Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis; 1961-1963

Born: 1929
Died: 1994

Jackie Bouvier grew up in "society" in New York, Newport and northern Virginia. Although Catholic, Jackie's parents were divorced. Her father, a handsome Wall Street broker and bon vivant, was also a spender and a drinker. But he and Jackie, his firstborn, adored each other. Raised by her mother and wealthy stepfather, Jackie rode horses, went to prep school, studied in Paris, was "Debutante of the Year," and graduated college. She was a Washington news photographer when she met Jack Kennedy, a rich and handsome Congressman 12 years her senior. They wed in 1953, Jack by then a Senator and aiming higher. Jackie helped his campaigns, writing a "Campaign Wife" column and meeting with the press, but her heart's desire was children. She bore four, but only two survived.

First Lady at 31, Jackie brought youth, beauty and exquisite taste to the White House. Her first priority was her little ones, whose antics delighted the nation. But she also undertook the historic restoration of the White House, helped preserve Lafayette Square, and pushed for government funding for the arts. A glamorous hostess, Jackie invited leading artists and intellectuals to the White House and charmed statesmen around the world. Supremely dignified throughout the ordeal of her husband's assassination, she then left political life but never escaped the spotlight. Wed to tycoon Aristotle Onassis from 1968 till his 1975 death, Jackie then became an editor in New York. She died at home at 65.

Thirty-Fifth President
John F. Kennedy