Joan Bennett Kennedy

Virginia Joan Kennedy (née Bennett) was born on September 2, 1936, at Mother Cabrini Hospital in New York City. Her parents were Virginia Joan Stead and Harry Wiggin Bennett Jr. She had a younger sister named Candace, known as Candy. Kennedy was raised in a Roman Catholic family in suburban Bronxville, New York. Her father was a graduate of Cornell University and served as president of the Joseph Katz Company, a New York advertising agency.

Kennedy attended Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, which was then a Sacred Heart institution. Manhattanville College was also the alma mater of her future mother-in-law, Rose Kennedy, as well as her future sisters-in-law, Jean Kennedy Smith and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. In 1982, she obtained a Master of Arts in Education from Lesley College, now Lesley University. During her teenage years, she worked as a television advertising model.

In October 1957, Joan Bennett was introduced to her future husband, Edward M. Kennedy, known as Ted, by Jean Kennedy Smith at a dedication ceremony for a gymnasium at Manhattanville College. At that time, Ted was a law student at the University of Virginia. The couple quickly became engaged; however, Joan expressed concerns about their acquaintance. Despite her apprehensions, her father Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. insisted on proceeding with the marriage.

Joan Bennett and Ted Kennedy were married on November 29, 1958, at St. Joseph's Church in Bronxville, New York. Their wedding occurred shortly after Ted's older brother, John F. Kennedy, was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958. The marriage produced three children: Kara Kennedy, born in 1960; Edward M. Kennedy Jr., born in 1961; and Patrick J. Kennedy, born in 1967. Kara Kennedy died of a heart attack at age 51 in 2011, and Ted Jr. faced bone cancer, which led to the removal of part of his right leg in 1973. Ted Jr. also experienced a severe back injury in a 1964 airplane crash, while Kara was treated for lung cancer in 2003.

In July 1969, Ted Kennedy was involved in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Joan Kennedy attended Kopechne’s funeral and later stood beside her husband in court when he pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. She subsequently experienced a miscarriage. In 1970, Kennedy performed a recital with the Philadelphia Orchestra and continued to give concerts worldwide, working with prominent conductors such as Arthur Fiedler, Seiji Ozawa, and John Williams. She also narrated for performances of Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

The couple separated in 1978 after two decades of marriage. During this period, Kennedy spoke publicly about her struggles with alcoholism, describing her use of alcohol to cope with unhappiness and social pressure. She credited her recovery to the Alcoholics Anonymous twelve-step program. Despite their separation, they remained legally married through Ted Kennedy's 1980 presidential bid. They announced their divorce plans in 1981; the divorce was finalized in 1983.

In 1992, Kennedy published a book titled "The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family." Throughout her later life, she was involved with children's charities and continued her work as an accomplished classical pianist, educating children in music. Her health was affected by chronic alcoholism, which led to sporadic sobriety and numerous legal issues related to drunk driving. She experienced kidney damage and was placed under guardianship in the early 2000s, with her son Ted Jr. appointed as her legal guardian in July 2004.

Kennedy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and underwent surgery. In her final years, she lived relatively out of the public eye in Boston. Her last public appearance was at a family event three months before her death. Virginia Joan Kennedy died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Boston on October 8, 2025, at the age of 89. The death certificate listed dementia as the cause of death, and her alcoholism was noted to be in remission at the time. Her funeral mass was held at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston on October 15, 2025, followed by a private burial. Public visitation took place on October 14, 2025, at Carr Funeral Home in Charlestown, Massachusetts.