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Patricia Kennedy Lawford

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For other people named Patricia Kennedy, see Patricia Kennedy (disambiguation).
Patricia Kennedy Lawford
File:Patriciakennedylawford.jpg
Patricia Kennedy
BornMay 6, 1924
Brookline, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 17, 2006(2006-09-17) (aged 82)
Manhattan, New York
SpousePeter Lawford (1954 - 1966; divorced)
ChildrenChristopher Kennedy Lawford, Sydney Maleia Kennedy Lawford, Victoria Francis Lawford, and Robin Elizabeth Lawford
RelativesJoseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald

Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford (May 6, 1924 – September 17, 2006) was an American socialite, the sixth child of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. She was the younger sister of former president John F. Kennedy. She was born in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Considered the most sophisticated, yet also the most introverted, of her parents' five daughters, Pat since childhood had a fascination with travel and Hollywood. She in time would become a world traveler, so much so that as a young girl she was given assignments by the independent and foreign press to write of her travels. Her ongoing fascination with Hollywood was fueled by her father's stories and adventures there as a movie mogul heading RKO Pictures. After graduating from Rosemont College, she moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming a movie producer and director like her father.

Her father apparently believed that she could do as much, once saying, "Pat is the one with head for business. She could really run this town if she put her mind to it." However, because she was a woman in the very conservative 1950s, she was restricted to working as production assistant on patriotic and religious productions such as singer Kate Smith's radio program and Father Peyton's "Family Rosary Crusade".

She met British actor Peter Lawford through her sister Eunice in the 1940s. They met again in 1949, and again in 1953. They courted briefly and officially announced their engagement in February 1954. They married on April 24, 1954 at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More in New York City weeks before her 30th birthday. They settled in Santa Monica, California.

The couple had four children:

Christopher married Jean Olsson on November 17, 1984 in Bequia, West Indies. She is the daughter of Einar Valentine Olsson and Chae Ok Hee. They have three children:

  • David Christopher Kennedy Lawford (b. May 24, 1987);
  • Savannah Rose Lawford (b. February 13, 1990);
  • Matthew Valentine Lawford (b. February 27, 1995).

Sydney married James Peter McKelvy (b. 1955) on September 17, 1983 in Barnstable, Massachusetts, the son of William Sheldon McKelvy and Nancy Ryon. They have four children:

  • James Peter McKelvy, Jr. (b. April 4, 1985);
  • Christopher Kennedy McKelvy (b. August 8, 1987);
  • Patrick Ryon McKelvy (b. May 26, 1989);
  • Anthony Lawford McKelvy (b. November 28, 1992).

Victoria married Robert Beebe Pender, Jr. (b. 1953) on June 13, 1987 in Southampton, New York. They have three children:

  • Alexandra Lawford Pender (b. March 11, 1988);
  • Caroline Patricia Pender (b. April 25, 1990);
  • Victoria Rose Pender (b. May 13, 1993).

Despite the glamorous persona Peter presented, their marriage suffered strains early as far back as their brief engagement. Peter had difficulty adjusting to Pat's steadfast Catholicism and her family's larger-than-life image. Pat could not tolerate Peter's heavy drinking, extramarital affairs, and slow addiction to drugs. Shortly after her brother's assassination, Pat filed for a legal separation, and the couple were officially divorced in 1966. In accordance with her religious beliefs, she never remarried.

Afterward, Patricia Kennedy battled her own alcohol addiction and suffered a bout with cancer. She worked with the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, as well as with the National Center on Addiction, and was a founder of the National Committee for the Literary Arts, for which she arranged a series of author lectures and scholarships.

Death

Patricia Kennedy died at age 82 in her Manhattan home from complications of pneumonia. She was survived by four children and 10 grandchildren. Mrs. Lawford is the second of Joe Kennedy's children to die of natural causes. She was buried in Southampton Cemetery.[1]


See also

With Lawford are (l-r) Senator Ted Kennedy, Jean Kennedy Smith, Raisa Gorbachyova, and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.

References

  1. ^ "Patricia Kennedy Lawford Dies at 82". New York Times. September 18, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-16. Patricia Kennedy Lawford, who as a sister of President John F. Kennedy had a front row seat to history and forged new links between her brother's administration and Hollywood through her marriage to the actor Peter Lawford, died yesterday at her home in Manhattan. She was 82 and also had a home in Southampton, N.Y. The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Mrs. Lawford's brother. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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