Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (née Bouvier; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. She redefined the mostly ceremonial role into a platform for arts and culture, by hosting multiple high-profile events at the White House and leading its restoration into a historical site. Through her fashion and cultural literacy, she improved the global standing of the United States during the politically volatile Cold War. Her personal style became known as the "Jackie Look", which inspired worldwide fashion trends during the 1960s. Born into the upper-class Bouvier family in Southampton, New York, Bouvier studied history and art at Vassar College before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in French literature from George Washington University in 1951. She then began working for the Washington Times-Herald as an inquiring photographer. The following year, she met then-congressman John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts at a dinner party in Washington. He was elected to the Senate that same year, and the couple married on September 12, 1953, in Newport, Rhode Island. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy. Following her husband's election to the presidency in 1960, Kennedy was known for her highly publicized restoration of the White House and emphasis on arts and culture as well as for her style. She also traveled to many countries where her fluency in foreign languages and history made her very popular. At age 33, she was named Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1962. After her husband's assassination and funeral in 1963, Kennedy and her children largely withdrew from public view. In 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, which caused controversy. Following Onassis's death in 1975, she had a career as a book editor in New York City, first at Viking Press and then at Doubleday, and worked to restore her public image. Even after her death, she ranks as one of the most popular and recognizable first ladies in American history, and in 1999, she was placed on the list of Gallup's Most-Admired Men and Women of the 20th century. She died in 1994 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside President Kennedy and two of their children, one stillborn and one who died shortly after birth. Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have also consistently found Kennedy Onassis to rank among the most highly regarded first ladies.