Jackie Kennedy

By: Chelsey LukensCI 102

Early Life• Born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Southampton, New

York, she was the daughter of John Vernou Bouvier III, a Wall Street stockbroker, and his wife Janet Norton Lee. She had a younger sister, Caroline Lee Bouvier, born in 1933, and later known as Lee Radziwill.

• Raised in a world of wealth and privilege, she spent her early years between New York City and Easthampton, New York at the Bouvier family estate "Lasata". At a very early age she became an accomplished equestrienne, a sport that would remain a lifelong passion. As a child, she also enjoyed drawing, reading and lacrosse. This idyllic childhood came to an end when her parents divorced in 1940.

Education, introduction to society, and first job

• She was educated at selective schools such as the Holton-Arms School in Washington (1942–1944) and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut (1944–1947). When she made her society debut in 1947, a Hearst columnist dubbed Jacqueline "Debutante of the Year".

• She spent her first two years of college at Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York, and spent her junior year (1949–1950) in France at the University of Grenoble and The Sorbonne in a program through Smith College. Upon returning home to the United States, she transferred to The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature.[2] Her college graduation coincided with younger sister Lee's graduation from high school, and the two sisters spent the summer of 1951 on a trip through Europe. This trip was the subject of Kennedy's only autobiographical book, One Special Summer, which is also the only one of her publications to feature her drawings.[3]

• During that period she was briefly engaged to a young stockbroker, John Husted, but the engagement was called off after three months.

Kennedy marriage and family

• Jacqueline Bouvier and then-congressman John Kennedy were in the same social circle and often attended the same functions. It was at a dinner party organized by mutual friends, journalist Charles Bartlett and his wife Martha Buck Bartlett, that they were formally introduced in May 1952. Kennedy was then busy running for a seat at the U.S. Senate. They began dating sporadically and after he was elected senator in November of the same year, the relationship grew more serious and eventually led to a proposal. Their engagement was officially announced on June 25, 1953. [4]

• They were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The wedding was performed by Archbishop Richard Cushing. The wedding was considered the social event of the season with an estimated 700 guests at the ceremony and 900 at the lavish reception that followed at Hammersmith Farm.

• They had four children together: Arabella Kennedy (stillborn), Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (died at brith).

First Lady of the United States

• Mrs. Kennedy planned numerous social events that brought the First Couple into the nation's cultural spotlight. She invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, and musicians to mingle with politicians, diplomats, and statesmen. She spoke fluent French. Her appreciation for art, music, and culture marked a new chapter in American history. Jackie's skill at entertaining gave White House events the reputation of being magical.

• The restoration of the White House was Jacqueline Kennedy's first major project. She was dismayed during her pre-inauguration tour of the White House to find little of historic significance in the house. The rooms were furnished with undistinguished pieces that she felt lacked a sense of history. Her first efforts, begun her first day in residence (with the help of society decorator Sister Parish), were to make the family quarters attractive and suitable for family life and included the addition of a kitchen on the family floor and rooms for her children. Upon almost immediately exhausting the funds appropriated for this effort, she established a fine arts committee to oversee and fund the restoration process; she also asked early American furniture expert Henry du Pont to consult.