Caroline Kennedy’s daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, passed away in December after being diagnosed with leukemia. During a speech at the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony on Sunday, Caroline grew emotional as she broke her silence on her daughter’s death.
On December 30, 2025, the Kennedy family suffered a heartbreaking loss when Tatiana Schlossberg died at the age of 35.
She had been diagnosed with leukemia in May 2024 shortly after giving birth to her second child.
“Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning,” the JFK Library Foundation wrote on Instagram on behalf of the family. “She will always be in our hearts.”
Tatiana was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and told she likely had one year to live. On November 22, about a month before her passing, she published an essay in The New Yorker describing her diagnosis and the moment she received the news.
“A few hours later, my doctor noticed that my blood count looked strange. A normal white blood cell count is around 4,000 to 11,000 cells per microliter. Mine was a hundred and thirty‑one thousand cells per microliter,” she wrote.
Tatiana Schlossberg passed away amid leukemia diagnosis
“It could just be something related to pregnancy and delivery, the doctor said, or it could be leukemia,” she recalled, adding that doctors diagnosed her with “a rare mutation called Inversion 3.”
“I did not — could not — believe they were talking about me,” she continued. “I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick, I didn’t feel sick — I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew.”
Tatiana spent five weeks at Columbia‑Presbyterian Hospital in New York City before being transferred to Memorial Sloan Kettering for a bone‑marrow transplant.
Now, about six months after her passing, her mother Caroline Kennedy has spoken publicly for the first time. While speaking at the Profile in Courage ceremony, she broke down in tears as she honored her daughter.
Caroline Kennedy breaks silence on daughter Tatiana’s death
During her speech, she praised Schlossberg’s in‑laws — the parents of her widower, George Moran.
“This year, we even have new family members here. I am so happy to welcome Emma Shriver and Garrett and Mary Moran,” Caroline said, according to Page Six.
“Most of all, we remember Tatiana, who served on the board of this library and represented everything my parents stood for in her beautiful, amazing, and too‑short life,” she added, appearing visibly emotional.
Many notable figures attended the ceremony, including former President Joe Biden, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former talk‑show host David Letterman.
Just weeks after Tatiana’s passing, a source told People that Caroline Kennedy is determined to ensure her grandchildren grow up remembering their mother.
“Caroline has to do the same thing her mother [Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Kennedy Onassis] did with her and John — raising those kids to make sure they remember their mom. And she has the playbook,” the insider said.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Caroline Kennedy and her family.
