Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, dies at 35

Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy and daughter of former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, has died after she was diagnosed with cancer last year, the JFK Library Foundation announced Tuesday. She was 35.

In a social media post, her family wrote, “Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts.”

Schlossberg revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published by The New Yorker in November. She explained doctors discovered acute myeloid leukemia shortly after she gave birth to her daughter in May 2024.

In the revealing essay, Schlossberg wrote, “I wasn’t sick, I didn’t feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew. I regularly ran five to ten miles in Central Park. I once swam three miles across the Hudson River — eerily, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.”

She continued, “For my whole life, I have tried to be good. To be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry. 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.”

Schlossberg was an environmental journalist and author, as well as a science and climate reporter for the New York Times. She also wrote for other publications such as The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and Bloomberg. She was also a wife and mother of two young children.

At the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, word spread about the tragic loss.

“I’m a cancer survivor and it’s terrible at any age, but the family itself — at what point is this stuff gonna stop following the Kennedy family?” said Tim Mertz, who was visiting the library.

“You know the circle of life, you’re not supposed to bury your children, they’re supposed to bury you,” said Laura Mertz, who was also visiting the library. “It’s very sad. My heart goes out to the family.”

The JFK Presidential Library said it plans to put out a condolence book Wednesday so visitors can write any messages to the grieving family.