What Led to JFK Jr. And Carolyn Bessette’s ‘Love Story’: Kennedy Family Tree Revealed

John F. Kennedy Jr. and wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s glamorous-turned-tragic courtship and marriage is featured in producer Ryan Murphy’s limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, premiering this Thursday, Feb. 12 on FX/Hulu. But the relationship never would have never happened if it hadn’t been for JFK Jr.’s iconic American family.

The Kennedy dynasty was known as Camelot (in reference to King Arthur and his Knights), for the relatives’ political and cultural prominence for decades in the United States. However, the family also seems under a curse as its members have endured many tragedies as well as triumphs. Those include the shocking assassinations of John’s father, President John F. Kennedy, on Nov. 22, 1963, and his brother candidate for president, Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968 which long preceded the deaths of JFK Jr. and his wife.

Many hoped JFK Jr. might follow his dad’s footsteps into politics with Carolyn by his side after running his prominent 1990s political magazine, George, but another Kennedy disaster struck instead. John and Carolyn tragically lost their lives on July 16, 1999, as the plane he was piloting crashed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Kennedy was 38 while his wife was 33. In the crash, Bessette-Kennedy’s sister Lauren, 34, also perished.

Read on to find out more about JFK Jr.’s iconic family and who preceded him in Parade’s Kennedy guide.

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The Kennedy Family Tree

Joseph P. Kennedy and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy got married on Oct. 7, 1914, and had nine children together: Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915), John F. Kennedy (1917), Rosemary Kennedy (1918), Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy (1920), Eunice Kennedy (1921), Patricia Kennedy (1924), Robert F. Kennedy Sr. (1925) Jean Kennedy (1928) and Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy (1932).

Joseph’s father—bar owner P.J. Kennedy—was elected to the Senate in 1892, but later abandoned politics to focus on business. Son Joseph, however, had big political ambitions for his family, and many believe he wanted to run for President himself. But he never did. Instead, he had a frenemy relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed him as the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Ambassador to the U.K. from 1938 to 1940. He died in 1969.

Related: Everything to Know About FX’s ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier

Watchers of the series Love Story should know JFK Jr.’s father John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953 in the society event of the year in Newport, R.I. But their story was marked by scandal and sadness. JFK allegedly cheated constantly on his wife and they lost two kids. The president and his first lady had four children: a stillborn daughter they named Arabella who died on Aug. 23, 1956; son Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, who died on Aug. 9, 1963; daughter Caroline Kennedy, who was born on Nov. 27, 1957; and son John F. Kennedy Jr.., who was born on Nov. 25, 1960, and died in the plane crash in 1999.

Related: What Happened to JFK Jr.? All About The American Icon’s Tragic Death

John F. Kennedy

The future 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was the second-born child of Joseph and Rose, and arrived in Brookline, Mass., in 1917. He graduated from Harvard and then was the PT-109 boat hero serving in the Navy during World War II. His dad pushed him into politics and in 1947, JFK was elected congressman from Massachusetts. Voters chose JFK as their U.S. Senator from the state in 1952. He defeated Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election. But as president on Nov. 22, 1963, the nation was horrified when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. A slew of conspiracy theories have swirled about his death and the killing of his alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, ever since.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Jackie Kennedy Onassis was the oldest of four children born to stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III and socialite Janet Lee Bouvier. She came into the world in Southampton, N.Y., in 1929 and was known for her early equestrian skills. After attending Vassar College, Jackie worked at the Washington-Times Herald as a photojournalist.

She began her work as America’s most stylish First Lady on Jan. 20, 1961, wearing designer duds and remodeling the White House. Jackie was sitting by her husband’s side in the Dallas motorcade in a pink suit when he was shot and killed. The nation mourned with her as she returned to Washington, D.C. with his body and planned a funeral for the ages.

Related: Jackie Kennedy Allegedly Confronted JFK About Marilyn Monroe Affair Rumors

Jackis raised her two kids in widowhood but hit the headlines again by marrying Greek shipping multi-millionaire Aristotle Onassis in 1968. He died in 1975, making Jackie a widow, and she never remarried, although she had a longtime companion, businessman Maurice Templesman. On May 19, 1964, Jackie died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 64.

Caroline Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy is the last living child of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. She was born on Nov. 27, 1957, and made an adorable First Daughter in her short time in the White House with her baby brother JFK Jr. After attending Radcliffe College and Columbia University School of Law, Caroline worked for the New York City Department of Education and wrote books on civil rights issues. President Barack Obama made brainy Caroline United States Ambassador to Japan in 2013 and in 2022, she became United States Ambassador to Australia under President Joe Biden.

The Kennedy gal married artist Ed Schlossberg in 1986 and they welcomed three kids: daughters Rose Kennedy Schlossberg in 1988 and Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg in 1990 and son John “Jack” Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg in 1993.

John F. Kennedy Jr.

Two weeks after John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency, his wife Jackie gave birth to son JFK Jr., who was born on Nov. 25, 1960. He was just three years old when his dad was assassinated in 1963; the boy famously saluted the president’s coffin. JFK Jr. graduated from Brown University in 1983, then went to New York University School of Law. After media reported “the hunk flunks,” Jr. finally passed the bar exam on his third try. He became a magazine publisher in 1995 with George getting big fanfare.

After meeting Carolyn Bessette around 1992, they married in a tiny surprise ceremony on Cumberland Island Sept. 21, 1996. Camelot fans hoped they’d start a family, but they had no kids before passing away on July 16, 1999. The Piper Saratoga he was piloting that night crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The National Transportation Safety Board ultimately decided that Kennedy’s spatial disorientation in the hazy weather had caused him to lose control.

Jack Schlossberg

Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg share their only son Jack, born on Jan. 19, 1993, who later graduated from Yale University in 2015 and Harvard Business School in 2022. Now 33, Jack is finally joining the family political business! On November 11, 2025, Jack announced he’s running to become the 2026 Democratic candidate for New York’s 12th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is hoping to replace the retiring Jerry Nadler. Esteemed longtime representative Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Jack.

Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy’s Family Tree

Among Joseph P. Kennedy’s and wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy’s nine children was seventh child Robert F. Kennedy Sr. RFK Sr. married Ethel Kennedy in 1950 and they had the following 11 kids: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (1951), Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (1952), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (1954), David Anthony Kennedy (1955), Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill (1956), Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958), Mary Kerry Kennedy (1959), Christopher George Kennedy (1963), Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (1965), Douglas Harriman Kennedy (1967) and Rory Elizabeth Kennedy (1968). Many of RFK Sr. and Ethel’s brood have done political and charity work over the years. RFK Jr. has faced big criticism as President Donald Trump’s controversial Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Robert F. Kennedy Sr.

Robert “Bobby” F. Kennedy Sr. is the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. He served as his brother JFK’s Attorney General of the United States until the president’s death in 1963. RFK Sr. ran for president himself but after winning the Democrat California primary on June 5, 1968, he was assassinated at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel. Although Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the killing, many don’t believe he acted alone.

Ethel Kennedy

Ethel Skakel Kennedy came into the world in 1928 as the sixth child of George and Ann Skakel (who had seven kids). Her businessman dad founded the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation.

After Ethel grew up in Greenwich, Conn., she raised her 11 children with RFK Sr. in “Hickory Hill,” a mansion McLean, Va. Ethel was the face of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights until daughter Kerry Kennedy took over. After being grandmother to many, the fierce matriarch passed away at age 96 in 2024 from a stroke.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third child of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy, was born on Jan. 17, 1954. As a teen boy, he dealt with his namesake dad’s assassination.

RFK Jr.’s family includes six kids. He had Robert “Bobby” Kennedy Jr. III (1984) and Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy (1988) with first wife Emily Ruth Black and Conor Kennedy (1994), Kyra Kennedy (1995), William Kennedy (1997) and Aidan Kennedy (2001) with late second wife Mary Richardson. In 2012, Mary killed herself. Two years later, RFK. Jr. wed his third wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines.

RFK Jr. attended Harvard, the University of Virginia and Pace University, but had to undergo treatment after drug problems. The controversial anti-vaccine crusader pursued environmental law and then ran for president as an independent in 2024. But he soon decided to drop out of the race and endorse Trump, who later appointed him as his second term Secretary of HHS.

The Kennedy-Shriver Family Tree

JFK’s younger sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, walked down the aisle with Robert Sargant Shriver Jr.  in 1957. They produced four sons, Robert “Bobby” Sargant Shriver III (1954), Timothy Perry Shriver (1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver (1964) and Anthony Paul Shriver (1965), and one daughter Maria Owings Shriver (1955).

Eunice Kennedy Shriver and family

The fifth kid of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Eunice arrived in 1921. She’s a beloved Kennedy for founding of the Special Olympics due to her sister Rosemary being mentally slow. In her life, Eunice also did political work, particularly helping her brother become president, but will be most remembered for philanthropy. She passed away on Aug. 11, 2009.

Maria Shriver

The second child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Former U.S. Ambassador to France Robert Sargant Shriver Jr., Maria’s birthday is Nov. 6, 1955. Maria lived partly in Paris during her dad’s Ambassador career and then attended Manhattanville College and Georgetown University. Beautiful Maria became famous as a journalist for NBC News, in particular on its Dateline show from 1992 to 1994.

She became part of a supercouple in 1986 by marrying Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom she had four children: Katherine Schwarzenegger (1989); Christina Schwarzenegger (1991); Patrick Schwarzenegger (1993); and Christopher Schwarzenegger (1997). Arnold’s scandalous affair with the family housekeeper wrecked the marriage. Maria and former California governor Arnold’s divorce was final in 2021.

Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy’s Family Tree

Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy

Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy was the ninth and last child born (in 1932) to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The famed Democrat was the lion of the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts for almost forty years, but a run for president flopped in 1980—likely due to his 1969 Chappaquiddick scandal in which Ted drove his car off a bridge and his female passenger drowned to death. Ted had a malignant brain tumor and died at age 77 in 2009.

Joan Kennedy

Ted tied the knot with beautiful blonde Joan Bennett in 1958 after his sister Jean introduced them. Their family line produced three children, Kara, Ted Jr. and Patrick Kennedy.

The senator and Joan’s relationship was rocky, marred by his alleged infidelity and her alcoholism. While she stood by his side in his 1980 run for president, their divorce became official in 1983. Joan was 89 when she died in 2025. Her kids’ cousin Kerry hailed her charity work and piano playing on Facebook and added, “Joan Bennett Kennedy was beautiful, chic, caring, and courageous.”

Victoria “Vicki” Reggie Kennedy

Ted married his second wife attorney/diplomat Victoria Reggie in 1992. Her political astuteness was perfect for his family and they’d been married 16 years when he passed away.

Next, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette: ‘Love Story’ Reveals Glamour and Drama of ’90s Romance