The Kennedy family has faced another significant loss with the passing of Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of former US President John F Kennedy. Tatiana, aged 35, succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia.
The JKF Library Foundation confirmed her death, sharing a heartfelt message from the family announcing her departure. Tatiana, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, was a middle child among their three offspring. She worked as an environmental journalist and author, also being a mother to two young children. Tatiana disclosed her leukemia diagnosis earlier in the year, revealing she had been diagnosed during childbirth.
In a poignant essay titled ‘A Battle With My Blood’ published in The New Yorker, Tatiana recounted her shock upon learning about her illness. She detailed how the diagnosis came unexpectedly after routine blood tests post-delivery, despite feeling physically well during her pregnancy.
Doctors diagnosed Tatiana with acute myeloid leukemia featuring a rare mutation, Inversion 3, which they deemed untreatable using conventional methods. She underwent chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and two bone-marrow transplants, with her sister Rose being a donor for the first transplant.
In early 2025, Tatiana participated in a clinical trial for CAR-T cell therapy, an immunotherapy form showing promise in treating certain blood cancers. Despite the treatment, doctors informed her that they could sustain her life for “a year, maybe.”
The emotional toll of her illness, particularly the separation from her children during treatment, weighed heavily on Tatiana. She expressed guilt over the impact on her mother and family, writing about the new tragedy she believed she had brought into their lives.
Tatiana’s demise adds to the Kennedy family’s long history of grief, especially for her mother, Caroline Kennedy, who has endured multiple losses from a young age.
The so-called Kennedy Curse has been associated with the series of misfortunes and deaths that have plagued the prominent American family over generations, sparking speculation about a possible curse.
The family’s tragic timeline began with JFK’s elder brother’s death in World War II, followed by Kathleen Kennedy’s fatal plane crash in 1948. Subsequent tragedies included JFK’s assassination in 1963, Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968, and the deaths of Robert’s children in the 1980s and 1990s, among others.
Tatiana, in her essay, also criticized her second cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for his role as US health secretary and his views on vaccines and medical research funding. Her death marks another painful chapter for Caroline Kennedy, who has now endured profound losses across generations. The family has not disclosed funeral details.