Caroline Kennedy: The Sole Survivor of a Family Marked by Tragedy

Caroline Kennedy, the last surviving child of President John F. Kennedy, has borne witness to a staggering series of losses throughout her 68 years.

From the moment she entered the world as part of America’s most famous political dynasty, tragedy has stalked her relentlessly, claiming her father, mother, brother, uncles, and most recently, her own daughter.

No other member of the Kennedy family has experienced the so-called Kennedy curse quite like Caroline, who has stood graveside more times than anyone should ever have to.

Her life has been a testament to resilience in the face of unimaginable sorrow, and her story is one of both profound grief and enduring strength.

The earliest loss Caroline experienced came when she was just a child.

10. Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

In the summer of 1963, five-year-old Caroline lived a life that many American children could only dream of.

Photographers captured her riding her pony, Macaroni, across the White House lawn, and she walked her father to the Oval Office each morning, embodying the ideal American family during what would later be dubbed the Camelot presidency.

However, behind closed doors, grief had already visited the family more than once.

Her mother, Jackie Kennedy, suffered a miscarriage in 1955 and delivered a stillborn baby girl named Arabella the following year.

When Jackie became pregnant again in 1963, cautious hope returned, but that hope turned to despair on August 7.

Jackie went into labor 5.5 weeks early while vacationing in Cape Cod, and baby Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was born via emergency cesarean section.

He weighed just 4 pounds and 10.5 ounces and immediately showed symptoms of what is now known as infant respiratory distress syndrome.

President Kennedy rushed to the hospital, witnessing his newborn son struggle to breathe.

Despite attempts to save him, Patrick died just 39 hours after his birth on August 9, 1963.

Caroline, though only five years old, witnessed her parents’ profound grief during those terrible days.

Patrick’s death would eventually lead to significant advancements in medical research, saving countless lives, but that knowledge offered little comfort to the Kennedy family in their time of loss.

9. President John F. Kennedy

Just three months later, tragedy struck again, this time in a way that would alter the course of American history.

On November 22, 1963, Caroline was just five days shy of her sixth birthday when her father was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

The moment is seared into American memory: gunfire rang out as President Kennedy rode in a motorcade with Jackie by his side.

He was pronounced dead 30 minutes later, and Caroline was thrust into a world of unimaginable grief.

The nanny brought Caroline and her younger brother, John Jr., to their grandmother’s home, where she received the devastating news about her father’s death.

The funeral that followed became one of the most iconic moments in American history, with Caroline kneeling beside her mother at the president’s casket, dressed in a matching powder blue coat.

In a rare public statement made in 2017, Caroline reflected on her father’s legacy, saying, “I’ve thought about him and missed him every day of my life.”

8. Robert F. Kennedy

After JFK’s assassination, Caroline’s uncle Bobby became a significant figure in her life, stepping into the role of a surrogate father.

Bobby Kennedy was a source of strength and support for Caroline and John Jr. as they navigated their grief.

However, tragedy struck again on June 5, 1968, when Bobby was assassinated in Los Angeles while campaigning for the presidency.

Caroline, now ten years old, lost another father figure to an assassin’s bullet, deepening her sense of vulnerability in a world fraught with danger.

Jackie Kennedy’s fears intensified; she believed her children were in danger and sought a new life away from the violence that had claimed her loved ones.

7. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

The following year, Caroline faced yet another loss when her grandfather, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., passed away on November 18, 1969, at the age of 81.

At his funeral, Caroline expressed her feelings toward her stepfather, Aristotle Onassis, bluntly stating, “I don’t like him.”

Joseph Sr. had been a pivotal figure in building the Kennedy dynasty, and his death marked yet another reminder of the fragility of life for Caroline.

6. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Decades passed after the White House years, and Jackie Kennedy rebuilt her life with grace.

However, tragedy struck again in 1994 when Jackie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after a fall from her horse.

Despite her determination to maintain her routine, the cancer spread rapidly, leading to her death on May 19, 1994, at the age of 64.

Caroline, now 36, had lost both of her parents, marking another devastating chapter in her life.

Jackie was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery alongside JFK and their children, Patrick and Arabella.

5. Michael Kennedy

On December 31, 1997, Caroline faced another loss when Michael Kennedy, Bobby’s son, died in a skiing accident at Aspen Mountain Resort.

At just 39 years old, Michael’s death served as a grim reminder that the Kennedy curse did not discriminate based on age or circumstance.

4. John F. Kennedy Jr.

Perhaps the most unimaginable loss came on July 16, 1999, when John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash.

The little boy who once saluted his father’s coffin had grown into a beloved figure, but his life was cut tragically short at the age of 41.

John’s plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for him ended five days later when Navy divers discovered the wreckage.

Caroline, now the last surviving child of President Kennedy, faced the reality of losing the brother who had stood by her side through every tragedy.

3. Rosemary Kennedy

The Kennedy family had long carried the painful secret of Rosemary Kennedy, JFK’s older sister, who was born with intellectual disabilities.

In 1941, Joseph Kennedy Sr. arranged for Rosemary to undergo a prefrontal lobotomy, believing it might cure her.

Instead, the surgery left her severely incapacitated, and she was largely forgotten by her family for decades.

Rosemary died on January 7, 2005, at the age of 86, reminding Caroline of the family’s past struggles with tragedy and disability.

2. Senator Ted Kennedy

After the deaths of JFK and Bobby, Ted Kennedy became the family’s patriarch, serving in the Senate for 47 years.

He was a constant presence in Caroline’s life, standing in for her father during significant moments.

However, Ted was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008 and succumbed to the illness on August 25, 2009, at the age of 77.

Caroline watched as the last of her father’s brothers was laid to rest, marking the end of an era for the Kennedy family.

1. Tatiana Schlloberg

The most recent and devastating loss for Caroline came on December 30, 2025, when her daughter Tatiana Schlloberg passed away at the age of 35.

Tatiana had battled acute myeloid leukemia with a rare mutation, enduring multiple rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants.

Her diagnosis came just after she gave birth to her second child, and she publicly revealed her terminal illness in an essay published on the anniversary of JFK’s assassination.

In her final words, Tatiana expressed her guilt over adding to her mother’s suffering, a sentiment that resonated deeply with readers.

Caroline Kennedy, now 68 years old, has outlived her father, brother, uncle, grandfather, mother, cousin, and daughter.

The Kennedy curse, often dismissed as mere coincidence, has claimed more from Caroline than from any other member of her dynasty.

As Ted Kennedy once said at his brother Bobby’s funeral, “To be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it.”

Caroline Kennedy has witnessed more suffering than most could endure, yet she stands as the last surviving link to Camelot, carrying the weight of a legacy defined by loss.

The story of Caroline Kennedy is one of resilience, a testament to the strength of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming grief.