The recent revelation of Tatiana Schlossberg’s terminal cancer diagnosis has stirred a nation, but for many, it’s reopened a decades-old, haunting question: is there a “Kennedy curse?” The granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, and daughter of Caroline Kennedy, faces a heartbreakingly short time left, a reality she shared with raw honesty in a deeply personal essay.
Schlossberg’s diagnosis, myeloid leukemia, came shortly after the joy of welcoming her daughter. Writing on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination, she grappled with the cruel irony of adding another layer of sorrow to a family already marked by tragedy. Her words reveal a profound sense of helplessness, a feeling of inevitability that resonates with the family’s long history.
The whispers of a “curse” began decades ago, fueled by a string of devastating losses that seemed to defy explanation. It wasn’t simply misfortune; it was a pattern of untimely and often violent deaths that clung to the Kennedy name, casting a long shadow over the political dynasty.
The earliest tragedy struck in 1944 with the death of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., the eldest son, lost in a plane crash during World War II at just 29 years old. Four years later, his sister Kathleen Kennedy met a similar fate, dying in a plane crash in France, adding another layer of grief to the family’s mounting sorrow.
Then came the shockwaves of November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy, a beacon of hope for a generation, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, forever altering the course of American history. The nation mourned, and the Kennedy family was plunged into unimaginable pain.
The grief was compounded just five years later when Robert F. Kennedy, then a presidential candidate, was gunned down in Los Angeles in 1968. The loss of another brother, another leader, seemed to confirm the darkest fears surrounding the family.
But the tragedies weren’t limited to assassinations and accidents. Rosemary Kennedy, a sister to the president and Robert, endured a heartbreaking fate. A 1941 lobotomy, intended to address perceived intellectual disabilities, left her permanently incapacitated, hidden away in an institution for decades.
The next generation wasn’t spared. David Kennedy, son of Robert, succumbed to a drug overdose in 1984 at the age of 28. Michael Kennedy died in a skiing accident in 1997, continuing the relentless cycle of loss.
In 1999, the world watched in horror as John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and her sister Lauren vanished in a small plane over the Atlantic. Their bodies were never fully recovered, adding a haunting finality to the tragedy.
The sorrow continued into the 21st century. In 2012, Robert F. Kennedy’s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, took her own life. Then, in 2019, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, another granddaughter, died from an accidental overdose. Just a year later, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her son Gideon were lost in a canoeing accident, their bodies recovered days later.
Cancer, too, has touched the Kennedy family. Edward Kennedy Jr. battled osteosarcoma as a child, requiring the amputation of his leg, but ultimately achieving a full recovery. Years later, Ted Kennedy succumbed to glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2009.
Tatiana Schlossberg’s diagnosis isn’t an isolated incident, but rather a painful echo of the tragedies that have haunted her family for generations. Whether a curse, a cruel twist of fate, or simply a series of devastating coincidences, the Kennedy family’s story remains a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the enduring power of grief.
