Kennedy met his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier, at a dinner party in New York in 1952. They fell in love, and married on 12 September 1953, when Kennedy was a senator.
Jacqueline, or Jackie, was beautiful and intelligent. Her family came to America from France in the early 1800s. Like the Kennedys, they worked hard and made a lot of money in business. Jackie was born on 28 July 1929. When she was a little girl, she loved horses and riding. She also enjoyed reading, dancing, and learning French. While she was a student, she went to Paris for a year and lived with a French family. When Jackie met Kennedy, she had a job with the Washington Times-Herald newspaper. She took photos of interesting and famous people, and wrote stories about them.
When Kennedy became the presidential candidate for the Democrats, Jackie helped him. He traveled to many places in the US and Jackie often went too. She was very good at talking to people, and she was charming. People liked Jackie a lot. She talked to newspapers, and wrote hundreds of letters, telling people about her husband.
The wife of the US president is called the First Lady. In early 1961, the new president and his First Lady moved into the White House, home of the US president in Washington since 1800. The White House was a beautiful building, but many of the rooms were not very interesting. So Jackie decided to give the White House a new look, and she brought pictures and other things from all over America. When everything was ready, 80 million Americans watched Jackie on TV, showing the White House to the country.
JFK and Jackie marry
Kennedy and Jackie were different from other US presidents and First Ladies. In some ways, they were like film stars. They were young and good-looking, and their pictures were often in the newspapers. The American people were very interested in the Kennedys, and they enjoyed reading about them. Many women admired Jackie’s clothes. When Kennedy visited other countries, Jackie often went too and met heads of government. The Kennedys also had dinner parties at the White House. Many people came – not only important political people, but also people famous in music and film.
But not everything in the Kennedys’ lives was happy. In 1956, Jackie had a daughter, but the little girl was born dead. Then they had two more children – Caroline, born in 1957, and John, born in 1960. In 1963, Jackie had another baby, Patrick, but he only lived for two days. And Kennedy still had bad problems with his back and other illnesses.
Jackie wanted to help her husband and do her best for her country, but she also wanted to be a good mother. She wanted the White House to be a real home for her children. She made one of the rooms into a small school for Caroline and ten other children. In the garden there was a tree house where Caroline and John could play. The White House was the president’s house, but it was a family home too.
JFK with Caroline and John in the White House