke at the2000 Democratic National Convention which was held inLos Angeles, California, the first time since the1960 Democratic National Convention, where her father had been nominated by the Democratic Party for the presidency.[57]
From 2002 through 2004, Kennedy worked as director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships for theNew York City Department of Education, appointed by School Chancellor Joel Klein. The three-day-a-week job paid Kennedy a salary of $1 and had the goal of raising private money for the New York City public schools.[58] She helped raise more than $65 million.[3][59][60] Kennedy served as one of two vice chairs of the board of directors of The Fund for Public Schools and is currently honorary director of the fund.[61][62] She has also served on the board of trustees of Concord Academy, which Kennedy attended as a teen.[29]
Kennedy on the presidential campaign trail supporting Barack Obama
On January 27, 2008, Kennedy announced in aNew York Times op-ed piece entitled, "A President Like My Father," that she would endorseBarack Obama in the2008 U.S. presidential election.[67] Her concluding lines were: "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president—not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."[68][69]
On June 4, 2008, Obama named Kennedy, along withJim Johnson (who withdrew one week later) andEric Holder, to co-chair his Vice Presidential Search Committee.[71] FilmmakerMichael Moore called on Kennedy to "Pull a Cheney",[72] and name herself as Obama's vice presidential running mate (Dick Cheney headedGeorge W. Bush's vice presidential vetting committee in 2000—Cheney himself was chosen for the job).[73] On August 23, Obama announced that SenatorJoe Biden ofDelaware would be his running mate. Kennedy addressed the2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, introducing a tribute film about her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy.[74] TheTopps trading card company memorialized Kennedy's involvement in the campaign by featuring her on a card in a set commemorating Obama's road to the White House.[75]
Kennedy was among the 35 national co-chairs of Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[76] On June 27, 2012, Kennedy made appearances in Nashua and Manchester, New Hampshire, to campaign for the re-election of President Obama.[77]
She was criticized for not voting in a number of Democratic primaries and general elections since registering in 1988 in New York City[83] and for not providing details about her political views.[85] In response, Kennedy released a statement through a spokeswoman that outlined some of her political views including that she supported legislation legalizingsame-sex marriage, waspro-choice, against the death penalty, for restoring theFederal Assault Weapons Ban, and believed theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) should be re-examined.[86][87] On foreign policy, her spokeswoman reiterated that Kennedy opposed theIraq War from the beginning as well as that she believed thatJerusalem should be the undivided capital city ofIsrael.[88][89] Kennedy declined to make disclosures of her financial dealings or other personal matters to the press, stating that she would not release the information publicly unless she were selected by Governor Paterson.[90] She did complete a confidential 28-page disclosure questionnaire required of hopefuls, reported to include extensive financial information.[citation needed]
In an interview with theAssociated Press, Kennedy acknowledged that she would need to prove herself. "Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever", Kennedy said. "When this opportunity came along, which was sort of unexpected, I thought, 'Well, maybe now. How about now?' [I'll have to] work twice as hard as anybody else..... I am an unconventional choice..... We're starting to see there are many ways into public life and public service".[91] In late December 2008, Kennedy drew criticism from several media outlets for lacking clarity in interviews, and for using the phrase "you know" 168 times during a 30-minute interview withNY1.[92]
Shortly before midnight on January 22, 2009, Kennedy released a statement that she was withdrawing from consideration for the seat due to "personal reasons".[93][94][95] Kennedy declined to expand upon the reasons that led to her decision.[93][96] One day after Kennedy's withdrawal, Paterson announced his selection of RepresentativeKirsten Gillibrand to fill the Senate seat.[97]
Kennedy returns fromTokyo Imperial Palace after presenting her credentials on November 19, 2013.
On July 24, 2013, President Obama announced Kennedy as his nominee to beUnited States Ambassador to Japan to succeed AmbassadorJohn Roos.[100][101] The prospective nomination was first reported in February 2013[102] and, in mid-July 2013, formal diplomatic agreement to the appointment was reportedly received from the Japanese government.[103]
On September 19, 2013, Kennedy sat before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee and responded to questions regarding her potential appointment. Kennedy explained that her focus would be military ties, trade, and student exchange if she was selected for the position.[104] On September 30, 2013, the committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor. She was confirmed on October 16, 2013, byvoice vote as the first female U.S. Ambassador to Japan[105] and was sworn in bySecretary of StateJohn Kerry on November 12.[106] Kennedy arrived in Japan on November 15[107] and met Japanese diplomats three days later.[108] On November 19,NHK showed live coverage of Kennedy's arrival at theImperial Palace to present her diplomatic credentials toEmperor Akihito.[109]
Kennedy meets with Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe in 2013.
In December 2013, she visitedNagasaki to meet with survivors of the 1945atomic bombing of that city.[110] On August 5, 2014, she attended a memorial ceremony for victims of theatomic bombing of Hiroshima; she was the second U.S. ambassador to attend the annual memorial. This was her second visit to Hiroshima, having visited in 1978 with her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy.[111][112]
In February 2014, Kennedy visited the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the site of the large military bases ofUnited States Forces Japan, and was received by protests against the American military presence and placards with "no base" written on them. The protesters are opposed to the American military presence citing various concerns over sexual assaults and the environmental impact of the base.[113] Kennedy subsequently met with Okinawa's governor,Hirokazu Nakaima, who was re-elected in 2010 in opposition to the base. She pledged to reduce the burden of the American military presence in Okinawa.[113]
Kennedy and U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry in Hiroshima in April 2016
In April 2015, Kennedy visited theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which displayed the impact from the 1945 atomic bombing. Kennedy called her visit a "solemn honor" and also planted dogwood trees on a road, participating in a U.S. project to spread 3,000 dogwood trees across Japan.[114]
On August 15, 2015, Kennedy was named sponsor for the secondUSSJohn F. Kennedy (CVN-79) aGerald R. Ford class supercarrier named for her father.[117] Kennedy christenedCVN-79 on December 7, 2019, the 78th anniversary of theAttack on Pearl Harbor.[118] Traditionally, a person only sponsors one United States navy ship; however, Kennedy is one of the rare exceptions who sponsored two ships.
Kennedy resigned as the United States Ambassador to Japan shortly before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. She formally left Japan as Ambassador on January 18, 2017.[119] In recognition of her service, Kennedy was awarded Japan'sGrand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2021.[120]
Kennedy and U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateWendy Sherman at a memorial inGuadalcanal, Solomon Islands in August 2022
On December 15, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden nominated Kennedy to be theUnited States Ambassador to Australia.[121][122] Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 7, 2022. The committee favorably reported her to the Senate floor on May 4, 2022. She was confirmed by the Senate on May 5, 2022, by voice vote.[123] Kennedy was officially sworn in on June 10, 2022.[124] She presented her credentials toGovernor-General of AustraliaDavid Hurley on July 25, 2022.[125]
At her arrival press conference in July 2022, she called out a male journalist for speaking over a female reporter.[126]
While ambassador, Kennedy worked to secure support in Congress to pass legislation to allow for the transfer ofnuclear-powered submarines to Australia (underAUKUS).[127]
In August 2023, Kennedy suggested the potential for "resolution" and aplea bargain deal, to resolve theextradition proceedings of journalistJulian Assange (an Australian citizen) from the United Kingdom to the United States.[128][129] Also in 2023, she travelled toSolomon Islands with her sonJack, to witness a recreation of part of the famous 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) swim made by her father when he was in the navy and his ship was rammed and sunk by a Japanesedestroyer in 1943.[127]
In September 2024, Kennedy announced she would leave her ambassadorial position regardless of the result of thepresidential election.[127]
A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (2005).[130]
She is also the author ofA Family Christmas, a collection of poems, prose, and personal notes from her family history (2007,ISBN978-1-4013-2227-4). In April 2011, a new collection of poetry,She Walks in Beauty – A Woman's Journey Through Poems, edited and introduced by Kennedy, was published. She launched the book at theJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point, Dorchester, Massachusetts.
^Gary Ginsberg on her campaigning for Obama; cited inMacFarquhar, Larissa (April 18, 2009). "The Kennedy Who Couldn't".The Age: Good Weekend supplement (pp. 12–16).
^"Caroline Bouvier Kennedy to wed Edwin Schlossberg".The New York Times. March 2, 1986.Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. RetrievedJuly 27, 2018.The engagement of Caroline Bouvier Kennedy and Edwin Arthur Schlossberg has been announced by her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis of New York. A summer wedding is planned.
^Kennedy, Caroline (January 27, 2008)."A President Like My Father"(Op-Ed).The New York Times.Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2008.
^Katz, Celeste (December 21, 2008)."Senate-hopeful Caroline Kennedy talks gays, war, and education".New York Daily News.Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. RetrievedDecember 25, 2009.Friedman said Kennedy backed gun control and opposed the death penalty. She also supports rolling back theBush tax cuts for the wealthy, but not right now due to the "fragile" state of the economy.