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Rory Kennedy

Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (born December 12, 1968)[1] is an American documentary filmmaker. Kennedy has made documentary films that center on social issues such as addiction, her opposition to nuclear power, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence. She is the youngest child of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel.

Rory Kennedy

Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy

(1968-12-12) December 12, 1968

Documentary filmmaker

1990–present

(m. 1999)

3

Activism and politics[edit]

Kennedy advocates for several social activism organizations and sits on the board of numerous non-profit organizations.[25] In March 2010, Kennedy gave a presentation at The Ritz-Carlton, where she spoke on the effects of alcohol and drug abuse and concluded that addiction and domestic violence "are intricately connected." She also voiced her support of treatment options, calling them "more important than the criminal justice approach". Executive director and CEO of Comprehensive Alcoholism Rehabilitation Programs Robert Bozzone agreed with her opinion and added, "If you listen to Rory, treatment is more effective than incarceration."[26] Referring to the shooting of Michael Brown, Kennedy believed the reason it garnered national media attention "is that it's a touch point that indicates a larger social challenge that we all need to mull over and try to grapple with in a thoughtful and considerate way, and I think it has to do both with race and class."[27]


On January 11, 2019, Kennedy co-authored a Rolling Stone opinion piece with Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis and the Malibu Foundation's Trevor Neilson on the current climate crisis.[28]


Kennedy announced her support of Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election in an op-ed essay, "Two fine choices, one clear decision - Obama".[29] She endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.[30]


On April 1st, 2024, during an appearance on Good Morning America to promote her new docuseries, The Synanon Fix, Kennedy expressed her wish that voters in the 2024 United States presidential election not vote for her brother, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to avoid pulling Democrat votes away from Joe Biden.[31] She has endorsed Biden's candidacy.[32]

Personal life[edit]

Following college graduation, Kennedy moved to New York and then briefly to Los Angeles.[33] Kennedy's brother Michael LeMoyne Kennedy died in December 1997 as a result of a skiing accident. She was with him at the time of the accident and tried to save his life by giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Despite her efforts, he had been fatally injured.[5] Kennedy attended his funeral in January 1998.[34]


On August 2, 1999, Kennedy married Mark Bailey in Greece at the mansion of shipping tycoon Vardis Vardinoyiannis. Kennedy met Bailey in Washington through mutual friends after graduating from Brown University.[33] The wedding was originally scheduled for July 17 in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, but was postponed after the plane piloted by her cousin John F. Kennedy, Jr. and passengers Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (his wife) and her sister, Lauren Bessette crashed en route to the event. The tent erected for the wedding instead became a site for family prayers during the search for her cousin.[35]


In October 1999, Kennedy and her husband moved with their dog Clementine to a new home in a West Village neighborhood they reportedly "loved."[33]


Kennedy and her husband have two daughters and a son.[36]


Around the time of the birth of her second daughter in 2004, Kennedy and her husband purchased a home.[37] Kennedy went on maternity leave from her filmmaking career for the birth of her son in 2007.[12] She sold her Shelter Island home in December 2009.[38][39]


According to Trulia.com, Kennedy purchased a home in Malibu, California, in January 2013 and currently resides there.[40]

Public image[edit]

Prior to the 1990s, Kennedy was said to have been known solely for being the child who was born after the assassination of her father, Robert F. Kennedy. Following the plane crash of her cousin John F. Kennedy, Jr., she established notability for being the cousin whose wedding he planned to attend. Anita Gates of The New York Times wrote that Kennedy would understandably want to be known as "the one who became a filmmaker."[33]


Edward Klein wrote in his book The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years that Rory Kennedy "had suffered more from the Kennedy Curse than any other member of the family." Klein then listed the deaths of her father and brother David, as well as her role in unsuccessfully attempting to save the life of her brother Michael Kennedy.[41]


Kennedy has spoken of her work and its relation to that of her father. "I don't think of it as a continuation of his work, but I certainly think I was influenced by the person that he was and have made a range of choices because of what he contributed to the world. I have enormous respect for all that he accomplished in his short life and how much he was able to move people and touch people. I've certainly been inspired by that."[12] On January 14, 2010, Full Frame announced Kennedy and Liz Garbus would be the recipients of that year's Career Award. In the press release, Full Frame called the duo's work "unique".[42]

Kennedy, Rory; Lehman, Steve; Bailey, Mark (1999). American Hollow. Boston. (Little, Brown). ISBN 0-8212-2631-2

Bulfinch Press

Kennedy tragedies

Kennedy family

Kennedy family tree

at IMDb

Rory Kennedy

on C-SPAN

Appearances