Victoria Reggie Kennedy

Victoria Anne Kennedy (née Reggie) was born on February 26, 1954, in Crowley, Acadia Parish, Louisiana. She is an American diplomat, attorney, and activist. She served as the United States Ambassador to Austria from 2022 to 2025. Kennedy is the widow of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, being his second wife.

Family and Early Life:

Kennedy is the second of six children of Edmund Reggie and Doris Ann Boustany. Her father was a Louisiana judge and banker; her mother was a Democratic National committeewoman. She is of Lebanese descent; all her grandparents were Maronites from Lebanon who immigrated to the United States and settled in Louisiana. Her grandparents became active members of the Roman Catholic church, and her family has been involved in business and politics. Her brother, Denis Reggie, is a photographer notable for popularizing wedding photojournalism.

Her family had considerable wealth from her maternal family's interest in Bunny Bread, a baking business in New Orleans. Her father participated in political campaigns, including helping deliver Louisiana's votes at the 1956 Democratic National Convention for John F. Kennedy. Her mother cast the only Louisiana delegate vote for Ted Kennedy at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.

Education:

Kennedy attended parochial schools during her upbringing and was recognized as a straight-A student. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Newcomb College at Tulane University, graduating magna cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She served as president of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She later received her Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University Law School in 1979, graduating summa cum laude. At Tulane Law School, she was a member of the Tulane Law Review. Her education was financed through scholarships awarded to her and her siblings, partly through support from a political ally of her father.

Legal Career:

Following law school, Kennedy clerked for Judge Robert Arthur Sprecher at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. She specialized in banking law, working as a partner at the firm Keck, Mahin & Cate. Her professional reputation included being a skilled negotiator and working on complex financial transactions.

Advocacy and Public Engagement:

Kennedy is involved in gun control advocacy; she is the president and co-founder of Common Sense about Kids and Guns, established in 1999. She serves on the board of trustees for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and has been involved with Stop Handgun Violence in Boston. Additionally, she is a board member of Catholic Democrats and authored the preface for their 2009 publication, "The Catholic Case for Obama."

Political Activities:

There was speculation that Kennedy might succeed Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate after his diagnosis and death; however, she declined to run and endorsed Martha Coakley in the 2010 special election. She was also considered a potential candidate for the 2012 election but again declined, with Elizabeth Warren ultimately winning the seat.

In 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, but her nomination expired with the end of Obama's presidency.

U.S. Ambassadorship to Austria:

In 2021, Kennedy was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria. The Austrian government confirmed the necessary agreement in mid-June 2021. Her Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was held on October 5, 2021, and she was reported favorably out of committee on October 19. Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate via voice vote on October 26, 2021. She was sworn in on November 16, 2021, by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. She arrived in Vienna on January 7, 2022, and presented her credentials to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on January 12, 2022.

Personal Life:

Kennedy initially married Grier C. Raclin, a telecommunications attorney, in 1981. They have two children: Curran, born in 1982, and Caroline, born in 1985. The couple divorced in 1990.

In June 1991, Kennedy began dating Ted Kennedy after meeting at a family celebration. The relationship became serious in September 1991, leading to their engagement in March 1992, and marriage on July 3, 1992, in a civil ceremony at Ted Kennedy's residence in McLean, Virginia. Her marriage to Kennedy coincided with his political career, and she became his principal aide and political advisor. Following Ted Kennedy’s diagnosis of brain cancer in 2008, she served as his primary caregiver.

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