What Is the "Kennedy Curse"? A Closer Look at the Family’s History

Tragedy has loomed over the Kennedy family for generations. Accounts of both sudden and suspicious deaths within the family date back to the 1940s, prompting tabloids to associate their name with the word "curse." 

From war, campaign trail, and aviation fatalities, to ski accidents and failed brain surgery, the Kennedys have faced a tragic pattern for generations. To comprehend the origins of the "Kennedy Curse," we must begin with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Let's take a closer look at the Kennedy family history through the lens of this so-called curse.

THE FIRST GENERATION

Joseph and Rose Kennedy had nine children: Joe Jr., John (JFK), Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert (Bobby), Jean, and Edward (Ted) Kennedy. 

Rosemary Kennedy was reported to have faced "intellectual challenges" that made her more "rebellious" than her other siblings. In 1941, when she was 23 years old, her father, Joe Sr., arranged for Rosemary to undergo a lobotomy and have a portion of her brain removed to curb this behavior, despite the operation’s poor track record. After the surgery, Rosemary lost the ability to walk and talk and spent the rest of her life physically disabled and institutionalized until her death at 86 years old in 2005. 

Joe Jr. enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941 and lost his life while flying a mission during WWII in 1944, the first of many Kennedy family aviation-related deaths. Four years later, in 1948, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy was aboard a small plane that crashed during a storm, killing all four passengers, including herself.

Perhaps more well-known is the death of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, which continues to be the subject of conspiracy theories. The second eldest Kennedy sibling, JFK, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, while attempting to rally support for his re-election campaign. His younger brother, Bobby, was also assassinated on the campaign trail after winning the California Democratic presidential primary in 1968. 

The youngest Kennedy sibling, Ted, who survived a deadly plane crash in 1964, was the first to speak about the "Kennedy curse" after driving a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969, an incident that trapped and killed his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. According to CNN, the late Massachusetts senator is referenced questioning "whether some awful curse did actually hang over all the Kennedys," following the tragedy. 

THE SECOND AND THIRD GENERATIONS

The alleged "curse" carried on with the Kennedy family's second and third generations.

In 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to her and JFK’s third child, Patrick. The infant was born six weeks prematurely and passed away two days after his birth due to a lung condition. Ten years later, Ted Kennedy's son Edward Jr. lost one of his legs to bone cancer at just 12 years old. 

Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s son, David, lost his life at age 28 in 1984 due to a drug overdose, and another one of their sons, Michael, died in a skiing accident in 1997 at age 39. 

In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. was piloting a plane with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, when he became disoriented and crashed, resulting in the deaths of all on board, including himself.

Most recently, Robert and Ethel Kennedy's granddaughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, died at age 22 in 2019 as a result of an "accidental overdose," according to People. 

In 2020, another one of their granddaughters, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, and her son, Gideon, just eight years old (a fourth-generation Kennedy), passed away during a canoeing incident off Chesapeake Bay. 

THE KENNEDY CURSE

Numerous books have explored the "Kennedy Curse," fueling generations of speculation. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of The Kennedy Heirs, told People in 2019 that, aside from Ted, who referenced a possible curse after Chappaquiddick, the Kennedys do not actually believe they are cursed.

Both Edward Jr. and Patrick Kennedy have spoken out against the idea, with Edward stating, "The Kennedy family has had to endure these things in a very open way. But our family is just like … every other family in America in many ways." 

Eunice Kennedy Shriver has also rejected the idea that her family is cursed, relaying that the real “curse” was the tabloid talk and the lack of privacy their family was afforded during these unfortunate incidents.