Joan Kennedy, the first wife of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, has died in her Boston home at the age of 89.
Kennedy, born Joan Bennett, passed away peacefully in her sleep early Wednesday morning, a family spokesman confirmed.
She was was a model and classically-trained pianist when Ted’s older sister Jean Kennedy introduced the pair in 1957.
They were engaged within the year and married in her hometown of Bronxville, New York in 1958. The pair were married for 24 years and shared three children together: Kara, Ted Jr and Patrick.
They divorced in 1983, but Kennedy was long-remembered for the struggles she endured throughout their marriage.
Kennedy battled alcoholism and depression for many years, becoming one of the first leading ladies in America to publicly address addiction struggles.
She was an advocate for mental health and addiction services.
Joan Kennedy in a beaded white formal dress, circa 1970
Ted Kennedy stands to the right of his Joan Bennett at their New York wedding in 1958
The former Joan Bennett was a model and classically-trained pianist when married Ted Kennedy in 1958.
The couple’s lives changed drastically during their first decade of marriage.
Kennedy’s brother-in-law John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960 and assassinated three years later.
Her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy served as attorney general under JFK, was elected to the Senate in 1964 and assassinated while seeking the presidency.
Her husband was elected to the Senate and became among the country´s most respected legislators despite initial misgivings that he was capitalizing on his family connections.
But Ted Kennedy also lived through scandals of his own making. In 1969, the car he was driving plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing his young female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne.
Ted, who swam to safety and waited hours before alerting police, later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. Chappaquiddick shadowed him for the rest of his life, weighing against his own chances for the presidency.
Kennedy had three children with her husband, but also had miscarriages, including one shortly after the Chappaquiddick accident.
She stood by her husband through the scandal, but their estrangement was nearly impossible to hide by the time of his unsuccessful effort to defeat President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Democratic primaries.
They had been separated by then, and would later divorce. One bumper sticker from the campaign read ‘Vote for Jimmy Carter, Free Joan Kennedy.’
‘Mrs. Kennedy was a classically trained pianist, an advocate for mental health and addiction recovery, and a quiet pioneer in publicly addressing challenges with alcoholism and depression at a time when few others would,’ her son Patrick Kennedy and his wife Amy said in a statement.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
