Love, Loss & Tragedy - JFK JR & The Kennedy Curse

The world still mourns two decades later

When John F. Kennedy Jr married the love of his life, the world hoped it would be a turning point for America’s unofficial royal family. From assassinations and skiing accidents to drug overdoses and deadly car crashes, their run of tragedy over the course of several decades was so famous, it even had a name – the Kennedy Curse.

But even as the fêted son of President John F. Kennedy said “I do” to Calvin Klein publicist Carolyn Bessette in 1996, the clock was counting down: Two years, nine months, 25 days …

This year, July 16 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of the golden couple who seemed to have the world at their feet. Both in their 30s, it was an untimely demise. It was also the end of a dream.

Born in November 1960, “John-John” – as he was affectionately called – had made history as the first baby ever born to a president-elect. His first home was the White House and right from the start, he was raised in the public eye.

As a two-year-old, he was snapped cheekily peering out from under his dad’s desk in the Oval Office. A year later, after JFK’s assassination, he tragically grabbed headlines again as he bravely saluted his father’s funeral casket.

And as newly-widowed Jacqueline Kennedy moved John Jr and his older sister Caroline out of the White House and into a series of Manhattan apartments, eyes continued to follow him. He was, after all, a Kennedy – with all the power, money and glamour the name carried with it.