Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story of America’s Iconic First Lady

By Bruce Wayne - Dec 16, 2024

Wikipedia Commons // Robert Knusden // Public Domain

Jackie Kennedy Onassis was the most popular First Lady in history. But scratch the surface of her fairy-tale marriage to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and you find a tale of betrayal and infidelity. While she was the pin-up campaign wife, her womanizing husband was gallivanting with dozens of women, including Marilyn Monroe. After JFK's and RFK's assassinations, Jackie ran for safety into the arms of Aristotle Onassis. This is her story.

Early Days

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born in Southampton, New York, on July 28th, 1929. Her father was a well-known Wall Street stockbroker, John Vernou Bouvier III, who earned the nickname "Black Jack" due to his flamboyant lifestyle and love of playing cards. Her mother was socialite Janet Norton Lee.

Early Days
Pinterest // @flc

Jackie and her younger sister, Lee Radziwill, grew up between Manhattan and Lasata, the Bouviers' country estate in East Hampton on Long Island. But while the Bouviers lived the good life, the father often lost money playing cards.

Privileged Childhood

Through their financial ups and downs, the Bouvier family maintained the appearance of living the high life. John was particularly fond of his eldest daughter, Jackie, and once called her "the most beautiful daughter a man ever had."

Privileged Childhood
Pinterest // Christine Windget

As such, he wanted only the best for her, spoiled her rotten, and ensured that she grew up as part of America's elite. Jackie led a very privileged childhood, loved riding horses, took ballet lessons, was an avid reader, and learned French, Spanish, and Italian.

The Great Gatsby

However, as much as John Vernou Bouvier III loved Jackie — who learned independence from her paternal grandfather — he loved the bottle, cards, and women more. Living through the 1920s Jazz Age on Long Island, he must have cut a bit of a Jay Gatsby figure, and her parents' marriage was as rocky as the Rockefellers.

The Great Gatsby
Pinterest // @Peggy Patterson

When the Wall Street Crash hit in 1929, John lost most of the family's money. He and Janet separated in 1936, and they divorced four years later in 1940.

Education

In 1935, Jackie enrolled in the prestigious all-girls Chapin School in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She was a bright but mischievous student, with one of her teachers describing her as "a darling child, the prettiest little girl, very clever, very artistic, and full of the devil."

Education
Wikipedia Commons // David Berne // Public Domain

Jackie was profoundly affected by her parent's divorce and the newspapers publishing intimate details of the split. As such, those who knew her best said she "had a tendency to withdraw frequently into a private world of her own."