Joan Bennett Kennedy

Infobox_Person
name = Joan Bennett Kennedy


image_size =
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birth_name = Virginia Joan Bennett
birth_date = birth date and age|mf=yes|1936|9|2
birth_place = Riverdale, Bronx, New York
death_date =
death_place =
occupation =
spouse = Edward Moore Kennedy (1958 - 1982; divorce)
children = Kara Kennedy Allen, Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr., Patrick Joseph Kennedy
parents =
relations =

Joan Bennett Kennedy (born September 2, 1936) is a former American model and the former wife of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. [cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/sfeature/sf_tree_text.html|title=American Experience: The Kennedys|publisher=pbs.org|accessdate=2008-06-16] After her divorce from Kennedy, she became a classical pianist and author.

Biography

Early life

Born Virginia Joan Bennett in Riverdale, New York, the daughter of Henry Wiggin Bennett, Jr. and the former Virginia Joan Stead attended Manhattanville College, a Sacred Heart Academy, along with several Kennedy daughters. Through them, she met her future husband, Ted Kennedy.cite news|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_fall_of_joan/|title=The Fall of Joan|last=McPhee |first=Michelle|coauthors=Wedge, Dave |date=2005-08|publisher="Boston Magazine"|accessdate=2008-05-04]

Marriage and divorce

Bennett and Kennedy were married on November 29, 1958, in Bronxville, New York. Her brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, dubbed her "the dish", due to her good looks and fashionable style. They had three children: Kara Kennedy Allen (born February 27, 1960 in Bronxville, New York), Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr. (born September 26, 1961), and Patrick Joseph Kennedy (born July 14, 1967). Two of the couple's children would later develop cancer: Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr., developed bone cancer that resulted in the removal of a portion of a leg in 1973, and Kara Kennedy Allen was treated for lung cancer in 2003. [cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/05/25/kennedy_his_children_and_cancer/|title=Kennedy, his children, and cancer|last=Jacobs|first=Sally|date=2008-05-25|publisher="The Boston Globe"|accessdate=2008-06-16]

In July 1969, Ted Kennedy was involved in a car accident that killed his passenger, a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne, off Chappaquiddick Island. [cite book|last=Bly|first=Nellie|title=The Kennedy Men: Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets|publisher=Kensington Books|date=1996|pages=200|isbn=1-575-66106-3] Bennett Kennedy, who at the time was pregnant after having suffered two previous miscarriages, attended the funeral of Kopechne and stood beside her husband in court three days later when Kennedy plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. [cite book|last=Taraborrelli|first=J. Randy |title=Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot|publisher=Warner Books|date=2000|pages=395, 396, 399|isbn=0-446-52426-3] She suffered a third miscarriage shortly thereafter. [cite book|last=Taraborrelli|first=J. Randy |title=Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot|publisher=Warner Books|date=2000|pages=192|isbn=0-446-52426-3]

In early 1978, the couple separated. [cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912497,00.html|title=The Vulnerable Soul of Joansie|date=1979-1105|publisher="Time"|accessdate=2008-06-16] Shortly after the separation, Bennett Kennedy granted interviews with two magazines, "People" and "McCall's", confirming rumors of her battle with alcoholism and her struggle to stay sober. [cite book|last=Burke|first=Richard E. |coauthors=Hoffer, Marilyn |others=Hoffer, William|title=The Senator: My Years with Ted Kennedy|publisher=Macmillan|date=1992|pages=147, 148|isbn=0-312-30466-8] The couple maintained a united front during Kennedy's failed 1980 presidential campaign, but announced plans to divorce in 1981. The divorce was finalized in 1982. [cite book|last=Maier|first=Thomas |title=The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings|publisher=Basic Books|date=2003|pages=555|isbn=0-465-04317-8]

Later years

Bennett Kennedy has been active in children's charities and is an accomplished pianist. She also devoted time to teaching children about classical music and authored a book, "The Joy of Classical Music" (1992), on the subject. [cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=262948|title=Joan Bennett Kennedy Biography (1936- )|publisher=Biography.com|accessdate=2008-06-16]

After her divorce, Bennett Kennedy struggled with sobriety and was arrested multiple times for DWI.cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050402/ai_n13509653|title=Joan Kennedy's troubles linked to alcohol struggle|last=Lindsay|first=Jay|date=2005-04-02|publisher="Deseret Morning News"|accessdate=2008-06-16] In 1991, she was ordered to attend rehab. In 2000, she was arrested again and sent back to rehab.

In February 2005, Bennett Kennedy's children were granted legal guardianship over her because of problems arising from her ongoing struggle with alcoholism. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/25/kennedys_children_become_her_guardians/|title=Kennedy's children become her guardians|last=Johnson|first=Glenn|date=2005-02-25|publisher=boston.com|accessdate=2008-06-16]

In March 2005, Bennett Kennedy was hospitalized with a concussion and a broken shoulder after a passer-by found her lying in a street in Boston. Details of exactly what happened to Kennedy and how she ended up in the street remain unclear. [cite web | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/30/politics/main684126.shtml | title=Joan Kennedy Unconscious In Street | date=2005-03-30 | publisher=cbsnews.com | accessdate=2008-06-16]

She was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery in October 2005. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/15/rep_kennedy_gets_personal_on_cancer/|title=Rep. Kennedy gets 'personal' on cancer|date=2005-10-15|publisher=boston.com]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=2364955

Persondata
NAME= Kennedy, Joan Bennett
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Bennett, Virginia Joan
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Former model, author, pianist
DATE OF BIRTH= September 2, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH= Riverdale, Bronx, New York
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=