Patricia Helen "Pat" Kennedy Lawford[1] (May 6, 1924 – September 17, 2006
was an American socialite and the sixth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose E. Fitzgerald, sister to President John F. Kennedy,
Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy.
Born Patricia Helen Kennedy
May 6, 1924
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died September 17, 2006 (aged 82)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Cause of death Pneumonia
Resting place Southampton Cemetery
Alma mater Rosemont College
Occupation Socialite
Religion Roman Catholic
Spouse(s) Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford (1954–1966; divorced)
Children Christopher Kennedy Lawford
Sydney Maleia Kennedy Lawford
Victoria Francis Lawford
Robin Elizabeth Lawford
Parents Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr.
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald


Early life[edit]

Considered the most sophisticated, yet also the most introverted, of her parents' five daughters, Kennedy since childhood had a fascination with travel and Hollywood. In time she would become a world traveler, so much so that as a young girl she was given assignments by the independent and foreign press to write of her travels. Her ongoing fascination with Hollywood was fueled by her father's stories and adventures there as a movie mogul heading RKO Pictures. After graduating from Rosemont College, she moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming a movie producer and director like her father was.

Her father apparently believed that she could do as much, once saying, "Pat is the one with head for business. She could really run this town if she put her mind to it."[2] However, because she was a woman in the very conservative 1950s, she was restricted to working as production assistant on patriotic and religious productions such as singer Kate Smith's radio program and Father Peyton's Family Rosary Crusade.
Personal life[edit]

She met British actor Peter Lawford through her sister Eunice in the 1940s. They met again in 1949, and again in 1953. They courted briefly and officially announced their engagement in February 1954. They married on April 24, 1954, at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More in New York City, twelve days before her thirtieth birthday. They settled in Santa Monica, California, and often socialized with actress Judy Garland and her family. Garland gave birth to her son Joseph at the same hospital and on the same day Kennedy gave birth to her son Christopher.

The couple had four children, all born in Santa Monica, California:
Christopher Kennedy Lawford born March 29, 1955 (age 58), has three children
Sydney Maleia Kennedy Lawford born August 25, 1956 (age 56), has four sons
Victoria Francis Lawford born November 4, 1958 (age 54), has three daughters
Robin Elizabeth Lawford born July 2, 1961 (age 51), has never married or had children

Despite the glamorous persona Lawford presented, their relationship suffered strains as early as their brief engagement. Lawford had difficulty adjusting to Kennedy's steadfast Catholicism and her family's larger-than-life image. Kennedy could not tolerate Lawford's heavy drinking, extramarital affairs, and gradual addiction to drugs. Shortly after her brother Jack's death, Pat filed for a legal separation, and the couple were officially divorced in February 1966. She never remarried.


Later years

With Lawford (far right) are (l-r) Senator Ted Kennedy, Jean Kennedy Smith, Raisa Gorbachyova, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

After her divorce, Pat battled alcoholism and suffered from tongue cancer. She worked with the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, as well as with the National Center on Addiction, and was a founder of the National Committee for the Literary Arts, for which she arranged a series of author lectures and scholarships.




v · t · e
Kennedy family

Ancestors of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr.
(1888–1969) James and Maria Kennedy · Philip Murphy and Mary Barron · Patrick Kennedy and Bridget Murphy · James Hickey and Margaret M. Field · Patrick Joseph Kennedy and Mary Augusta Hickey, parents of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr.

Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald
(1890–1995) Thomas Fitzgerald and Rosanna Cox · Michael Hannon and Mary Ann Fitzgerald · John Francis Fitzgerald (m.) Mary Josephine Hannon parents of Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald


Children of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr.
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald (in birth order) Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. · John Fitzgerald Kennedy (m.) Jacqueline Lee Bouvier · Rose Marie Kennedy · Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (m.) William John Robert Cavendish · Eunice Mary Kennedy (m.) Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. · Patricia Helen Kennedy (m./div.) Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford · Robert Francis Kennedy (m.) Ethel Skakel · Jean Ann Kennedy (m.) Stephen Edward Smith · Edward Moore Kennedy (m./div. 1st) Virginia Joan Bennett; (m. 2nd) Victoria Anne Reggie


Descendants
(in birth order) Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. (1915–1944) None

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963) Arabella Kennedy · Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (m.) Edwin Arthur Schlossberg · John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (m.) Carolyn Jeanne Bessette · Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

Rose Marie Kennedy (1918–2005) None

Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920–1948) None

Eunice Mary Kennedy (1921–2009) Robert Sargent Shriver III (m.) Malissa Feruzzi · Maria Owings Shriver (m./div.) Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger · Timothy Perry Shriver (m.) Linda Sophia Potter · Mark Kennedy Shriver (m.) Jeannie Eileen Ripp · Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (m.) Alina Mojica

Patricia Helen Kennedy (1924–2006) Christopher Kennedy Lawford (m.) Jeannie Olson · Sydney Maleia Kennedy Lawford (m.) James Peter McKelvy, Sr. · Victoria Francis Lawford (m.) Robert Beebe Pender, Jr. · Robin Elizabeth Lawford

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925–1968) Kathleen Hartington Kennedy (m.) David Lee Townsend · Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (m./div. 1st) Sheila Brewster Rauch; (m. 2nd) Anne Elizabeth Kelley · Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr. (m./div. 1st) Emily Ruth Black (m/sep. 2nd) Mary Nancy Richardson · David Anthony Kennedy · Mary Courtney Kennedy (m/div. 1st) Jeffrey Robert Ruhe; (m./sep. 2nd) Paul Michael Hill · Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (m.) Victoria Denise Gifford · Mary Kerry Kennedy (m./div.) Andrew Mark Cuomo · Christopher George Kennedy (m.) Sheila Sinclair Berner · Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (m.) Victoria Anne Strauss · Douglas Harriman Kennedy (m.) Molly Elizabeth Stark · Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (m.) Mark Bailey

Jean Ann Kennedy (born 1928) Stephen Edward Smith, Jr. · William Kennedy Smith (m.) Anne Henry

Edward Moore Kennedy (1932–2009) Kara Anne Kennedy (m/div.) Michael Dale Allen · Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr. (m.) Katherine Anne Gershman · Patrick Joseph Kennedy II (m.) Amy Savell


Fifth generation John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg · Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger · Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger · Joseph Patrick Kennedy III






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Kennedy_Lawford