Remembering JFK Jr. And Wife Carolyn Bessette 22 Years Later

Jul 16, 2021

Exactly 22 years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and his wife’s sister, Lauren Bessette. In an accident over the Atlantic Ocean near Massachusetts, all three perished in what became an American tragedy that shook the nation.

On July 16, 1999, Kennedy Jr. was at the helm with just over 300 hours of flying experience, taking off from Essex County airport with plans to fly to Martha’s Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod. Conditions that night weren’t ideal for flying, as the moon was hidden by the hazy ocean. To make matters worse, Kennedy Jr. refused to fly with a flight instructor, opting to fly the 200 miles alone — save for his passengers, Carolyn and Lauren.

While we will never know exactly what happened that night, data from a radar indicate that the plane dropped more than 1,000 feet in just 14 minutes before vanishing off-screen. It wasn’t until July 21 — days after search crews had scoured the seas for any trace of the wreckage — that navy divers found the bodies of Kennedy Jr., his wife and his sister-in-law.

Kennedy Jr., a lawyer, was born just 17 days after his father, John F. Kennedy, was elected president in 1960. The press affectionately called the young boy “John-John” to further differentiate Kennedy Jr. from his father. Just as the world won’t forget Kennedy Jr.’s death at the young age of 38, President JFK’s death, which occurred when Kennedy Jr. was a young boy, is also seared into the memory of those who lived through the early 1960s.

Although Kennedy Jr.’s life was cut short by a tragic accident, he had already accomplished and experienced a lot by the age of 38. As a young man, he seemed to have set his sights on acting, appearing in plays at Brown University, where he did his undergrad, and later starring in a production on Manhattan’s West Side. But Kennedy Jr. ultimately left the theater world for law school at New York University, which led to his position as an assistant district attorney in New York City.

Until 1995, that is — when Kennedy Jr. left his lucrative legal career for journalism, launching the political magazine George.

Just a year later, Kennedy Jr.’s seemingly fantastic life got a lot better. He married his long-term girlfriend, Carolyn, who would move into his Manhattan loft soon after. As those who lived through the period know, their marriage wasn’t always a bed of roses, however. Regardless, they will always be remembered as one of America’s most glamorous and good-looking couples.

“Cameras swarmed after (Kennedy Jr.) wherever he went, whether it was as a toddler playing under his father's desk in the White House, or as a young lawyer and avid athlete who was often photographed shirtless. In 1988, People magazine called him 'the sexiest man alive,’” Kennedy Jr.’s New York Times obituary read.

In a 2019 tribute to Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn, Town & Country magazine detailed one of the couples’ final nights before they embarked on their disastrous trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Kennedy Jr., 38 at the time, attended the White House Correspondents dinner, representing George magazine with his wife and fellow staffers.

“It was magical,” George staffer RoseMarie Terenzio is quoted saying of that night. “John was very much ready to make a splash with George. He was proud of it and thought, This is the time, this is the place, and we belong here. We just had a great time. Carolyn really was proud of John, and she was happy to be there to support him. She talked to everyone at the table and everyone at the next table. She went around to everyone on the staff and said hello.”

Their lives, the Town & Country Magazine article argues, were at a crossroads. Kennedy Jr.’s cousin had just tragically passed away, George was on the up and up and their marriage was under pressure.

Sadly, we’ll never know what Kennedy Jr. or Carolyn would have done with their lives because around a month after the event at the White House Correspondents Dinner, they boarded the Piper Saratoga bound for Martha’s Vineyard.

Although Kennedy Jr.’s funeral was a private affair, hundreds arrived to pay their respects to the young man.

“For a thousand days, he was a husband who adored the wife who became his perfect soul mate,″ Senator Ted Kennedy, Kennedy Jr.’s uncle, said at the funeral. “John’s father taught us all to reach for the moon and the stars. John did that in all he did, and he found his shining star when he married Carolyn Bessette.″

"We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair, with his beloved Carolyn by his side," Ted Kennedy continued. "But, like his father, he had every gift but length of years."

Rest in peace, JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. How will you remember their legacy? Let us know — and be sure to keep their memories alive by passing this on.