Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline "Jackie" Lee Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy.

A popular first lady, she endeared the American public with her devotion to her family, dedication to the historic preservation of the White House, the campaigns she led to preserve and restore historic landmarks and architecture along with her interest in American history, culture and arts.

During her lifetime, she was regarded as an international icon for her unique fashion choices, and her work as a cultural ambassador of the United States made her very popular globally.

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929, at Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York, to Wall Street stockbroker John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III and socialite Janet Norton Lee.

Her mother was of Irish descent, and her father had French, Scottish, and English ancestry.

Named after her father, she was baptized at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan and raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

The marriage of the Bouviers was strained by the father's alcoholism and extramarital affairs; the family had also struggled with financial difficulties following the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Caroline Lee, her younger sister, was born four years later on March 3, 1933.

Jacqueline Bouvier spent her early childhood years in Manhattan and at Lasata, the Bouviers' country estate in East Hampton on Long Island.

She looked up to her father, who likewise favored her over her sister, calling his elder child "the most beautiful daughter a man ever had".

Biographer Tina Santi Flaherty reports Jacqueline's early confidence in herself, seeing a link to her father's praise and positive attitude to her, and her sister Lee Radziwill stated that Jacqueline would not have gained her "independence and individuality" had it not been for the relationship she had with their father and paternal grandfather, John Vernou Bouvier Jr. From an early age, Jacqueline was an enthusiastic equestrienne and successfully competed in the sport, and horse-riding remained a lifelong passion.

She took ballet lessons, was an avid reader, and excelled at learning foreign languages, including French, Spanish, and Italian.

French was particularly emphasized in her upbringing.

In 1935, Jacqueline Bouvier was enrolled in Manhattan's Chapin School, where she attended grades 1–7.

She was a bright student but often misbehaved; one of her teachers described her as "a darling child, the prettiest little girl, very clever, very artistic, and full of the devil".

Her mother attributed this behavior to her finishing her assignments ahead of classmates and then acting out in boredom.

Her behavior improved after the headmistress warned her that none of her positive qualities would matter if she did not behave.

They separated in 1936 and divorced four years later, with the press publishing intimate details of the split.

According to her cousin John H. Davis, Jacqueline was deeply affected by the divorce and subsequently had a "tendency to withdraw frequently into a private world of her own."

When their mother married Standard Oil heir Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Jr., the Bouvier sisters did not attend the ceremony because it was arranged quickly and travel was restricted due to World War II.

They gained three stepsiblings from Auchincloss's previous marriages, Hugh "Yusha" Auchincloss III, Thomas Gore Auchincloss, and Nina Gore Auchincloss.

Jacqueline formed the closest bond with Yusha, who became one of her most trusted confidants.

So, Mr. Auchincloss gave her a like-new 1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible.

Jacqueline, 13 at the time, learned to drive in this 1940 Ford.

The marriage later produced two more children, Janet Jennings Auchincloss in 1945 and James Lee Auchincloss in 1947.

As a wedding gift, Mr. Auchincloss presented his new wife, Janet, with a car.

But, being in the depths of World War II, no new cars were being produced.

After studying history and art at Vassar College and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in French literature from George Washington University in 1951, Bouvier started working for the Washington Times-Herald as an inquiring photographer.

The following year, she met then-Congressman John Kennedy 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 31, 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.

Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Kennedy Onassis to rank among the most highly regarded first ladies by the assessments of historians.

She died in 1994 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside President Kennedy and two of their children, one stillborn and one who died shortly after birth.

Even after her death, she ranks as one of the most popular and recognizable first ladies in American history, and in 1999, she was listed as one of Gallup's Most-Admired Men and Women of the 20th century.