Tatiana Schlossberg, an accomplished environmental journalist and granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 35, following a six-week fight with acute myeloid leukemia. The JFK Library Foundation confirmed her death through an official statement on Tuesday.
"My first thought was that my kids, whose faces live permanently on the inside of my eyelids, wouldn’t remember me." – Tatiana Schlossberg
The daughter of Caroline Kennedy, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Australia, and Edwin Schlossberg, Tatiana made a name for herself through significant contributions to environmental journalism. She is survived by her husband, George Moran, and their two young children.
Schlossberg's diagnosis was disclosed publicly in a personal essay she authored for The New Yorker in November, where she detailed her diagnosis after the birth of her second child. The essay revealed the presence of Inversion 3 in her cancer, a rare and dangerous mutation known for its aggressive relapse patterns, making her medical situation particularly challenging.
Leading up to her diagnosis, Schlossberg was in remarkable health, even swimming a mile while nine months pregnant the day before giving birth in May 2024. The sudden transition from new motherhood to a cancer patient was stark, as she wrote about her disbelief in the essay, "I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew."
Schlossberg's treatment included multiple rounds of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants, the second of which her sister donated. She also participated in several clinical trials for cutting-edge treatments, despite the disease typically affecting an older demographic.
During one of the clinical trials, her doctor informed her of her limited prognosis. Reflecting on this in her essay, she expressed her fears that her children would not remember her. Her husband's unwavering support and her concern for her infant daughter, who may not retain memories of her mother, were poignantly conveyed in her writing.
Tatiana Schlossberg's death is another tragic event in the Kennedy family's history, which has seen numerous public tragedies over the decades. The family remains a significant political dynasty, captivating the American public more than 60 years after President Kennedy's assassination.
