The Kennedy Family Tree: America's Political Dynasty Explained

Few American families have had their private tragedies and public triumphs so thoroughly documented as the Kennedys. Over four generations, this one family produced a president, three senators, an attorney general, ambassadors, and members of Congress, while also enduring a run of losses so severe that people still refer to it as "the Kennedy curse." Untangling exactly how everyone connects, though, gets confusing fast, especially once you get past JFK's own siblings. Here's a clear walk through the Kennedy family tree.

Where It Starts: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald

The family's political rise really begins with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888-1969), a businessman and later U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and his wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890-1995), herself the daughter of a Boston mayor. Joe and Rose had nine children, and it's this generation - the children of Joe and Rose - that most people mean when they talk about "the Kennedys":

• Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (1915-1944) - died in WWII; had been the family's original political hope
• John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) - 35th President of the United States
• Rosemary Kennedy (1918-2005)
• Kathleen Kennedy (1920-1948)
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009) - founder of the Special Olympics
• Patricia Kennedy Lawford (1924-2006)
• Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) - U.S. Attorney General and Senator
• Jean Kennedy Smith (1928-2020) - U.S. Ambassador to Ireland
• Edward "Ted" Kennedy (1932-2009) - longtime U.S. Senator from Massachusetts

The Family Tree at a Glance

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. + Rose Fitzgerald
└── John F. Kennedy (35th U.S. President)
    └── Caroline Kennedy (U.S. Ambassador to Australia)
        └── Jack Schlossberg (public commentator, JFK's grandson)
└── Robert F. Kennedy (U.S. Attorney General, Senator)
    └── Joseph P. Kennedy II (U.S. Congressman)
    └── Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services)
        └── Kick Kennedy Schlossberg
└── Edward "Ted" Kennedy (U.S. Senator, 1962-2009)
    └── Patrick J. Kennedy (U.S. Congressman)

JFK's Branch

John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. They had two children who survived to adulthood: Caroline Kennedy, who has served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Australia, and John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in a 1999 plane crash. Caroline's son, Jack Schlossberg, has become a visible public figure in his own right, keeping the direct presidential line in the public eye.

Robert F. Kennedy's Branch

RFK and his wife Ethel Skakel Kennedy had eleven children, making this the largest branch of the family. Two of the better known are:

• Joseph P. Kennedy II, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and vaccine-skepticism activist who ran for president in 2024 and was later appointed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

RFK Jr.'s daughter, Kick Kennedy Schlossberg (named after RFK's aunt Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy), married into the same Schlossberg family as Caroline Kennedy's children, tying two branches of the family together by marriage.

Ted Kennedy's Branch

Edward Kennedy was the longest-serving of the Kennedy siblings, holding a Massachusetts Senate seat from 1962 until his death in 2009. His son Patrick J. Kennedy later served in Congress representing Rhode Island, extending the family's political presence into a fourth generation.

The In-Laws Who Shaped the Story

The Kennedy family tree isn't complete without the marriages that connected it to other prominent American families:

• Jacqueline Bouvier, who married JFK and later married Aristotle Onassis
• Ethel Skakel, RFK's wife, from another wealthy East Coast family
• Joan Bennett, Ted Kennedy's first wife
• Peter Lawford, the actor who married Patricia Kennedy and connected the family socially to Hollywood and the "Rat Pack"
• Sargent Shriver, Eunice's husband, who founded the Peace Corps and ran for vice president in 1972

Why the Kennedys Are Often Called a "Dynasty"

What sets the Kennedys apart from most political families is the sheer number of members who held major public office across generations, combined with how tightly the family's personal history became part of American public memory. Very few families have a member become president, another become attorney general, a third serve nearly half a century in the Senate, and a fourth generation still active in politics and public life today. That density of public roles, spread across siblings and their children rather than concentrated in one line, is what genealogists and historians mean when they call a family a true dynasty rather than just a notable family.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many children did Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy have?

Nine children, born between 1915 and 1932. Four of them (Joseph Jr., JFK, RFK, and Ted) either died young in service to their country or became major national political figures.

Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the son of President Kennedy?

No. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, JFK's younger brother, not of JFK himself. He is JFK's nephew.

Who is Jack Schlossberg related to?

Jack Schlossberg is the grandson of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, through their daughter Caroline Kennedy.

Are the Kennedys related to the Fitzgeralds of Boston politics?

Yes. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the matriarch of the family, was the daughter of John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, a Boston mayor and congressman, which means Boston political roots run on both sides of the family from the very start.

How many Kennedy family members have held U.S. political office?

Well over a dozen across four generations, including a president, an attorney general, multiple U.S. senators, several members of Congress, and multiple ambassadors - making the Kennedys one of the most politically active families in American history.