The Kennedy family, America's most prominent political dynasty, faces another devastating blow as environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg - granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy - reveals she has less than a year to live after being diagnosed with terminal blood cancer.
The heartbreaking announcement has reignited discussions about the so-called 'Kennedy Curse', the mysterious pattern of tragedies that has haunted the family for generations.
The Latest Tragedy
Tatiana Schlossberg shared her diagnosis in a powerful essay published in the New Yorker magazine, timed to the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather JFK's assassination. The environmental journalist, who recently gave birth to a daughter, disclosed she has myeloid leukaemia and has been given under twelve months to live.
In her emotional piece, Tatiana appeared to reference the family's troubled history, writing: 'Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family's life, and there's nothing I can do to stop it.'
She also took aim at her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who currently serves as US Secretary of Health and Human Services, criticising his scepticism toward vaccines and other medical treatments.
Understanding the Kennedy Curse
The 'Kennedy Curse' refers to the series of unexplained and often premature deaths that have plagued the family since the 1940s. The phenomenon encompasses assassinations, multiple plane crashes, and medical tragedies that have cut short numerous promising lives.
The curse arguably began with the death of Joseph Kennedy Jr, the family's eldest son, who died in a plane crash in 1944 while serving in the Navy at just 29 years old.
Four years later, his sister Kathleen Kennedy also died in a plane crash in France, continuing the pattern of tragic accidents.
Political Assassinations and Medical Tragedies
The most famous Kennedy deaths remain the political assassinations that shocked the world. President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, Texas in 1963 at age 46, while his brother Robert F. Kennedy was killed during his presidential campaign in 1968 at 42.
Less discussed but equally tragic was the case of Rosemary Kennedy, who underwent an experimental lobotomy in 1941 that left her unable to speak or walk, requiring institutional care until her death decades later.
Generations of Misfortune
The curse didn't end with the first generation of Kennedys. Robert F. Kennedy's son David died from a drug overdose in 1984 aged 28, while another son, Michael, perished in a skiing accident in 1997.
JFK's son, John F. Kennedy Jr, died alongside his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren in a plane crash in 1999.
More recently, in 2012, Robert F. Kennedy's estranged wife took her own life during a custody battle. The family suffered another loss in 2019 when granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill died from an accidental overdose.
Tragedy struck again in 2020 when Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her son Gideon disappeared while canoeing, with their bodies recovered days later.
Cancer in the Kennedy Family
While Tatiana's diagnosis has shocked many, cancer is not unfamiliar to the Kennedy family. Her second cousin, Edward Kennedy Jr, was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 12 and required leg amputation, though he made a full recovery.
John F. Kennedy's brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, died from a rare brain cancer - glioblastoma - in 2009 after being diagnosed the previous year.
Tatiana's specific diagnosis of myeloid leukaemia represents a blood cancer originating from young white blood cells in the bone marrow, adding another medical tragedy to the family's long history of misfortune.
The timing of her announcement, coinciding with the anniversary of JFK's assassination, serves as a poignant reminder of how the 'Kennedy Curse' continues to shape the family's narrative generations after it first began.
