For generations, the Kennedy family has been on the front lines of tragedy and heartbreak caused by the death of a loved one or an accident.
Most recently, the family mourned the death of Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, on December 30th after a battle with leukemia.
The journalist’s death reignited talk of the Kennedy curse, which refers to a series of tragic deaths within a family due to illness, accident, or assassination.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Died in World War II — August 12, 1944
Joseph P. Kennedy, the eldest son of Joseph Sr. and Rose Kennedy, was killed during a top secret mission in World War II. He was 29 years old.
The pilot was killed when a high-explosive Navy bomber exploded in mid-air.
He was flying over the English Channel.
Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy dies in plane crash — May 13, 1948
Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, daughter of Joseph Sr. and Rose Kennedy, died in a plane crash in France on May 13, 1948.
Kick, 28, was on his way to the Côte d’Azur with his lover, Earl Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, writes author Barbara Leeming in “Kick Kennedy: The Charming Life and Tragic Death of a Favorite Kennedy Daughter.”
The pilot and navigator of the plane were also killed.
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy dies of premature birth — August 7, 1963
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, died on August 7, 1963, less than 40 hours after birth.
He died a few months before his father was assassinated.
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy — November 22, 1963
President John F. Kennedy was shot to death by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963, while riding in a motorcade with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at the age of 46.
Oswald was shot and killed several weeks later while being transferred to another prison.
JFK and Jacqueline married in 1953 and were the parents of four children: Arabella, Caroline, and John, who were stillborn, and Patrick, who died shortly after being born prematurely.
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy — June 6, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, shortly after winning the California presidential primary, and died the next day at the age of 42.
The politician was at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.
He married Ethel Kennedy in 1950 and they had 11 children: Kathleen, Joseph, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kelly, Christopher, Max, Douglas, and Rory.
Ted Kennedy and the “Chappaquiddick Incident” — July 18, 1969
Shortly before midnight on July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy drove off the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
At the time, the late former senator, whose siblings were JFK and RFK, fled the scene, and authorities later discovered the body of his aide Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, in his car.
He did not report the accident until 10 hours later, claiming he had tried to save Kopechne.
The lawyer passed away in August 2009 at the age of 77.
David Anthony Kennedy dies of overdose — April 25, 1984
David Anthony Kennedy died of an overdose on April 25, 1984, in a hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 28 years old.
According to the New York Times, Robert F. Kennedy’s son had previously struggled with alcohol and heroin addiction.
David was 13 years old when his father was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968.
Michael L. Kennedy dies in skiing accident — December 31, 1997
Michael L. Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, died on New Year’s Eve 1997 in Colorado after a skiing injury.
According to CNN, the businessman was skiing with his family at an Aspen Mountain resort when he crashed into a tree.
The man was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Michael married his wife Victoria Denise Gifford in 1981, and they separated the same year Michael died. They had three children: Michael, Kyle, and Rory.
John F. Kennedy Jr. and wife Carolyn Bessette die in plane crash — July 16, 1999
John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and his sister Lauren Bessette died on July 16, 1999, when their small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard.
John, 38, was piloting the single-engine plane at the time, while Caroline, 33, and Lauren, 34, were strapped into their seats.
The couple married in 1996 but had no children at the time of his death.
Carla Kennedy dies of heart attack — September 16, 2011
Carla Kennedy, daughter of the late Edward Kennedy, died of heart failure on September 16, 2011, after working out at a gym in Washington, DC.
The 51-year-old television producer was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002.
According to the BBC, she had a malignant tumor removed from her lung in 2003 and was in remission.
Mary Richardson Kennedy dies by suicide — May 16, 2012
Mary Richardson Kennedy died by suicide on May 16, 2012, during her divorce battle with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He passed away at the age of 52.
The designer hanged himself in the barn of his Bedford, New York mansion.
Mary’s family said she suffered from depression and alcohol.
She and Robert married in 1994 but separated in 2010. They had four children: Connor, Kyla, William, and Aidan.
Saoirse Kennedy Hill dies of overdose — August 1, 2019
Saoirse Kennedy Hill passed away on August 1, 2019 at the age of 22 from an accidental overdose.
Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter had a mix of drugs in her system, including prescription drugs, methadone and alcohol, according to a coroner’s report.
Hill went into cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive on August 1 at his family’s property in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Before his tragic death, Hill wrote about depression and suicide during his high school years.
Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her son Gideon drowned — April 2, 2020
Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter Maeve Fahey Kennedy McKean and her 8-year-old son Gideon drowned in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland on April 2, 2020. She was 40 years old.
The mother and son duo were in a canoe to retrieve a soccer ball that Gideon had fallen into the water while playing with friends.
Maeve’s husband, David, previously told The Washington Post that the water was choppy and the couple “went further out than we could handle and couldn’t get back.”
Maeve’s body was discovered on April 6th, and Gideon’s body was discovered on April 8th.
Maeve and David married in 2009 and have two children, Gabriella and Toby.
Tatiana Schlossberg passes away from cancer — December 30, 2025
Schlossberg passed away at the age of 35 after battling a rare cancer, his family announced.
She was diagnosed with the disease in May 2024, but kept it a secret until November 2025, when she published an essay in The New Yorker.
At the time, the author said his cancer was “incurable with standard treatments” and that doctors had given him a year to live.
Reflecting on her diagnosis, she writes, “I couldn’t believe they were talking about me, I couldn’t believe it.”
“I swam a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick. In fact, I was one of the healthiest people I know,” Schlossberg added.
She is survived by her husband George Moran, whom she married in 2017, and two children.
