Tragedy has stalked the Kennedy family for generations.<\/p>\n
The heartbreak mounted again this week after Tatiana Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy\u2019s granddaughter, revealed she is battling a rare and aggressive form of leukemia.<\/p>\n
Her terminal diagnosis adds to a staggering list of deaths, disasters and sudden losses that have long fueled talk of a \u201cKennedy curse,\u201d shadowing America\u2019s most famous political dynasty from warplanes and assassinations to overdoses, fatal crashes and heartbreaking illness.<\/p>\n
2025<\/p>\n
Tatiana Schlossberg\u2019s announcement was published on Nov. 22, the anniversary of JFK\u2019s assassination. WireImage<\/p>\n
Caroline Kennedy\u2019s daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, 35, announces in a New Yorker essay<\/a> terminal cancer diagnosis and less than a year to live<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2020<\/p>\n Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, the granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy,\u00a0 and her son Gideon, 8, drown in a canoe accident<\/a> on Chesapeake Bay.<\/p>\n The deaths of Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son, Gideon, prompted a search effort involving the U.S. Coast Guard and multiple state agencies. Facebook<\/p>\n 2019<\/p>\n RFK\u2019s granddaughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, dies at 22 of an accidental overdose <\/a>at the family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n Authorities ruled the Hyannis Port death accidental after confirming multiple substances in toxicology results. DAVID L RYAN\/THE BOSTON GLOBE\/POOL\/EPA-EFE\/REX<\/p>\n 2012<\/p>\n RFK Jr.\u2019s wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy,\u00a0dies by suicide<\/a> at age 52 at her Bedford, NY home amid a bitter divorce fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mary Richardson Kennedy\u2019s funeral became the subject of competing court filings between relatives over burial plans and access. Getty Images<\/p>\n 2011<\/p>\n Ted Kennedy\u2019s eldest daughter, Kara, 51, collapses and dies of a heart attack<\/a> after a workout at a Washington, DC health club. She had previously undergone aggressive treatment for lung cancer years earlier.<\/p>\n Kara Kennedy served on the board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and continued public work after cancer treatment. Getty Images<\/p>\n 1999<\/p>\n JFK\u2019s only son, John F. Kennedy Jr., 38, his wife Caroline Bessette and her sister Lauren, die when the small plane he was piloting plunges into the Atlantic<\/a> off Martha\u2019s Vineyard.<\/p>\n The fatal plane crash was the subject of an extensive National Transportation Safety Board investigation that examined radar data and weather conditions. Getty Images<\/p>\n 1997<\/p>\n RFK\u2019s son Michael, 39, is killed in a skiing accident<\/a> in Aspen, Colo. <\/p>\n 1984<\/p>\n RFK\u2019s son David, 28, is found dead of a drug overdose<\/a> in a Palm Beach hotel.<\/p>\n 1969<\/p>\n Sen. Ted Kennedy drives off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island<\/a>, Mass., and aide Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, is found dead in the submerged car. <\/p>\n Ted Kennedy reported the crash to authorities roughly 10 hours after it occurred on Chappaquiddick Island. Arnie Sachs \u2013 CNP<\/p>\n 1968<\/p>\n President John F. Kennedy\u2019s brother, Robert, is assassinated <\/a>by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, just after winning the California presidential primary<\/p>\n Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s shooter, Sirhan Sirhan, was restrained by bystanders in the hotel pantry before police arrived. Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n 1963<\/p>\n President John F. Kennedy, 46, is assassinated while<\/a> riding in a Dallas motorcade by Lee Harvey Oswald<\/p>\n President Kennedy was shot in full public view in Dealey Plaza as crowds lined the motorcade route. Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n 1963<\/p>\n Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, JFK and Jackie\u2019s premature son<\/a>, dies 39 hours after birth.<\/p>\n 1948<\/p>\n Kathleen \u201cKick\u201d Kennedy, Joe and Rose Kennedy\u2019s free-spirited daughter,<\/a> 28, dies in a\u00a0 plane crash in\u00a0 France.<\/p>\n Kathleen \u201cKick\u201d Kennedy died near Saint-Baume in southeastern France, and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was the only family member at her funeral. Getty Images<\/p>\n 1944<\/p>\n