Getty Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of US Senator Ted Kennedy, attends the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Tonight’s episode of the ABC News special “1969” is centered around the car crash that resulted in the death of Ted Kennedy’s 28-year-old female passenger; Kennedy survived. The official episode synopsis reads “The story of Mary Jo Kopechne, who died in a car accident with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).”
At the time of Mary Jo Kopechne’s death, Ted Kennedy was married to his first wife Joan Bennett. He himself died on August 25, 2009; he was married to his second wife, Victoria, at the time.
Ahead of the special, here’s what you need to know about Joan Kennedy, Ted Kennedy’s first wife:
1. Joan & Ted Divorced in 1983 After 24 Years of Marriage
Joan and Ted were married on November 29, 1958. According to Biography.com, he was still finishing up law school at the time, so the two took a belated honeymoon after he graduated in 1959.
On December 20, 1982, People Magazine reported that the Kennedys had filed for divorce after two years of separation. The divorce was finalized on the grounds of “irretrievable breakdown,” and Joan received a cash settlement, alimony, and half of the former couple’s personal property in the divorce.
2. She & Ted Had 3 Children Together
During their marriage, Joan gave birth to their three children, Kara, Ted Jr. (Edward), and Patrick. She also suffered a stillborn birth while pregnant with a baby boy. Patrick Kennedy followed his father’s footsteps and went into politics as a Democratic Congressman for the state of Rhode Island.
In 2011, Kara Kennedy died at the age of 51. According to NBC News, her cause of death was her heart giving out while exercising at a health club, but she had battled lung cancer in 2003 and her brother accredited the cancer to her weakened health. She was survived by her two children, Max and Grace (whose middle name is Kennedy).
According to The Boston Globe, Ted fought to find a doctor who would treat his daughter, whose cancer was initially deemed inoperable; after she was cancer-free, Joan said “He really saved her life. I am so grateful that he is my children’s father because he has always gotten them the best medical care.”
3. Joan Was a Childhood Friend of Ted’s Sister, Jean
GettyUS Senator Ted Kennedy watches a bullfight in Seville with his wife Joan Bennett Kennedy, 21st April 1965.
According to Biography.com, she attended Catholic school with Jean Kennedy, and the two girls became friends. Though she did not know about the Kennedy reputation at the time, she admitted to being attracted to Ted’s good looks instantly.
Joan was a model and commercial actress, so it is unsurprising that Ted was taken with her right away; the two maintained a long-distance relationship after that first meeting and he slowly integrated her into the Kennedy family before proposing.
4. She Struggled With Alcoholism Under Public Scrutiny
In 2005, she was found on the sidewalk of Beacon Street in Boston after falling down and hitting her head while drunk. That incident was not Joan’s first; according to Independent, by 1991 she had been arrested three times for drunk driving, and she later said in an interview “I’d rather not have people say: ‘Ohh, Joan. Oh, yeah. She’s the alcoholic.’ Because a lot of places I go, unfortunately, in a lot of the stories, that was my identity. And it is no longer my identity.”
According to Boston Magazine reported that Joan would get drunk off of mouthwash and vanilla extract to keep her alcoholism less detectable on her breath; according to a friend of the Kennedys, “Her parents were both alcoholics and it’s just a disease that gets worse and worse unless you try and get some control over it.”
Ted Kennedy was also an alcoholic, according to his son Patrick. The Daily Mail reported that, in a 60 Minutes special with CBS, Patrick revealed that alcohol was his father’s form of self-medication, and how he himself dealt with alcoholism following his family’s lead.
5. She Continued Her Passions for Acting & Music After The Divorce
According to IMDb, Joan returned to acting following her divorce from Ted. Though most of her credits on IMDb are appearances she made in documentaries and on talk shows, she is credited as playing the role of “Stella” in Sometimes a Hero in 2003.
In 1994, she returned to her roots as a pianist and published The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family. The paperback book is currently available on Amazon.
Joan was born on September 2, 1936, making her 82 years old today.