From enjoying the great outdoors together to formal occasions, Jackie Kennedy was with her kids for plenty of special moments
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Decades after her death, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis remains one of the most influential first ladies in United States history. During her nearly three-year tenure, she was an advocate for the arts, an international cultural ambassador and one of the most impactful fashion icons of her time (or any). She was also a parent to two children with a strong legacy of their own, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy.
Then Jacqueline Bouvier, she married Senator John F. Kennedy on Sept. 12, 1953, and supported him throughout his political career until his eventual ascendancy to the presidency. The couple welcomed daughter Caroline on November 27, 1957, and John F. Kennedy Jr. was born on Nov. 25, 1960, just two weeks after his father was elected president.
After President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Jackie took on the role of sole parent, and was committed to raising her kids away from the spotlight.
“If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much,” she once told a reporter, per the JFK Library and Museum.
On what would have been her 97th birthday, see vintage photos of Jackie Kennedy with her two kids, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy.
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On a Ride
A known lover of horses and the outdoors, Jackie Kennedy was pictured on a ride with John in her lap and Caroline trailing close by.
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On the Slopes
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The hands-on mom was snapped aiding her kids on the ski slopes during a family trip to Mount Mansfield for Easter weekend 1964.
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Official Duties
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The trio were dressed to nines, per usual, as they accompanied Queen Elizabeth, along with former British Ambassador to the United States David Ormsby-Gore and Prince Philip, on a tour of the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey in 1965.
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Care Taking
Credit: John F. Kennedy Library/John F. Kennedy Library/Getty
Caroline gave her mom a quick touch-up while Jackie visited Caroline’s classroom in 1962.
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A Parent’s Life
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In this rare candid moment, Jackie was pictured giving John Jr. a stern finger in warning as he got restless at the Kamehameha day parade in Honolulu in 1966.
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Paying Homage
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The former first lady matched her kids in all white as they attended the commissioning ceremonies for a Navy aircraft carrier named the USS John F. Kennedy in 1968.
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Maintaining the Legacy
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The trio sat together and shared a laugh at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston in 1977.
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Happy Moments
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A smiling Jackie — along with JFK Jr. and Ted Kennedy — was by her daughter’s side as she graduated from Harvard University in 1980.
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Mother and Son
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John John got a sly smile out his mother as the duo attended the opening of the JFK Library in 1993 …
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Sweet Moments
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… and he entertained his big sister during another formal event in New York while Jackie, in typical mom fashion, paid them no mind.
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Happy Graduation
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Jackie was once again a proud mom as she and Caroline came to support John at his New York University Law School graduation in 1989.
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Family Always
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The trio posed with Ted Kennedy at the JFK Library, where they announced the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 1989.
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