Joan Bennett Kennedy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kennedy in 1971 | |
| Born | Virginia Joan Bennett (1936-09-02)September 2, 1936 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 2025(2025-10-08) (aged 89) Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Manhattanville College (BA) Lesley University (MA) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Virginia Joan Kennedy (née Bennett; September 2, 1936 – October 8, 2025) was an American socialite, author, and advocate. Kennedy was the first wife ofU.S. SenatorTed Kennedy. In 1992, she published a guide toclassical music and later became associated withmental health awareness, drawing public attention toaddiction and recovery through her own experiences. Kennedy also worked as aclassical pianist, performing at various public concerts.[1][2][3][4]
Virginia Joan Bennett was born on September 2, 1936, at Mother Cabrini Hospital in New York City to Virginia Joan Stead and Harry Wiggin Bennett Jr. She had a younger sister named Candace ("Candy"), and was raised in aRoman Catholic family in suburbanBronxville, New York.[5] Their father was a graduate ofCornell University and was president of the Joseph Katz Company, a New York advertising agency.[6] She attendedManhattanville College (then aSacred Heart college), inPurchase, New York.[5] Manhattanville was also the alma mater of her future mother-in-lawRose Kennedy and future sisters-in-lawJean Kennedy Smith andEthel Skakel Kennedy. In 1982, Bennett received an MA in Education from Lesley College, now known asLesley University. As a teenager, she worked as a model in television advertising.[7]
In October 1957, at the dedication of a gymnasium at Manhattanville College in memory of another Kennedy sister,Kathleen – who had died in a plane crash in France in 1948 – Jean Kennedy Smith introduced Joan to her younger brother Edward (a.k.a. Ted), then a student at theUniversity of Virginia School of Law inCharlottesville.[8] The couple became engaged quickly and Joan grew nervous about marrying someone she did not know well. His fatherJoseph P. Kennedy Sr. insisted that the wedding should proceed,[9] and they were married on November 29, 1958, at theSt. Joseph's Church inBronxville, New York.[5][10] The small family wedding was held just a few weeks after Ted's older brother United States SenatorJohn F. Kennedy won his landslide re-election for hisUnited States Senate seat representingMassachusetts in 1958. They had three children:Kara Kennedy (1960–2011),Edward M. Kennedy Jr. (Ted Jr.) (b. 1961), andPatrick J. Kennedy (b. 1967).[11]
Two of their children were cancer victims. Ted Jr. developedbone cancer at age 12, which resulted in the removal of a portion of his right leg in 1973, and Kara was treated forlung cancer in 2003;[12] Kara died of aheart attack at the age of 51 on September 16, 2011.[13]
Ted suffered a severe back injury in a 1964 airplane crash while campaigning for his first full Senate term.[14] Joan assumed his campaign appearance duties during hissuccessful re-election bid.[15] He had previously won aspecial election in November 1962 to serve the remaining two years of his brother John F. Kennedy's Senate term, following John's resignation upon his election as the35th President of the United States in November 1960.[16]
In July 1969, Ted was involved in acar accident at a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts that resulted in the death of his passenger,Mary Jo Kopechne.[17] Although pregnant, and having been confined to bed in the wake of two previousmiscarriages, Joan attended Kopechne's funeral. Three days later, she stood beside her husband in a local court when he pled guilty toleaving the scene of an accident. She suffered a third miscarriage shortly thereafter.[18]
In 1970, Kennedy would perform a recital with thePhiladelphia Orchestra that won her standing ovations and stellar reviews.[1] Throughout the years, Kennedy would continue to appear in concert halls all over the world, performing a wide range of classical compositions under the batons of many of the leading conductors of the era, including Boston’s ownArthur Fiedler,Seiji Ozawa, andJohn Williams, and made friends with many of the most notable figures in the classical music world.[1][2][4] During performances for theBoston Pops Orchestra, Kennedy would also at times narrateSergei Prokofiev'sPeter and the Wolf.[1][19]
The couple separated in 1978 after twenty years of marriage.[20] Around this time, Kennedy gave interviews toPeople andMcCall's magazines discussing her struggles withalcoholism.[21] She described using alcohol to cope with unhappiness and social pressure, and spoke openly about her recovery through theAlcoholics Anonymoustwelve-step program.[22] Despite their separation, they remained legally married during his failed1980 U.S. presidential campaign.[23] They later announced plans to divorce in 1981; the divorce was granted in 1982.[24][25]
In 1992, she published the bookThe Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family. Kennedy worked with children's charities, remained an accomplished pianist, and taught classical music to children.[26]
Kennedy's later years were shaped by chronic alcoholism, which developed during her marriage. The alcohol problem escalated with sporadic, uneven sobriety, repeateddrunk-driving arrests,[7] court-orderedrehabilitation,[7] and a return to drinking. This ultimately led tokidney damage, with the possibility ofdialysis[8] and protracted complications. As a result of her continued alcoholism, Kennedy would be appointed a guardian in the early 2000s.[27] In July 2004, her son,Ted Jr. was appointed herlegal guardian; in 2005, her children were granted temporary guardianship. That year she was hospitalized with aconcussion and a broken shoulder after being found lying in a Boston street near her home.[7][28][29] In 2005, she requested that her cousin,financial planner Webster E. Janssen ofConnecticut, establish atrust to control herestate. This was in violation of her sons' guardianship.[30] Kennedy's children later took successful legal action against Janssen, removing him as trustee and later filing a complaint against him with theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[31] That October, she was diagnosed withbreast cancer and underwent surgery.[32] She agreed to strict court-ordered guardianship and her estate was subsequently placed in a new trust overseen by two court-appointed trustees.[8]
Apart from a brief relationship shortly after her divorce, she never remarried or pursued another relationship.[8] She attended Ted's funeral at theOur Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica inBoston.[33]
In her final years, Kennedy would live a quiet life in Boston and opted to stay relatively out of the public eye.[27] Her last public appearance was with the extendedKennedy family at their annualFourth of July gathering, three months before her death.[34]
Kennedy died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Boston on October 8, 2025, at the age of 89.[22][27] A death certificate listed her cause of death asdementia.[27] Her alcoholism was described being "in remission" at the time.[27]Public visitation was held for Kennedy on October 14, 2025 at Carr Funeral Home inCharlestown, Massachusetts.[35][4][36] Herfuneral mass was held on October 15, 2025 atSt. Anthony Shrine in Boston, and was followed by a reception and private burial.[37][38][35][36]
February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009 | ||
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