Kyle Kennedy, Granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Dies at 42
The mother of three, who survived a severe spinal cord injury in 2020, passed away at her Massachusetts home.
Kyle Kennedy, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, on September 1, her family announced. She was 42 years old.
The cause and manner of her death have not been revealed. Kennedy was one of 34 grandchildren of Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy. Her parents were Michael Kennedy and Victoria Denise Gifford, daughter of NFL legend Frank Gifford.
In 2020, Kennedy sustained a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in permanent paralysis. Despite her injury, her obituary noted that she "fought to maintain her dry wit and determination through it all, trying to be the best possible mother to her sons."
Kennedy's life was marked by personal tragedies. Her father, Michael Kennedy, died at age 34 in 1997 when he skied into a tree. She also experienced the loss of her daughter, Josephine, who died shortly after birth. She is survived by her two sons, Conor and Declan.
An obituary from her family described Kennedy as having been devoted to early childhood education, possessing a "formidable intellect, dry wit, and beauty."
Her passing adds to a lineage that has been publicly associated with the concept of a "Kennedy curse" due to a series of untimely deaths. This follows the 2019 death of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, a niece of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who died from a fentanyl overdose.
Although largely living out of the public spotlight, Kyle Kennedy's connection to the prominent political family occasionally brought her media attention. In 2012, her wedding to Liam Kerr was notably attended by her cousin Conor Kennedy and his then-girlfriend, singer Taylor Swift. The specific circumstances of her 2020 spinal cord injury were never publicly disclosed.