7 Memorable Photographs of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
John F. Kennedy Jr. (JFK Jr.) and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy were among the most high-profile couples of the 1990s.
Their every move played out in the media from a fight in the park to a walk together through the streets of New York City. The couple tragically died in a 1999 plane crash along with Bessette-Kennedy’s sister Lauren Bessette. Ahead, see some of the most memorable photographs of JFK Jr. and his wife.
1. First photograph together
Below is the first photograph of JFK Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy together.
2. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy bathing suit scandal
In the photograph below, Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr. are seen enjoying some time on a boat. What’s not pictured in Bessette-Kennedy’s thong bathing suit concealed beneath her towel. Pictures of her scantily clad body were soon on the cover of many tabloids.
3. JFK Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy wed in secret ceremony
No list of memorable photographs of the couple would be complete without one from their secret wedding on Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia on September 21, 1996.
She wore a simple Narciso Rodriguez (then a practically unknown designer) cementing her as a less-is-more fashion icon.
By this time the press were watching their every move and their wedding, which took place without any press knowing in part because they had everyone who lived on the island involved with their nuptials sign a confidentiality agreement.
4. Honeymoon in Turkey
After their discrete wedding, the newlyweds went to Turkey for their honeymoon. They didn’t escape the paparazzi who captured the below snapshot of the ever-stylish couple.
5. John F. Kennedy Jr. pleaded with press to give wife ‘room’ after she became a Kennedy
Upon returning from their honeymoon, JFK Jr. asked the press to give his new bride time to adjust to life as a Kennedy.
“This is a big change for anyone,” he told the press assembled outside he and Bessette-Kennedy’s apartment. “For a private citizen, even more so. I just ask [for] any privacy or room you could give her as she makes that adjustment. It would be greatly appreciated.”
Despite his plea, the press continued to follow Bessette-Kennedy until her death. In life, she reportedly feared the paparazzi.
6. A kiss at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 1999
A little more than two months before their deaths, 38-year-old JFK Jr. and 33-year-old Bessette-Kennedy attended the annual White House Corresspondents’ Dinner.
The private couple shared a kiss at the event with Bessette-Kennedy wearing her husband’s jacket.
7. JFK. Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy work the red carpet
At the end of May 1999, the couple attended another high-profile event, the annual John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Dinner in Boston, Massachusetts.
Bessette-Kennedy looked striking in her tailored black jacket staying true to her style aesthetic while her husband looked dapper in a tuxedo.
