Profile of the Day: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Today we remember former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on what would have been her 91st birthday.

Image: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis / Library of Congress

She was born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on July 28, 1929 in Southhampton, New York to Wall Street stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III and socialite Janet Norton Lee. Before marrying John F. Kennedy, she worked as an inquiring photographer at the Washington Times-Herald. The couple was first introduced by a mutual friend, journalist Charles L. Bartlett, at a dinner party in 1952. They married on September 12, 1953 at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Their wedding was considered the social event of the season with 700 guests at the ceremony and over 1,200 at the reception.

As First Lady, she focused on restoring and preserving the White House to celebrate the history and culture it represented to the country. She continued her work to preserve America’s cultural heritage after leaving the White House.

In 1968, she married shipping magnet Aristotle Onassis and was nicknamed “Jackie O” by the press. She remained a fixture in the public eye until her death in 1994. Today, she is remembered as one of the most beloved and influential First Ladies in history.

Explore Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s family tree on Geni and share your connection to the former First Lady!