Jacqueline Kennedy: biography
Jacqueline Kennedy became a heroine of the age. Her biography is a collection of official facts and many opposite rumors. The life story of this woman is a series of significant events, whether they are the happiest or, conversely, worrying and even terrible. There are many books, five movies, and dozens of masterpieces in the fashion world created in her honor.
John Kennedy's wife was embracing him dying on the way to the hospital. She then demonstrated to the world concrete resistance and endurance, passing at the head of the walking procession that accompanied the motorcade with the coffin to the burial place. She is a passionate and beautiful woman who is enveloped in rumors and gossip about numerous lovers before, during and after her first marriage.
Jealous, but brave, forgiving and loving wife. Demanding, but fair mother and grandmother. The leader of the struggle for the preservation of cultural heritage in the United States and abroad. She is an incredible and unique Jacqueline Kennedy, whom many lovingly called Jackie.
Her appearance made an indelible impression with its thoughtfulness and charm, and all the components of Jackie's together have been the standard of style and sophistication for many years after their creation. The whole country admired her holding the position of the First Lady, which was the shortest in history and lasted only two years. But even in such a short period of time, Jacqueline managed to do much more than her predecessors.
Childhood
Jacqueline was born in 1929 in the United States. She has European roots and a French maiden name. As a child, she received the best education that could be offered at the time. The second marriage of her mother was very successful, so Jacqueline from an early age used to live in exceptional luxury. Her passions reflected the habit of a wealthy lifestyle. The girl was good at horse riding, as well as a very competent and well-read young lady.
Jacqueline received higher education both in the United States and in France. She received a degree in French literature and art history. In general, Jacqueline was to have an incredible future. She was surrounded by beautiful things and intelligent, successful people since childhood, had excellent manners after studying at a private school for girls, she was well versed in the art and historical values, and had great taste.
She excellently kept in high places, felt comfortable surrounded by a wide variety of people and learned early enough to be in the first roles among the rich, intelligent and famous representatives of society.
Having graduated from university, Jacqueline began working in the media environment. She was a column writer and correspondent of a newspaper and asked unexpected questions to a variety of people as well as took pictures of them, wrote down the answers. She had a stormy personal life, including serious romantic affairs. She was even engaged to her lover for several months, but the marriage wasn't meant to happen. Then the young woman began to study the history of America in Washington. There, at one of the charity evenings, she was presented to the promising Senator John Kennedy, who was affectionately called "Jack."
Marriage to John F. Kennedy
Jacqueline became "Jackie" and got married, being very young, full of love and hope for a happy family future, surrounded by a handsome, loving man and several healthy children. But in the first year of marriage with John, Jacqueline had to cope with a nervous breakdown, because life surrounded by family, friends and political partners was not easy for her.
The Kennedy family was ambitious, and among John's siblings, she felt uncomfortable. She was more educated, sensitive and had better manners.
A tragedy overshadowed the first years of life in the status of Kennedy's wife. The first children of the Kennedy couple died at birth, which was a blow to the couple. Jacqueline was going through a lot of grief.
Kennedy wasn't a model husband. He loved women and often cheated on his wife. There were rumors that the president had affairs with some very famous models and actresses. The most famous mistress of the man was Marilyn Monroe, the alleged affair with whom was the longest and most eventful. There is a theory that Monroe was killed for having a relationship with the president, because when John decided to end the relationship, very emotional, unpredictable, and therefore dangerous Marilyn began to threaten to reveal their secret.
Jacqueline knew about everything and meekly tolerated her husband's affairs. The woman forgave him everything because her love was strong. In those rare moments when all John's attention was focused on her alone, Jacqueline felt the happiest in the world.
However, it happened so that Jackie married not for love but a high social status. John ran for the post of president, and she immediately joined the role of the First Lady. Although she could not participate in the campaign because of the pregnancy, Jackie supported the election race as much as she could. For example, she wrote a column in local periodicals about the everyday life of the candidate's wife. The romantic marriage quickly enough turned into a partnership of like-minded people in which each member had a role and defined responsibilities.
John Kennedy became president and plunged into his work. Jackie didn't back down. Having given birth to two children by then, she began to perform her duties. But she did much more. Jacqueline had done a lot for the country in her short term as the First Lady. It was she who gave the White House the status of a museum and cultural property, held a large-scale renovation of buildings and opened it for every American, filming the transfer-tour. She traveled the most, established contacts with countries on different continents.
Jacqueline made the White House a gathering place for the cream of the crop, representatives of the political establishment and intellectuals, representatives of the arts and music. She arranged musical evenings, balls, concerts. Having breathed life into this building, she began to establish relations between the countries and solved issues of preserving the world cultural heritage. Sweet and harmless, Jackie was the youngest First Lady in the history of the United States. She achieved her goals, demonstrating steel grip, hard work, and dedication.
Kennedy's assassination
The fatal shot to the head of the president occurred during preparatory visits as part of the nascent election campaign for a new term. John and his wife arrived in Texas and rode in a motorcade surrounded by guards and a large crowd. Suddenly, a series of shots came out of nowhere, after which John, with a fatal wound in his head, fell on Jacqueline sitting next to him.
That fateful day, she was wearing her favorite pink suit of the famous brand, which became legendary afterward. A beautiful, sophisticated woman rode in a limousine filled with blood and fragmented skull, with her dying husband on her knees. She was trying to save John, stop the blood. She thought she was supposed to cover him with her body when the first shot out of the total number was committed. But it was too late. The Kennedy couple was taken to the hospital, where John died.
Jackie took the body to the autopsy, and then she brought it to the White House. She had been on her feet for over 24 hours wearing the same pink suit with blood all over it. And in it, she watched as the Vice President swore an oath on the Bible and held the post of her recently deceased husband.
The next three days were the most difficult in her life. Jacqueline showed her best features and incredible endurance, planning the most magnificent funeral ceremony, exactly the one that the great President deserved.
She was self-disciplined, took care of the kids, moved out of the White House, welcomed the new president, and performed the First Lady's duty to the very end. Her spirit power fascinated the whole world and became synonymous with the real power of women.
Life after the White House
It is well known that the wife of the murdered U.S. president Abraham Lincoln spent the last years of her life in poverty. This thought haunted Jacqueline after her husband's death because she had to raise two children alone. She settled in a secluded estate, which she bought with the help of her brother John Robert. She put on mourning, stopped going out and spent months trying to cope with the pain of loss and find meaning in everything that was happening.
Jacqueline found the strength to move on after the tragedy, and she hid her grief deep in her heart. Only three times she spoke to the press about her first marriage after her husband's death. She asked that her interview with the historian would be classified and made public only 50 years after her death.
Of course, the world heard this interview much earlier. After Jacqueline's death, her daughter decided to publish the record. In it, Jackie did not disclose the details of the assassination, as many would like, but spoke with great love about John, his family qualities and incredible attitude to children. Their relations were peculiar, but they loved each other and supported under challenging minutes, remaining together till the end. This interview was a kind of requiem of the relationship of America's favorites "Jack and Jackie."
Jacqueline moved from Washington to New York, began to work in the field of public relations and initiatives. She paid a lot of effort and attention to the heritage of her first husband, participating in the opening of the library of his name.
Personal life
Five years after the unfortunate shot that had turned her life upside down, Jacqueline got married for the second time. The woman's choice was Aristotle Onassis, a successful businessman from Greece. The marriage lasted less than ten years and ended with the death of Aristotle. Jacqueline inherited a decent fortune.
In her later age, Jacqueline was an exemplary mother and grandmother, spending a lot of time with her son and daughter, as well as three grandchildren. She continued her work in the media and started working as an editor in a periodical. Also, Jackie again took up her favorite activity of preserving monuments and buildings of serious cultural and historical value. Her efforts saved many of the iconic buildings of New York.
Death
Jacqueline lived a long life, but her fate was full of unbearable suffering and tragic events that undermined her health and indirectly caused her death. In old age, she had a serious disease, lymphoma, which was the cause of death.
Death came when Jackie was asleep. The funeral of the heroine of her generation in the United States took place in the same cemetery where her first husband and children were buried. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had a net worth of $50 million at the time of her death.
Style
Jacqueline is a recognized style icon. Jacqueline's elegance made her the most stylish First Lady of all time. Her image is a landmark for influential women in different countries. She is loved, admired, imitated by the most famous women in the world.
Round collar, elongated sleeves, midi skirts, and pearl jewelry are the main elements of the image of the style icon. Add here favorite Jacqueline silk neck scarves and long gloves, giving aristocracy to any evening image. And, of course, branded jackets Jackie used to wear throughout the whole life.
Jacqueline herself was slim and well-groomed. Her invariable hairstyle, a magnificent dark-haired blunt bob, became her calling card. She never demonstrated her figure, did not keep up with the times, following the fashion trends. She was loyal to herself and her taste. Of course, Jackie did it not alone. Her image was created by a team of specialists. For many years the woman's wardrobe was chosen by a famous fashion designer. But the final word was always for Jacqueline.
However, not every woman can carry herself with dignity as Jackie did. Majesty, elegance, refinement, and grace are the foundations of the image and style of Jacqueline Kennedy.
The picture, which was taken during the meeting of the Kennedy couple and Nikita Khrushchev with his wife Nina, instantly flew around the world in 1961. It shows two completely different women, Nina Khrushcheva in a flowered loose dress, without styling and makeup, and Jackie all dressed up.
The difference was so evident that this photo has long been used for various purposes, but mainly to elevate the United States and emphasize the differences between America and the USSR. Neither the age difference nor the situation in the countries were taken into account – the whole world estimated only the final appearance of the two First Ladies.
After that, Jacqueline was awarded the title of the most stylish First Lady of the United States, and since then all the subsequent wives of the presidents are trying to follow this standard. Of course, no one has copied the images until recently, but some features - whether it's styling, skirt length, or a string of pearls around the neck - have been used by many First Ladies, including Michelle Obama.
At the inauguration of Donald Trump, the whole world paid attention to a funny thing: the outfits in which his wife, Melania Trump, appeared in front of journalists and the world community that day, were very similar to the famous dresses of Jackie.
The image of Melania is indeed quite often stylized as Jacqueline's one, the similarity between women has been repeatedly emphasized by the President of the United States Donald Trump himself. Perhaps the current First Lady, who became famous thanks to her modeling career, will try to compete for the title of the most stylish of all the First Ladies and continue the work of Jackie, spreading elegance and good taste to the masses. In the meantime, at first, Melania does not mind just to meet the standard, which she does successfully.
Influence on fashion
Jacqueline Kennedy's outfits can make up a separate museum exposition, many of them were created exclusively for Jackie. It was a great honor for the fashion houses to make beautiful dresses for the First Lady of the country, in which she could amaze all the participants of important international celebrations and receptions. It is not surprising that this woman has left a significant mark in the history of fashion and influenced its development.
At modern shows, Jacqueline's iconic images are recreated and played over and over again. In her honor were created jewelry and bags, which are still produced. The perfume named after her is still a hit in specialized stores many years later.
This woman inspired the whole nation, so every American carries her image with her throughout the entire life.
