Last updated: January 24, 2024
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Patricia Kennedy Lawford: A Life of Inspiration and Service
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
“My sister Pat is irreplaceable… Throughout her life Pat was constantly inspiring and helping others. Whether it was campaigning for her brothers or championing literacy and the arts, her purest gift was her beautiful heart, and it shone brightly in all that she did.”
- Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Although often overshadowed by her more public facing siblings such as Jack, Eunice, Bobby, Jean, and Ted, Patricia Kennedy Lawford shined her own bright light onto the world that should not be forgotten. She devoted herself to her family, elevating her brothers' political careers through energetic campaign efforts. She made endeavors in media and the arts, and supported the arts throughout her life. Her personal struggles inspired her to help others overcome addiction, as she had faced.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Early Life and Education
Patricia “Pat” Helen Kennedy was born at 51 Abbottsford Road in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 6, 1924, the sixth child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. This was the Kennedys’ second home in Brookline, following their move from 83 Beals Street. As with all her children, Mrs. Kennedy kept detailed records of Pat’s health, remarking that she had chicken pox, scarlet fever, measles, and whooping cough all before the age of ten. In spite of these illnesses, Pat enjoyed a happy childhood with the key Kennedy family tenets of family, excellence, and religious devotion.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Mrs. Kennedy was deeply devout and worked to instill religious piety into all of her children. Pat was baptized at nearby St. Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church and was educated at Catholic schools. While her father was Ambassador to Great Britain from 1938 to 1940, Pat joined her family in Europe. There, she studied at the Sacred Heart Convent School. When her family returned to the United States, she also attended Maplehurst Sacred Heart Convent School in Bronxville, New York.
Once Pat completed high school, she attended Rosemont College in Pennsylvania. While in college, Pat became directed and acted in various university theatrical productions. In 1945, Pat graduated from Rosemont with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
Entering the Workforce
After graduating from college, Pat began searching for a job which incorporated her love of theater into work. She found such a position working as an assistant in NBC’s New York production department. After working in New York for a time, she moved to Los Angeles, where she took on her next job as an assistant for Kate Smith’s radio program, a popular musical and variety show. Later, Pat went to work for Father Peyton’s Family Theater and Family Rosary Crusade, which reached families via the radio and led them in praying the Rosary and promoting Christianity.
"Kennedy Teas"
In addition to pursuing her own career, Pat was a vital participant in the political campaigns of her three brothers, starting with Jack’s run for the House seat in Massachusetts’ 11th Congressional District in 1946.
Pat, along with her sisters Eunice and Jean, as well as Mrs. Kennedy, were all essential to the campaigns as they would act as surrogates for the candidate at events. They were particularly effective in persuading potential female voters to consider Jack as a candidate. This was often accomplished at social events, known as “Kennedy Teas,” which were held in private homes or function halls and were open to women.
In his 1952 Senate campaign, Jack’s incumbent opponent, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. remarked that he lost the election due to “those damn tea parties.”
Motherhood and Marriage
In 1949, Pat’s brother Jack introduced her to an English actor named Peter Lawford. The two saw each other from time to time throughout the following years.
After a brief courtship, Pat and Peter married on April 25, 1954. The marriage received notable press coverage due to the intersection of politics and Hollywood, and a crowd of 3,000 spectators gathered outside St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church in New York to see off the married couple.
Together, Pat and Peter settled down in California to start their family. The Lawfords eventually had four children together: Christopher (1955), Sydney Maleia (1956), Victoria Francis (1958), and Robin Elizabeth (1961).
Throughout their marriage, the couple enjoyed staying actively engaged in the Hollywood circle. They socialized with celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, to whom Peter Lawford had connections through his work as an actor. Despite their lively public social life, Peter and Pat separated and finalized their divorce in 1965. Pat never remarried.
Later Life and Death
Following her divorce, Pat made the decision to move her family to New York, where the Kennedys had lived for a significant portion of her childhood and adolescence.
Though Pat faced hardship throughout her life, she was often able to use it as inspiration to help others. Pat’s own struggle with drug and alcohol abuse motivated her to get involved with the National Center on Addiction. There, she committed herself to helping others who struggled with substance abuse.
Similarly, her sister Rosemary’s experience with intellectual disabilities motivated Pat to spend her life working with organizations that devoted their services to helping people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Following President Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963, Pat joined her family in efforts to help preserve her brother’s legacy. Pat assisted with museum exhibits for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, chartered in 1963 and dedicated in October 1979. During this timeframe, Pat served as an original Director of the John F. Kennedy Library Corporation in 1964.
Pat also founded the National Committee for the Literary Arts, which creates opportunities for authors to lecture on their craft and provides scholarships.
Throughout her later years, Pat quietly devoted herself to her family and those around her. She passed away from pneumonia in New York City on September 17, 2006 at 82 years of age.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.