The Kennedy family has experienced another profound loss with the death of Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of former US President John F. Kennedy. Tatiana passed away at the age of 35 after battling acute myeloid leukaemia, as confirmed by the JFK Library Foundation. Her family shared a heartfelt statement, expressing their grief: “Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts.” Tatiana leaves behind two young children and her mother, Caroline Kennedy, who has faced numerous tragedies throughout her life.
Tatiana was the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, and the middle child of their three children. An accomplished environmental journalist and author, she announced her cancer diagnosis in May 2024, coinciding with the birth of her daughter. In an essay for The New Yorker, titled “A Battle With My Blood,” she recounted how doctors discovered her illness during routine blood tests after childbirth. She noted the shocking nature of her diagnosis, stating, “I did not, could not, believe that they were talking about me. I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick.”
After extensive testing, doctors confirmed that Tatiana had acute myeloid leukaemia with a rare mutation known as Inversion 3, a condition they indicated could not be treated with standard therapies. Tatiana underwent chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and two bone marrow transplants, the first of which was made possible by her sister, Rose Schlossberg, who donated stem cells. Early in 2025, she began participating in a clinical trial for CAR-T cell therapy, a promising form of immunotherapy. Despite her efforts, doctors indicated she could expect to live “for a year, maybe.”
During her treatment, Tatiana faced significant emotional challenges, particularly the separation from her children. She expressed her heartache in her writing, noting that the risk of infection post-transplant prevented her from caring for her newborn daughter. “I was gone for almost half of her first year of life,” she wrote. “I don’t know who, really, she thinks I am.” The fear that her children would not remember her haunted her, as did the guilt of adding another tragedy to her family’s history.
The Kennedy family has long been associated with a history of loss, often referred to as the “Kennedy Curse.” This legacy of tragedy began during World War II when Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., JFK’s eldest brother, was killed in action in 1944 at age 29. Shortly thereafter, in 1948, Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, JFK’s sister, died in a plane crash in France at the age of 28.
The family suffered another devastating blow on November 22, 1963, when President JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Caroline, who was just five years old at the time, lost her father to an act of violence that would forever alter the family’s trajectory. The accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed just days later in a live television incident.
Tragedy continued to strike when Robert F. Kennedy, JFK’s younger brother, was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the presidency. His death at the age of 42 marked another significant loss for the family. In later years, Caroline endured the deaths of her siblings and her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who passed away from cancer in 1994.
The 1999 plane crash that claimed the life of her only sibling, John F. Kennedy Jr., further solidified Caroline’s position as the sole surviving child of JFK. Other members of the wider Kennedy family have also faced loss. In 2012, Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was found dead at her home.
In her essay, Tatiana also commented on political developments affecting her extended family. She criticized Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his appointment as US health secretary, noting her concerns regarding vaccine policy and funding for medical research, which resonated deeply with her as a patient.
Caroline Kennedy has now endured the loss of her father, mother, brother, and daughter, with Tatiana’s passing representing another deeply personal tragedy. The family has yet to announce details regarding funeral arrangements. The enduring legacy of the Kennedy family remains one of both political influence and profound personal loss, leaving many to reflect on the burden of their history.
