An ambassador who impressed foreign dignitaries in their own language. A post-White House editing
career that was nearly derailed by scandal — a complicated relationship with her younger sister
Think you know former First Lady Jackie Kennedy? Think again. If you've ever seen clips or images of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her reign as America's
First Lady, you know it's hard to think of her having a bad side. Jackie O always presented
herself as a dignified, poised, and elegant woman. However, as it turns out, Jackie O wasn't always
quite so well-behaved. She used to get up to a fair amount of mischief as a child. According to
Biography, one of her teachers once said, Jackie is a darling child, the prettiest little girl, very clever, very artistic
and full of the devil. Another teacher was even more blunt, saying
Her disturbing conduct in geography class made it necessary to exclude her from the room
It's certainly hard to imagine the demure Jackie O acting out in class, but it seems
she wasn't always as sweet as one might have thought. It's hard to imagine Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis holding down a 9 to 5
Most of us probably imagine that she went straight from famous debutante to the doting
wife of a politician. However, it turns out that the first lady enjoyed a promising career prior to her marriage
as a reporter and a photographer. According to Vogue, Jackie O won the publication's Prix de Paris essay competition, and was selected
from 1,279 candidates to be a junior editor when she was just 21
However, she ended up quitting on her first day, as she thought the role would hurt her
chances of making a good match. In the 2021 book Camera Girl, How Miss Bouvier Used Imagination and Subversion to Invest
Jackie Kennedy. Author Carl Sephirosa Anthony explored Jackie O.'s later career as a reporter
for The Washington Times-Herald between 1951 and 1953. Apparently, she began her role at
the paper as a receptionist but wanted more of a challenge and was promoted to photographer
The young Jackie O. also worked as an interviewer. One of her subjects was her future husband
John F. Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was often praised for her distinctly chic and European sense of style
Apparently, her stylish tastes actually dated back to her junior year of college
which she spent in Paris. As the New York Times reported, the year changed her life
During her time abroad, the young Jackie O lived with a host family
attended classes, and learned to love everything about the French language and culture
In the book Dreaming in French, the Paris years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Susan Sontag and Angela Davis by French literature professor Alice Kaplan, Kaplan posits that Jackie
O picked up not only her iconic style, but also her imagination and her razor-sharp wit from the
French. Additionally, Jackie O's host, Claude de Granreux, confided that she and Jackie O had become
lifelong friends. She even visited the White House and noticed how much French interior design had
influenced Jackie O during her famous restoration. Jacqueline Kennedy became Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after JFK's death
For many devoted fans, her second marriage came as a shock. It was impossible to imagine Jackie O with anyone other than JFK
However, as it turns out, the former first lady had a few other suitors prior to her
first husband. In fact, she almost married one of them. One of her suitors was the stockbroker John Husted Jr
The couple were engaged in 1952, just one month after they began dating
At the time, Jackie O apparently wrote a letter to a friend, describing Husted as
"...the right one," saying she had the deepest, happiest feeling in the world
However, Jackie O broke off the engagement after three months, because according to Carl
Safarraza Anthony's biography, Camera Girl, How Miss Bouvier Used Imagination and Subversion
to Invent Jackie Kennedy, she found him immature and boring. One of the most lasting influences of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is actually the White House
itself, as the iconic dwelling underwent massive renovations in 1961. According to documents released by the John F. Kennedy Library in 2012, Jackie O was enormously
involved in almost all aspects of the project. The Washington Post also explained how these papers revealed a lot about the hidden strength
resolution and determination of the First Lady could look at the Kennedys and say to ourselves that the picture of America we want the world to see
Apparently, the restoration project was Jackie O's brainchild. In fact, she had even helped to pass legislation that designated the White House as a historical
monument within the month of her move to the building. The papers also showed that Jackie O
had visited the building as a tourist at the age of 11. Her memories of the visit included
no guidebook. When Jackie O arrived, she added one and even edited the first draft
Jackie O was also determined to restore the building's interior to be more historically
appropriate. She and Lorraine Pierce, the new White House curator, poured over old pictures
and receipts to track down old artworks and decorative items that had historic significance
It just seemed to me such a shame when we came here to find hardly anything of the past in the house
One thing is for sure — Jackie O. was extremely well-educated. In fact
the First Lady spoke four different languages. Jackie was fascinated by other cultures
and she took it upon herself to learn fluent French, Spanish, and Italian in addition to
English. Apparently, her ability to speak so many languages meant that she could translate
important books for her husband. It also meant that she could speak with locals during state
visits to Europe. After speaking French during a visit in 1961, her husband even joked
"...I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I've enjoyed it.
And as the JFK Library notes, she quickly became a popular ambassador around the world
thanks to her linguistic proficiency. Jackie also gave several speeches in foreign languages
In 1962, for instance, she delivered an entire speech in Spanish at the Orange Bowl in Miami
Jackie Kennedy Onassis had the most beautiful wedding ever. With its impressive guest list
breathtaking design, and the presence of the Pope, it's no wonder that Life magazine said
the event was just like a coronation. One of the most memorable things about the wedding
was Jackie O's fairy tale wedding dress. The dress was designed by Anne Lowe
a black designer and dressmaker who'd been selected by Jackie O's mother
According to Brides, Lowe was a well-respected designer with a roster of
clients that included the Rockefellers and the Roosevelts, but she wasn't given credit for
Jackie O's dress. It turns out, the dress that Jackie O wore on her big day wasn't actually the
original. Apparently, the first dress was ruined when a pipe burst in Lowe's studio just 10 days
before the wedding, soaking the wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses. Lowe and her team
were forced to recreate the dresses in just a week, reportedly working night and day to catch up
A pretty incredible feat considering the first dress had taken eight weeks to create
The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of those moments in history that everyone knows
The image of his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, grabbing onto her husband as the shots ring
out is a moment that most people can picture easily. From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official, President Kennedy died at 1 p.m
Central Standard Time. When JFK was shot in 1963, Jackie O was wearing a pink Chanel-inspired suit. His blood splattered
all over Jackie O as she tried to tend to his wounds and shield him. After JFK passed
away, Jackie O boarded Air Force One, where a change of clothes had been laid out. As
she explained to Life magazine, she wiped some blood off her face
Jackie told the outlet, "'One second later, I thought, why did I wash the blood off? I should have left it
Let them see what they've done." That's why Jackie O refused to change into fresh, clean clothes
By keeping her blood-stained suit on, she intentionally created a powerful and moving image
She even asked to be photographed as she left the plane — in one of the most impactful
First Lady fashion moments in history. Like many people in the public eye, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had to deal with her fair
share of paparazzi harassment. In fact, one member of the paparazzi, Ron Galella, was so aggressive in his pursuit in
the 60s and 70s that she took him to court — twice
According to Town & Country, Galella's pursuit came close to ruining her life
When he followed her to Greece, Jackie testified in court that she had no peace, no peace of
mind — and was always under surveillance. Finally in 1981 Galella stopped after a judge threatened a 60 sentence Speaking to WWD Galella explained that he was proud of his photos Apparently
he even gave her a copy of his book, Jacqueline, as a way of saying thank you for making him famous
It's clear that while Galella was much more than a nuisance for Jackie O
he never really understood the distress he was causing. As far as her childhood went, Jackie O enjoyed a pretty privileged lifestyle
She was born in 1929 to John Bouvier III, a stockbroker, and Janet Leigh, an American heiress
Jackie O and her family lived in Manhattan and spent summers in a massive mansion in
the Hamptons called Wildmoor. By the sounds of things, the Bouvier girls wanted for nothing as
children, even though their family's supposed ancient wealth appears to be a fabrication
As Darwin Porter, author of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Life Beyond Her Wildest Dreams, explained to Express
The display of money and grandeur was all a show. Porter told the outlet
"...the Bouvier's ancestry consisted of cabinetmakers, maids, ironmongers, tailors, shopkeepers, tavern owners, farmers, and chimney suites.
After renovating and restoring the White House, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis appeared in a now-legendary televised tour of the building
in 1962. In the tour, Jackie O demurely led a CBS host through the White House
explaining all of the alterations and items of interest in the building
According to papers released by the John F. Kennedy Library, she also played a crucial role in editing her lines for the program
The hour-long tour was a roaring success, with 56 million live viewers, according to WNYC's Sarah
Fischko. The First Lady even won an Emmy for her role in the production. Jackie O was unable to
attend the ceremony, but Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of Vice President Lyndon Johnson
accepted on her behalf. Today, the Emmy is on display at the JFK Library in Boston
In 1968, Egypt gifted an ancient Nubian temple, the Temple of Dendur, to the United States
The plan was to house the temple in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and Jackie actually played a key role in ensuring that the temple made it to the museum
Apparently, during the 1950s, when Egypt was planning on building the new Ashwan High Dam
They initially considered destroying the ancient temple. However, Jackie asked her husband to convince Congress to pay the $10 million needed to save the temple
According to Thomas Hovig's memoir, Jackie was passionate about the temple being displayed
outside in D.C. as a memorial to her husband. Hovig remembers Jackie telling him
"'I don't care if the temple crumbles into sand, but I want it to be built in the center of
Washington as a memorial to Jack.'" Eventually, however, it was decided that the temple should
remain at the Met for its own protection. When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis remarried five years
after the devastating assassination of John F. Kennedy, the country was pretty surprised
Her second husband was Aristotle Onassis, a very wealthy Greek businessman. The pair were
wed in a secret Greek Orthodox ceremony, according to Time magazine. To most Americans
Jackie's marriage symbolized her goodbye to an era and a hero. Apparently, the American public
weren't the only ones who were shocked by the marriage. Even Jackie O's mother told Life
magazine that her daughter had informed her about the plan the day before. Additionally
it seems that people were right to be confused by the match, as the couple reportedly turned
out to have little in common. In Onassis' obituary in time, he was quoted saying their
marriage was filled with nights of long silences. Eventually, it seems that Jackie O found some
happiness in her love life. According to Town & Country, she spent her final decade living with
Maurice Templesman. As a friend once reportedly told The Baltimore Sun, he protects her, understands her position, and respects her privacy
After the death of her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis returned to the workforce
While she'd previously worked as a reporter, this time she set her sights on editing at Viking Press
and later at Doubleday. According to the book, Jackie as Editor, The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jackie O approached her acquaintance Tommy
Ginsburg, the Viking press president, to ask for a job. Because she had little experience, she was given the role of consulting editor, a junior
position with a starting salary of just $200 a week. Jackie O went on to work as an editor for 19 years
She worked her way up through the ranks publishing successful books like Moonwalk Michael Jackson biography Dancing on My Grave a memoir by dancer Gelsey Kirkland and English translations of novels by the Nobel Prize winner Nagib Mahfouz
Apparently, Jackie O was completely dedicated to her job. As Steve Rubin, the head of Doubleday
once wrote, "...few people understood how committed and talented she was at the work she chose to do.
In 1977, one book, a novel called Shall We Tell the President, proved to be extremely controversial
This is because one of its plot lines included links to the Kennedy assassination, and even
though Jackie wasn't directly involved in the book, it eventually led to her leaving
Viking publishing house. When the book was published, one reviewer for The New York Times wrote
"...there is a word for such a book. The word is trash
Anybody associated with its publication should be ashamed of herself." The review had hinted that Jackie helped to bring the book to the public, which led to
a huge scandal. Following the controversy, Jackie released a statement to reporters which said
Last spring, when told of the book, I tried to separate my lives as a Viking employee
and a Kennedy relative. But this fall, when it was suggested that I had something to do
with acquiring the book and that I was not distressed by its publication, I felt I had
to resign." In addition to her younger sister, Caroline Lee, Jackie O had two stepbrothers and one
stepsister. She and Caroline, more commonly known as Lee, had a pretty complicated relationship
The two sisters grew up side by side. But as Lee wrote in her book, Happy Times, Jackie was favored by their father
Over time, this led to an undercurrent of competition between them. During Jackie's coming-out party, for instance, Lee stole Jackie's limelight with a bold pink dress
She also stole her thunder by marrying first. After Jackie married JFK, however, their relationship became closer
The strain of being the first lady meant that Jackie had to rely on her sister for support
Nevertheless, their competitive streak continued throughout their lives. In fact, Lee reportedly was the first Bouvier sister to catch the eye of Aristotle Onassis
But of course, Jackie was the one who eventually married him. Despite leaving the White House after her husband's death in 1963 and pursuing a career
in editing, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis maintained a lifelong interest in politics. In 1993, The Seattle Times reported that Jackie O. paid a visit to Hillary Clinton the year
before, shortly after her husband became the president. Apparently, she gave Hillary advice
on how to maintain privacy for the family while serving as the First Lady. Frank Mankiewicz
who was the press secretary to Jackie O's brother-in-law, Robert Kennedy, confided to the Seattle
Times that, She is much more active in and around and on behalf of the Clinton administration than any
other Democratic candidate or administration. He added that the Clintons' youthfulness and vigor
may have been the reason for her particular interest. When Jackie O died in 1994
the Clintons spoke about her impact on the nation and on their family
And the nation has lost a treasure, and our family has lost a dear friend
She went on to describe how Jackie O had been a great support to her personally
and had taught her how to be a supportive mother. In 1993, Jackie Kennedy Onassis was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
after noticing swollen lymph nodes in her body. After briefly going into remission
she died at the age of 64 in 1994. Jackie's son, John F. Kennedy Jr., as well as her close friends
singer Carly Simon and Maurice Templesman, joined her at her deathbed. Simon told NBC News
I held her hand and told her I loved her. John was standing at the end of her bed with his hands
neatly folded, and Maurice was there with his hands folded, and they were both praying over her
It seared in my brain what she looked like." In 1996, two years after Jackie O's death, the New York Times reported that her estate
was worth far less than $100 million, which is what reports previously estimated
The estate was initially valued at $43.7 million. However, after some items sold well at auction, an audit determined that the true value of
her estate may have been nearer to $73 million. dollars. Jackie's two children inherited much of her estate, including several properties and some
valuable stocks. After the estate was divided up and the administrative fees and taxes were paid
there was unfortunately nothing left for charity. In fact, Jackie's children found themselves $5 million in debt due to estate taxes