Jacqueline Towers

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, served as First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963 during her husband John F. Kennedy's presidency. She transformed the role of First Lady into a platform for arts and culture, notably by overseeing the restoration of the White House and hosting significant cultural events. Her personal style, dubbed the "Jackie Look," gained international recognition and influenced global fashion trends throughout the 1960s. Raised in an upper-class family, she studied art and French literature, graduating from George Washington University in 1951 before beginning a career as a photographer for the Washington Times-Herald.

Following President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she largely withdrew from public life. In 1968, she married Aristotle Onassis. After his death in 1975, she pursued a career as a book editor in New York City for Viking Press and Doubleday. Throughout her life, she maintained a strong connection to arts and culture, and her influence on American style and the perception of the U.S. abroad was significant. She remains one of the most admired figures in American history, consistently ranked highly by historians among First Ladies.

Born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in 1929, she hailed from an affluent family with French, Scottish, and English ancestry. She spent her early years in Manhattan and on Long Island, developing a passion for horseback riding, ballet, and languages, particularly French. Her education included time at the Chapin School and later at Holton-Arms School and Miss Porter's School, where she was recognized for her wit and academic achievements, including excellence in literature. She pursued higher education at Vassar College, studying art and drama, before transferring to George Washington University to complete a Bachelor of Arts in French literature in 1951. Her early career included a brief stint at Vogue magazine and then as an "Inquiring Camera Girl" for the Washington Times-Herald.

As First Lady from 1961 to 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy redefined the position, using it as a significant platform for promoting arts and culture. She spearheaded a highly publicized restoration of the White House, aiming to preserve its historical integrity and transform it into a museum. Her sophisticated personal style became a global phenomenon, known as the "Jackie Look," which significantly impacted fashion trends worldwide during the 1960s. She also traveled extensively, utilizing her fluency in foreign languages and her knowledge of history to enhance the United States' international image during the tense Cold War period. Time magazine recognized her impact by naming her Woman of the Year in 1962.

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy and her children retreated from public life. In 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Following Onassis's death in 1975, she embarked on a new career as a book editor in New York City, working first for Viking Press and later for Doubleday. During this period, she focused on her professional life and rebuilding her public image. She passed away in 1994 and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Historical surveys consistently rank her among the most highly regarded First Ladies in American history.