The Kennedy family is in mourning following the death of author and journalist Tatiana Schlossberg at the age of 35, just weeks after she revealed a cancer diagnosis. In her final public comments, she delivered a stinging critique of her cousin, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
A Family Divided on Health Policy
Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of former US President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, passed away on Tuesday. The sad news was confirmed by the JFK Library Foundation in an Instagram post signed by her husband, George Moran, their children Edwin and Josephine, her parents Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, and her siblings.
In the weeks preceding her death, Schlossberg had used a powerful essay in The New Yorker to announce she was battling acute myeloid leukaemia, diagnosed after the birth of her daughter in 2024. The same article became a platform for a fierce condemnation of the health policies advanced by her relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
She described watching from her hospital bed as RFK Jr, appointed by President Donald Trump following the 2024 election, was confirmed to the top health role. "I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers," she wrote, also citing cuts to the National Institutes of Health and threats to expert cancer screening panels.
An 'Embarrassment' to the Kennedy Legacy
Schlossberg did not mince words regarding her cousin's suitability for office, pointing out his lack of experience in medicine, public health, or government. She went so far as to label him an "embarrassment" to their family.
Her criticism extended beyond policy into the personal toll of her illness. She expressed profound guilt over causing her mother, Caroline Kennedy – the only surviving child of JFK and Jackie – further heartache in a family already scarred by tragedy. "Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it," she wrote.
A Legacy of Environmental Journalism
Beyond the political rift, Tatiana Schlossberg was recognised for her own work. She was the author of the non-fiction book Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have. Following the announcement of her death, tributes and messages of condolence flooded social media from around the world, with many noting the Kennedy family's enduring history of loss and praising Schlossberg's own written words.
She is survived by her husband and their two young children. Funeral arrangements have not been publicly disclosed at this time.
