Ethel Kennedy was born in 1928, into a family where her father was a successful businessman and multimillionaire. Her parents died in a plane crash in 1955, her brother in a car accident in 1966, and her son Michael in a skiing accident in 1997.
She attended college with Jean Kennedy, sister of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy. The latter, also known as RFK, she met on a skiing holiday and married in 1950. The couple had 11 children together, including daughter Rory, who was born six months after RFK was shot to death. Ethel Kennedy publicly stated that she would never remarry, a promise she kept throughout her life.
Kennedy was engaged in human rights, but lived a life outside the public spotlight. However, she showed her support for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign and in 2014, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him. Ethel Kennedy never publicly commented on her son Robert F Kennedy Jr's deviation from the family's Democratic past, nor on his expressed support for Donald Trump.
Ethel Kennedy suffered a stroke and was hospitalized on October 3, where she passed away peacefully in her sleep on Thursday morning, according to the family.
