Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

Carolyn Jeanne Bessette Kennedy (born Bessette; January 7, 1966 – July 16, 1999) was an American publicist known for her work in the fashion industry. She was born in White Plains, New York, as the youngest child of William Joseph Bessette and Ann Marie (née Messina). Her father was an architectural engineer turned cabinet-maker, and her mother was an administrator in the New York City public school system. Bessette had two older sisters, Lauren and Lisa, who were twins. Her paternal ancestry included French Canadian, Lithuanian, and Italian roots, with a direct lineage from Jean Besset, a 17th-century French Canadian immigrant to Quebec. Her parents divorced in 1974, when she was eight years old; her mother subsequently remarried Richard Freeman, an orthopedic surgeon, and moved to Old Greenwich, Connecticut, while her father remained in White Plains.

Bessette attended Juniper Hill Elementary School in White Plains, where her mother was a substitute teacher. Raised in a Roman Catholic household, she later graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1984, having previously attended Greenwich High School before her parents transferred her. During high school, she was recognized by her classmates as the "Ultimate Beautiful Person" and was part of the social "in crowd." After high school, she enrolled at Boston University’s School of Education, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1988. While at Boston University, she dated John Cullen, a member of the university’s ice hockey team.

Briefly, Bessette pursued modeling, hiring a professional photographer to create a portfolio. While her modeling career was not financially successful, she appeared on the cover of Boston University’s 1988 calendar titled "The Girls of B.U." After college, she worked for Calvin Klein, initially as a saleswoman at the Chestnut Hill Mall in Massachusetts, then advancing to become the director of publicity at the company’s Manhattan flagship store. Her performance attracted the attention of Calvin Klein’s traveling sales coordinator, who recommended her to Susan Sokol, the president of Calvin Klein Collection. Sokol appointed her to a role handling the brand’s high-profile clients, such as actress Annette Bening and journalist Diane Sawyer. By the time she left Calvin Klein, Bessette was the director of show productions, earning a low six-figure salary.

In her personal life, Bessette met John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 1992. At that time, Kennedy was dating actress Daryl Hannah. The couple began dating in 1994 and garnered significant media attention. They made frequent appearances in the press, with paparazzi often positioned outside their Tribeca apartment. Kennedy introduced Bessette to his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, in late summer 1994. Following their engagement later that year, Bessette moved into Kennedy’s Tribeca loft in 1995.

Bessette and Kennedy married on September 21, 1996, in a private ceremony held at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia. The wedding was conducted by candlelight in a remote setting, with Narciso Rodriguez designing her pearl-white silk crêpe wedding dress. Caroline Kennedy served as the matron of honor, with her son Jack Kennedy Schlossberg as ring bearer and her daughters Rose and Tatiana Schlossberg as flower girls. The couple honeymooned in Turkey. After marriage, media attention intensified, and Bessette often struggled with the paparazzi presence. She was known for her minimalist fashion sense and was often compared to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She declined interview requests and chose not to appear in fashion magazines, focusing instead on charity work and accompanying her husband at official events, including visits to the White House and parties organized for her husband's magazine, George.

Throughout their marriage, there were reports of marital difficulties, including disagreements over starting a family, her dissatisfaction with her husband's work on George magazine, and her alleged cocaine use. Some sources claimed the couple contemplated divorce, but friends and acquaintances denied these reports. In 1999, the couple sought marriage counseling from John O’Connor and were reported to have ongoing issues, though some friends indicated that they were not living apart.

Bessette Kennedy died on July 16, 1999, in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard, along with her husband and her sister Lauren. The aircraft was piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash resulted from the pilot’s failure to maintain control during a descent over water at night, primarily due to spatial disorientation exacerbated by haze and darkness. The wreckage was located on July 21, and the bodies were recovered, with autopsies confirming death upon impact. The victims' bodies were subsequently cremated at the Mayflower Cemetery crematorium in Duxbury, Massachusetts.