Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Described as

First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963

Other names

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis, Jackie O., Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, Jackie-O, Jacqueline Lee Kennedy, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy, Jackie O, Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier

Born

July 28, 1929 · 14 references

Died

May 19, 1994 · 13 references

Born in

Southampton

Died in

New York City · 2 references

Buried in

Arlington National Cemetery (1994) · 1 reference

Cause of death

non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Name at birth

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier

Citizen of

United States · 1 reference

Occupation

journalist · 1 reference; literary editor; socialite; writer · 1 reference; model · 1 reference

Positions held

First Lady of the United States (1961–1963)

Political party

Democratic Party

Worked for

Smith College

Education

Vassar College; University of Paris; George Washington University; Smith College; Miss Porter's School; Georgetown University · 1 reference

Awards

Ellis Island Medal of Honor · 1 reference; Trustees Award (1962) · 1 reference; Grand Cross of the Order of the Orthodox Crusaders of the Holy Sepulchre (1961) · 1 reference

Spouse

John F. Kennedy (1953–1963) · 2 references; Aristotle Onassis (1968–1975) · 2 references

Children

Arabella Kennedy · 1 reference; Caroline Kennedy · 2 references; John F. Kennedy Jr. · 2 references; Patrick Bouvier Kennedy · 2 references

Father

John Vernou Bouvier III · 1 reference

Mother

Janet Lee Bouvier · 1 reference

Siblings

Lee Radziwill · 1 reference; Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd; James Lee Auchincloss

Religion

Catholic Church

Wikipedias with a page

104

Wikidata item Q165421 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q165421), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.

Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis (née Bouvier; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. She redefined the previously mostly ceremonial role into a platform for arts and culture by hosting multiple high-profile events at the White House and leading its restoration into being a historical site. Through her fashion and cultural literacy, she improved the global standing of the United States during the politically volatile Cold War. Her personal style became known as the "Jackie Look", which inspired worldwide fashion trends during the 1960s.
Born into the upper-class Bouvier family in Southampton, New York, Bouvier studied history and art at Vassar College before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in French literature from George Washington University in 1951. She then began working for the Washington Times-Herald as an inquiring photographer. The following year, she met then-congressman John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts at a dinner party in Washington. He was elected to the Senate that same year, and the couple married on September 12, 1953, in Newport, Rhode Island. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy. Following her husband's election to the presidency in 1960, Kennedy was known for her highly publicized restoration of the White House and emphasis on arts and culture as well as for her style. She also traveled to many countries where her fluency in foreign languages and history made her very popular. At age 33, she was named Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1962.
After her husband's assassination and funeral in 1963, Kennedy and her children largely withdrew from public view. In 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, which caused controversy. Following Onassis's death in 1975, she had a career as a book editor in New York City, first at Viking Press and then at Doubleday, and worked to restore her public image. Even after her death, she ranks as one of the most popular and recognizable first ladies in American history, and in 1999, she was placed on the list of Gallup's Most-Admired Men and Women of the 20th century. She died in 1994 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside President Kennedy and two of their children, one stillborn and one who died shortly after birth. Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena Research Institute since 1982 have also consistently found Kennedy Onassis to rank among the most highly regarded first ladies.

Born, in its opening lines

July 28, 1929

Died, in its opening lines

May 19, 1994

From the Wikipedia article “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.