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Quick Facts
- NAME: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- OCCUPATION: U.S. First Lady, Publisher
- BIRTH DATE: July 28, 1929
- DEATH DATE: May 19, 1994
- EDUCATION: Vassar College, Paris-Sorbonne University, George Washington University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Southampton, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
- Full Name: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
- Maiden Name: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
- AKA: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- AKA: Jacqueline Kennedy
- AKA: Jackie Onassis
- AKA: Jackie Kennedy
Best Known For
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, noted for her style and elegance, was the wife of President John F. Kennedy and a U.S. first lady. She later married Aristotle Onassis.
Videos see all videos
Jackie Kennedy - Marrying JFK
A wealthy, educated Catholic girl, Jacqueline Bouvier's beauty and likability suited his political aspirations and made her the perfect bride for John F. Kennedy. The couple married on September 12, 1953 in Newport, Rhoda Island.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - Mini Biography
A short biography of Jackie Kennedy who married JFK in 1953. She saw establishing the White House as a symbol of style and culture as her chief role as First Lady.
John F. Kennedy, Jr - Full Biography
John F. Kennedy, Jr. was only three years old when his father, JFK, was assassinated. At the age of 38, he died after the plane he was piloting crashed near Martha's Vineyard.
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Play NowJacqueline Kennedy Onassis. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:51, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 04:51 http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644.
"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-9428644. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Additionally, Onassis frequently traveled abroad, both with the president and alone, and her deep knowledge of foreign cultures and languages (she spoke fluent French, Spanish and Italian) helped garner goodwill toward America. She was so adoringly received in France that President Kennedy introduced himself as "the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris." Presidential advisor Clark Clifford wrote to Onassis, "Once in a great while,
an individual will capture the imagination of people all over the world. You have done this; and what is more important, through your graciousness and tact, you have transformed this rare accomplishment into an incredibly important asset to this nation."
Assassination of JFK
On November 22, 1963, Onassis was riding alongside the president in a Lincoln Continental convertible before cheering crowds in Dallas, Texas, when he was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, widowing Onassis at the age of 34. The first lady's stoic composure in her bloodstained pink suit became the symbol of national mourning. It was also Onassis who, in the aftermath of the president's death, provided a metaphor for her husband's administration that has remained its enduring symbol: Camelot, the idyllic castle of the legendary King Arthur. "There'll be great presidents again," Onassis said, "but there'll never be another Camelot again."
Marriage to Aristotle Onassis
In 1968, five years after John F. Kennedy's death, Onassis married a Greek shipping magnate named Aristotle Onassis. However, he died only seven years later, in 1975, leaving Onassis a widow for the second time.
Following the death of her second husband, Onassis returned to the promising career that had been put on hold when she married Kennedy. She went to work as an editor at the Viking Press in New York City and then moved to Doubleday, where she served as senior editor.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis died on May 19, 1994, at the age of 64. She is buried beside President John F. Kennedy's gravesite at the Arlington National Cemetery, which is marked by the eternal flame.
Onassis continues to be regarded as one of the most beloved and iconic first ladies in American history. Throughout her life, she was a ubiquitous presence on lists of the most admired and respected women in the world. Learned, beautiful and eminently classy, Onassis has come to symbolize an entire epoch of American culture. "She epitomized elegance in the post–World War II era," historian Douglas Brinkley once said. "There's never been a first lady like Jacqueline Kennedy, not only because she was so beautiful but because she was able to name an entire era 'Camelot' ... no other first lady in the 20th century will be able to have that aura. She's become an icon."
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View groupThere's no such thing as royalty in the United States, but if anyone has ever come close to that level, it's the Kennedy family. For 64 years, Washington had at least one Kennedy in public office. Descended from Irish Catholics who fled the potato famine, the family has a strong tradition in the Democratic party, the most prominent member being President John F. Kennedy. In addition to fame and political power, the Kennedy clan has had more than its fair share of tragedy—several members of the family have died in accidents and assassinations, in what's been called the "Kennedy curse."
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Influential Women of Washington
View groupWhen the 19th Amendment was ratified, women were finally given the right to vote, and over the years many courageous women have stepped onto the national political stage as well. In 1916, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress and almost a century later Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina woman to serve on the Supreme Court. And within the last two decades, the esteemable Hillary Clinton has served as First Lady, a New York senator and Secretary of State. These women, and many more, are setting the stage for the future of female leaders in Washington.
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