Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was a supremely stylish and eloquent young woman who brought optimism to the White House after becoming First Lady.
She captivated the entire country the moment she was first spotted in the company of her husband John Kennedy on the campaign trail. The two married shortly after they were first introduced to each other by a mutual friend. At the time they tied the knot, JFK was a senator and she worked as a reporter-photographer at the Washington Herald, which was her first job following her graduation from George Washington University.
Jackie’s father was a stockbroker and a wealthy man so she had the chance to get an education at prestigious private schools and travel the world.
As a young child, she was described by one of her teachers, Miss Platt, as “a darling child, the prettiest little girl, very clever, very artistic, and full of the devil.”
Some of JFK and Jackie’s closest associates recall their immediate bond after being invited to a dinner reception in Georgetown at which they were both honored. The book America’s Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis quotes Jackie’s family friend Molly Thayer as saying, “She realized quickly that he would have a deep, and maybe frightening, impact on her life.”
In the words of Ted Kennedy, the late President John F. Kennedy’s brother, “my brother was charmed with her right from the outset when he first saw her at dinner.”
On September 12, 1953, in St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, President John F. Kennedy, and Jackie Kennedy were united in marriage. In the aftermath of their honeymoon in Mexico, he was healing from a back ailment, and she pushed him to write a biography, Profiles in Courage, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2001.
John F. Kennedy became the youngest president of the United States of America seven years after tying the married to Jackie Kennedy. In politics, his youth was seen as a welcome change, and he and his wife formed an excellent team whose primary purpose became the well-being of the American people.
Caroline Kennedy, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., and two more children, both of whom died soon after delivery, were born to JFK and Jackie as a married couple.
Because they had toddlers, Jackie embarked on a quest to repair and maintain the White House, as well as to make it a more child-friendly environment by adding a playhouse and swings to the grounds.
Sadly, on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy was slain, and Jackie’s life was irrevocably altered as a result. In his honor, Jackie established the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, Texas.
She felt saddened as a result of this. The fantasy had come to an end, and she had made the decision to remain out of the limelight. Then, in 1968, Jackie tied the knot with Aristotle Onassis, a Greek shipping billionaire. As a result of Onassis’s death in 1975, Jackie was once again left a widow.
Until her passing in May of 1994, the former First Lady worked as an editor for a variety of publications. She was put to repose at the Arlington National Cemetery, just outside of Washington, D.C., besides President John F. Kennedy.
Jackie was a lady who was loved by millions of people. She was known for being soft-spoken and grounded throughout her life, and she is still regarded as a significant historical figure.
Those who know her describe her as a kind and compassionate human being. Former bodyguard Clint Hill disclosed insights about the former First Lady’s private life, which only served to increase our admiration for her.
According to Hill, when Jackie appointed him as her bodyguard, he was dissatisfied, to say the least since he intended to accompany her to ballet performances, fashion displays, and tea parties. The fact that she was anything but your conventional First Lady didn’t take long for him to figure out.
“She desired that the children be raised like regular children,” says the mother. There’s nothing unique about it. They were to be treated as if they were one of their own, according to the agents. If the children were knocked down, they rose to their feet. You didn’t do anything to assist them. All of this information had to be learned on its own. It was her desire for the children and for herself to remain out of the spotlight as much as possible,” he stated.
“Oh, she was such a wonderful mother. She was quite worried about them, particularly about their educational opportunities. She established a school in the White House so that Caroline could attend school, and she invited a group of numerous young peers from all walks of life from the outside to attend with Caroline. In addition, it was located on the third floor of the White House and had two instructors. It was customary for them to play on the south grounds,” he said.
Then, one day, while on vacation at Squaw Island with her family, she saw that Hill’s two children were around the same age as her own children. While safeguarding Jackie, he was unable to spend quality time with his family because of his commitments at work and at home. Jackie then invited him to bring his children and let them interact with her own children. He was intrigued by the concept, but he had to decline.
“I was ultimately able to persuade her; I told her, ‘This is just not a good idea.’ I’m a federal employee, by the way. You’re the first lady of the United States. They’re the president’s children, as you may have guessed. In the event that my two children are playing with your two children, I don’t believe it would be a good idea for anything to go wrong.’ She eventually grasped the nature of the situation and said, “All right.”
In 1963, when President Kennedy was shot, Hill was the one who stepped into his automobile and made certain that there would be no photos taken of the crime scene. He then took Jackie to the hospital in his car. She was upset and befuddled, but she had the courage to talk to Hill despite her circumstances.
Mrs. Hill exclaimed, ‘Oh, what are your plans for the rest of the day, Mr. Hill?’ ‘She was a lot more worried about my well-being and the well-being of all of the other agents who were engaged,’ Hill said to the JFK Library. “She really wanted to make sure that we were all going to be alright,” Hill said.
“And I assured her that I would be OK, Mrs. Kennedy. ‘I’m going to be OK.’ She hadn’t changed into anything new. She hadn’t done any cleaning. Despite the fact that she hadn’t done anything, she was still in shock. Moreover, she seemed to be more worried about us than she was about herself.”