{"id":40633,"date":"2025-10-08T15:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=40633"},"modified":"2025-10-08T15:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:10:16","slug":"joan-kennedy-dead-first-wife-of-ted-kennedy-and-last-survivor-of-camelot-was-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=40633","title":{"rendered":"Joan Kennedy Dead: First Wife of Ted Kennedy and Last Survivor of Camelot Was 89"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article__primary-video-container_1-0\" class=\"comp article__primary-video-container mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<figure id=\"figure-article_1-0\" class=\"comp figure-article mntl-universal-primary-image right-rail__offset text-utility-100 figure-landscape primary-image\">\n<div class=\"primary-image__media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 66.6%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/NhJVYrbt4hsGrGUauyO2cZFl2kw=\/1500x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(767x341:769x343):format(webp)\/edward-joan-kennedy-1962-boston-100825-6bfa155c8a024bf2b37a24c93b92f9e5.jpg\" alt=\"Newly elected Senator Edward Kennedy and his wife Joan in November 1962 in Boston\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"article-content_1-0\" class=\"comp article-content mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li>Joan Bennett Kennedy has died at the age of 89<\/li>\n<li>Joan was the first wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy; they wed in 1958 and separated in the late &#8217;70s before ultimately announcing plans to divorce in the &#8217;80s<\/li>\n<li>She died peacefully in her sleep at her Boston home, according to a local obituary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/ted-kennedy\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Ted Kennedy<\/a>, died early in the morning on Oct. 8, PEOPLE confirms. She was 89 years old.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.golocalprov.com\/obituaries\/joan-kennedy-wife-of-sen.-ted-kennedy-and-mother-of-patrick-dies-at-89\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">GoLocalProv<\/a> published an obituary announcing the news, revealing that she died peacefully in her sleep at her Boston home.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Joan, a talented classical pianist with a master&#8217;s degree in education, divorced Ted in 1983, but continued to be known as the long-suffering wife of the youngest Kennedy son to whom she was married for 22 years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-portrait figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 102.3%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_9-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Joan was born in New York City on Sept. 2, 1936, and raised in the suburbs by a Roman Catholic family.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">She met Ted in 1957, when his older sister <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/jean-kennedy-smith-dies-92\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Jean Kennedy<\/a> introduced them. Both Jean and Joan were students at Manhattanville College.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_13-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Within the year, the two became engaged. Although both Joan and Ted expressed reservations about getting married, Ted&#8217;s father, the powerful patriarch Joe Kennedy, insisted they go through with it.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_15-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">They wed on Nov. 29, 1958, in Bronxville, N.Y., the tiny suburb where Joan grew up. Joan was 22 years old.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_17-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Together, they had three children, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/kara-kennedy-remembered-by-mother-joan\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Kara<\/a>, Ted Jr. and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/health\/patrick-kennedy-marks-11-years-of-sobriety-i-am-so-proud-of-you-says-wife\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">Patrick<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_19-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Kara, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/ted-kennedys-daughter-kara-kennedy-dies-at-51\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">died from a heart attack in 2011<\/a>. Ted Jr., an attorney and former member of the Connecticut state Senate, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/archive\/a-gritty-young-kennedy-writes-his-own-profile-in-courage-vol-15-no-16\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">developed bone cancer at age 12<\/a> and had part of his right leg removed. Patrick served as a Rhode Island congressman for 16 years and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/patrick-kennedy-attention-mental-health-crisis-saoirse-death\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\">is a mental health advocate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_21-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc__card-list_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc__card-list mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">Is the &#8216;Kennedy Curse&#8217; Real? A Look Back at the Tragic History of America&#8217;s Political Dynasty<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__image-wrapper_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__image-wrapper mntl-block\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 66.6%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_2-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">The Most Glamorous Kennedy Family Wedding Photos Through the Years<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__image-wrapper_2-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__image-wrapper mntl-block\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 66.6%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_23-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The marriage between Joan and Ted Kennedy was one of many struggles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_25-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In July 1969, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/people-explains-all-about-chappaquiddick-the-shocking-kennedy-scandal-that-left-one-woman-dead\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Ted&#8217;s car went off the bridge at Chappaquiddick<\/a>, killing his passenger, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/mary-jo-kopechne-family-chappaquiddick-film-truth-ted-kennedy\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">Mary Jo Kopechne<\/a>, who was trapped in the car. Joan attended Kopechne&#8217;s funeral alongside Ted. Three days later, she was again at his side when he pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_27-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">She suffered much humiliation in the years that followed, as stories of Ted&#8217;s extramarital affairs and his heavy drinking made headlines.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_29-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 67.2%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-featuredlink--people-app-promo mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__left_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__left mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__text_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__text mntl-text-block\"><b>Our new app is here!<\/b> Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Quiet and reserved, Joan didn&#8217;t always fit in with the rambunctious style of the Kennedy family and once told PEOPLE how Jackie Kennedy had advised her to seek solace in her piano, the way she did with painting.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">She later admitted that she began drinking heavily to get through the numerous misfortunes and challenges in her life. &#8220;At times I drank to feel less inhibited, to relax at parties,&#8221; she told PEOPLE in 1978. &#8220;Other times I drank to block out unhappiness, to drown my sorrows.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Joan embraced the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous and was candid about her struggles. &#8220;Staying sober is difficult,&#8221; Joan told PEOPLE in 1979 while sipping a diet ginger ale. &#8220;But I&#8217;m sober today, and that&#8217;s all that matters. I&#8217;m working on my recovery a day at a time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom: 74.2%;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_39-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\"> PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_41-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">She and Ted separated in 1978 but they did not divorce until after his failed 1980 presidential campaign. They announced <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/archive\/after-24-years-joan-kennedy-ends-her-marriage-to-ted-and-launches-a-life-of-her-own-vol-18-no-25\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">plans to divorce<\/a> in 1981 and the decision was finalized in 1983. She never remarried.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_43-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In later years, her <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/archive\/bump-in-the-road-vol-54-no-13\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">struggle to stay sober<\/a> often made headlines and included highly publicized <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/joan-kennedy-drunken-driving-charge\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">drunk driving<\/a> incidents. After being appointed a guardian when her alcoholism came to a head in the early 2000s, Joan lived a quiet life in Boston and stayed relatively out of the public eye.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joan Bennett Kennedy has died at the age of 89 Joan was the first wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy; they wed in 1958 and separated in the late &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40635,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40633\/revisions\/40635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}