The Kennedy Family Tree: A Who's Who Guide to the Famous Political Family

Mar. 15, 2025

John F. Kennedy ; Caroline Kennedy ; Jack F. Kennedy ; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Photo:Bettmann/ Getty ; Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ; MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty ; John Lamparski/Getty

Bettmann/ Getty ; Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ; MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty ; John Lamparski/Getty

The Kennedy familyis synonymous with American politics.

Since the late 1800s, members of the famous family have pursued both political and philanthropic careers, holding offices that span from city council to Commander-in-Chief along with spearheading some of the biggest nonprofits and charitable initiatives on the globe.

John F. Kennedy’s presidency, in particular, is heralded as a golden era in U.S. history, often referred to asCamelot(in reference to the time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table), that the nation still remembers with a heightened sense of nostalgia.

However, the Kennedy clan is not without itstragedies and many scandals, which have spanned generations. The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, and his younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968 marked a period of great turmoil in the U.S., and the tragic death of JFK’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., in a plane crash in 1999 was yet another untimely death.

Now, the Kennedys are embroiled in a public battle as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (son of Robert F. Kennedy Sr.) undergoes hisconfirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services.President Donald Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. was immediately met with criticism from both political parties and his own family members due to the environmentalist’s vacillating and dangerous theories about public health and promotion of conspiracy theories.

Below is a guide to the Kennedy family tree, starting with patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy and matriarch Rose Fitzgerald and their nine children and the most notable faces of each generation since.

The Kennedy Family Tree

The Kennedy Family Tree.Getty

Getty

The modern Kennedy family can be traced to Joseph P. Kennedy and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The two wed on Oct. 7, 1914, and had nine children together: Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915), John F. Kennedy (1917), Rosemary Kennedy (1918), Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy (1920), Eunice Kennedy (1921), Patricia Kennedy (1924),Robert F. Kennedy Sr.(1925) Jean Kennedy (1928) andEdward “Ted” Moore Kennedy(1932).

And while the family’s political pursuits peaked when JFK was elected president in 1960, the Kennedys' history in politics began long before that. JFK’s father, Joseph, is said to have become acquainted with Franklin D. Roosevelt while working at a steel shipyard, who would later appoint him as the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Joseph also served as the United States Ambassador to the U.K. from 1938 to 1940.

Joseph’s father, P.J. Kennedy also held political offices. P.J. Kennedy, a local bar owner, began his political career in his mid-20s, winning a campaign for theMassachusetts House of Representativesat the age of 27. According to the 2022 bookThe First Kennedys, he spent five years in legislation before deciding to step back to focus on his business. However, he ultimately ended up taking a higher political position instead, being elected to the Senate in 1892. With no desire to relocate to Washington, D.C., however, P.J. ultimately left politics for more financially focused endeavors.

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy’s Family Tree

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy’s Family Tree.Getty

Here’s a look at John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy’s lives and their most notable descendants.

John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy at his desk in the White House on his first day in office as President of the United States.Bettmann

Bettmann

John F. Kennedy was the second-born child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Born in Brookline, Mass., in 1917, he became the 35th President of the United States.

Prior to his presidential term, JFK earned a degree from Harvard University, served in the Navy, and was a legislator in theHouse of Representativesfrom 1947 to 1953 before becoming the junior senator of Massachusetts.

He wasassassinated while riding in a motorcadenext to Jackie in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy.Getty

She consistently appeared on the campaign trail in support of her husband’s 1960 bid for the presidency and became the nation’s First Lady on Jan. 20, 1961. During her time in the White House, Jackie undertook a massive $2 million restoration of the property, which she filmed for aCBS special.

Caroline Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy.Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Caroline Kennedy is the third and only surviving child of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy.

Caroline has been married to Edwin Schlossberg since 1986. They share three adult children: daughters Rose Kennedy Schlossberg (born in 1988) and Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg (born in 1990) and son John “Jack” Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg (born in 1993).

John F. Kennedy Jr.

Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty

John F. Kennedy Jr. was the first-born son of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. He was born on Nov. 25, 1960 — just two weeks after his father was elected president of the United States. He spent the first three years of his life in the White House until his father was killed in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. JFK Jr. studied first at Brown University, then the New York University School of Law. In 1995, he co-founded the political magazineGeorge.

He met his wife,Carolyn Bessette Kennedyin 1992. The pair began dating a few years later and wed in a super private ceremony on Sept. 21, 1996, on Cumberland Island with roughly 40 guests in attendance.

JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn, tragically died on July 16, 1999, when the plane he was piloting to cousin Rory Kennedy’s weddingcrashed into the Atlantic Ocean. JFK Jr.’s sister-in-law Lauren Bessette was also killed in the accident.

Jack Schlossberg

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty

Jack is the only son and youngest child of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg.

According to Jack, born on Jan. 19, 1993, he is a “student of his grandfather’s life, legacy and administration.” He attended Yale University and graduated in 2015 with a degree in history before entering Harvard Law School in 2017 and Harvard Business School in 2018, from which hegraduated in 2022. Jack has also dipped his toe into politics,speaking at the DNC conventionsin 2020 and 2024 and previouslyworking as a senate pageand intern for John Kerry.

Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy’s Family Tree

Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy’s Family Tree.Getty; AP Images

Getty; AP Images

The seventh child born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Sr. had 11 children with his wife Ethel Kennedy, whom he married in 1950: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (1951), Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (1952),Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (1954), David Anthony Kennedy (1955), Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill (1956), Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958), Mary Kerry Kennedy (1959), Christopher George Kennedy (1963), Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (1965), Douglas Harriman Kennedy (1967) and Rory Elizabeth Kennedy (1968).

Many of RFK Sr. and Ethel Kennedy’s children — nine of whom are still alive — have pursued political or philanthropic careers, most notably their third child and second son Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is President Trump’s controversial nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Here’s a look at Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy’s lives and their most notable descendants.

Robert F. Kennedy Sr.

United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy working at his desk.Bettmann/ Getty

Bettmann/ Getty

Ethel Kennedy

Ethel Kennedy attends the 2014 Robert F. Kennedy Ripple Of Hope Gala at New York Hilton on December 16, 2014 in New York City.Taylor Hill/Getty

Taylor Hill/Getty

Born in 1928, Ethel Kennedy (née Skakel) was the sixth child of George and Ann Skakel’s seven children. Her father was the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation and she grew up in Greenwich, Conn.

Ethel died at age 96on Oct. 10, 2024, “from complications related toa stroke suffered last week,” according to a statement from her daughter, Kerry, posted on X.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Jason Mendez/Getty

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the third child of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Ethel Kennedy. Born on Jan. 17, 1954, he was 14 when his father was killed.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in American history and literature from Harvard, a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia and a Master of Laws from Pace University. He pled guilty to afelony charge of heroin possession aboard an aircraftin 1984, for which he wassentenced to a two-year probationwith community service. He also sought out treatment. He later wrote of his struggles in a book calledAmerican Values: Lessons I Learned From My Family.He has maintained a long career as an environmental law specialist and isan outspoken anti-vaxxer.

A former Democrat, RFK Jr. abandoned his independent bid for president in 2024 and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump. President Trump has since nominated RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, though the nomination has been met with bipartisan skepticism.

The Kennedy-Shriver Family Tree

The Kennedy-Shriver Family Tree.Getty

Here’s a look at Eunice Shriver’s life and her most notable descendants.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Eunice Kennedy Schriver during a Social Dinner in Honor of the Special Olympics on July 10, 2006 in Washington, DC.TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty

TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty

Eunice Kennedy Shriverwas the fifth child born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Born in 1921, she is best remembered as the founder of the Special Olympics. She started the organization with her husband, Robert, in 1968 as a way to turn her anger over the treatment of her sisterRosemary, who had developmental disabilities and then underwent a lobotomy, at their father’s directive, into positive action. Though Eunice initially found herself in politics, working for the Special War Problems Division of the U.S. State Department and as a secretary for the U.S. Executive Department, she found her calling in charity work.

She was also a strong supporter of her brother JFK, supporting him on the campaign trail of his 1960 presidential campaign. She died on Aug. 11, 2009, after suffering a stroke four years earlier. She posthumously received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2017 ESPY Awards.

Maria Shriver

Anna Moneymaker/Getty

Maria Shriveris the second child and only daughter of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Former U.S. Ambassador to France Robert Sargant Shriver Jr.

Though Maria was born at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Ill., on Nov. 6, 1955, she spent several of her formative years in Paris, where herfather was stationedas the U.S. Ambassador to the country. She later moved to New York, where she attended Manhattanville College before transferring to Georgetown University. She became a journalist, co-anchoringThe CBS Morning Newsfor a year in 1985 before moving over toSunday Today. She also worked atNBC Nightly Newsand contributed toDateline NBCfrom 1992 to 1994. Shereturned to media as a special anchorin 2013 and has executive producedat least six film projectsand published multipleself-help and children’s booksover the years.

Maria shares four children with her ex-husband and actorArnold Schwarzenegger, whom she wed in 1986:Katherine Schwarzenegger(1989); Christina Schwarzenegger (1991); Patrick Schwarzenegger (1993); and Christopher Schwarzenegger (1997). Maria and Arnold split in 2011 and their divorce was finalized in 2021.

source: people.com