Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

▪ 1995

      U.S. first lady (b. July 28, 1929, East Hampton, N.Y.—d. May 19, 1994, New York, N.Y.), redefined the role of first lady with her dignified elegance, magnetic charm, trend-setting style, and especially her cool composure after the assassination (Nov. 22, 1963) of her husband, Pres. John F. Kennedy; though she was a shy and private person, she remained an enigmatic public figure throughout her life first as a widow and devoted mother and then as "Jackie O," wife of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was the daughter of Janet Lee and John Vernou Bouvier III. Her parents divorced, but Bouvier received a privileged education and graduated from Miss Porter's School before attending Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and the Sorbonne and earning a B.A. from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., in 1951. She won Vogue magazine's Prix de Paris award, but instead of accepting the prize—a yearlong job that required shuttling between Paris and New York—she toured Europe. After returning to the U.S., she became an inquiring photographer for the Washington Times-Herald. She met the dashing and politically ambitious Kennedy at a dinner party in 1952, and she accepted his telegraphed proposal in May 1953. They were married on September 12 of that year, and though she was apolitical, her impeccable manners and quiet counsel provided the perfect compliment to the senator from Massachusetts. After a miscarriage and a stillbirth, Kennedy gave birth to daughter Caroline in 1957, and she was pregnant with son John Jr. when her husband was elected president in 1960.

      In her role as first lady, she charmed foreign dignitaries with her command of languages and endeared herself to the American public. She restored the White House to its federalist glory and conducted a television tour through the refurbished residence. For this she received an Emmy award for public service. Kennedy was also responsible for setting fashion styles, wearing Oleg Cassini creations and the pillbox hat that became her trademark. In 1963, the year Jacqueline Kennedy was voted the most admired woman in the U.S., she gave birth to a son, Patrick, who lived for only 39 hours. Her image was most vividly branded into the memory of Americans, however, as she appeared in her pink blood-stained suit following the assassination of her husband and as the black-veiled widow who walked in the funeral entourage and later prompted her young son to salute as his father's casket passed by on its way to burial. She felt that her most important role was as a mother, and she protectively shielded her children from the glare of public scrutiny. During her lifetime she refused to discuss the intimate aspects of her married life with Kennedy, including rumours of his unfaithfulness. She did, however, record tapes on the subject of his assassination, but they were not to be opened until 50 years following the death of their last surviving child.

      She married Onassis in 1968 and moved to Greece. Rumours circulated that they were on the brink of divorce when Onassis died in 1975. Onassis' daughter, Christina, paid her stepmother $26 million from his estate. Jacqueline Onassis returned to New York City and joined the publishing house of Doubleday as a book editor. She became a familiar figure with her large sunglasses, bouffant hairstyle, and signature scarfs. From 1975 she was romantically linked with businessman Maurice Tempelsman, who was at her side when she succumbed to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was buried, at her own request, in Arlington National Cemetery beside John F. Kennedy.

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