How Carole Radziwill Became Kennedy Family Royalty

Carole Radziwill has worn many titles over the years: journalist, bestselling author, and former star of “The Real Housewives of New York City.” But long before Bravo gossip followed her every move, Carole was connected to one of America’s most famous families — the Kennedys.

So how exactly is Carole related to Jackie Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr.? The answer lies in her marriage to the late Anthony Radziwill.

Carole Radziwill’s Marriage to Anthony Radziwill

Carole met Anthony Radziwill in 1989 while both were working at ABC News. They married in 1994, despite Anthony having been diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, before their wedding.

Anthony was the son of Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. That connection made Anthony a cousin of John F. Kennedy Jr. and placed Carole firmly within the extended Kennedy family through marriage.

When Carole and Anthony wed, Lee Radziwill hosted what Carole later described as “an unforgettable wedding.”

Anthony passed away in 1999 after a battle with cancer. His death came just three weeks after John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette died in a plane crash.

Carole later chronicled that period of her life in her memoir, What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love.

In a 2023 interview with Mountains, Carole reflected on that chapter.

“Let me be clear, I’d never want to go back to that time, but it was just this moment in time that was filled with so much success and joy and love and also heartbreak, obviously, and real tragedy,” she said. “But now, today, it’s also kind of melded together into this one feeling of…well, I just feel fortunate and grateful to have experienced that life, to have been with my husband, to have had the friends that I had. I’m truly grateful.”

Was the Former RHONY Star a Princess?

Yes — technically.

Lee Radziwill became a princess through her marriage to Polish Prince Stanislas Albert Radziwill, which made Anthony a prince. Through her marriage to Anthony, Carole became a princess by marriage.

In 2019, after Lee passed away, Carole reflected on her former mother-in-law.

“She was a complex mother-in-law,” Carole shared. “She loathed boredom and didn’t suffer fools. She was exacting in her opinions, both good and bad. She adored her son but also knew her place in our lives. She led her own fascinating life, and didn’t often meddle in ours.”

Fans of “The Real Housewives of New York City” may remember that Carole’s chic downtown apartment featured a vintage tiger-print couch gifted to her by Lee — a small but stylish nod to that chapter of her life.

Carole Radziwill on JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Public Fascination

Over the years, Carole has written candidly about her friendship with John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy during her marriage to Anthony.

In a 2019 essay for The Daily Mail marking the 20th anniversary of their deaths, she reflected on the impact of losing them within weeks of her husband.

“Lives, and promise, cut short. All of them in three cruel weeks. Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Lauren Bessette. And my husband, Anthony Stanislas Albert Radziwill,” she wrote. “For all the time I’d had to brace myself, prepare for it, Anthony’s death, too, still seemed so abrupt and unfair, just like the others. Because … we just weren’t done.”

More recently, in an essay for Town & Country, Carole addressed the public’s continued fascination with the couple.

“Now we know how it ended. And yet the story keeps being told. Reinvented. Embroidered. Filled with details no one could know, by people who don’t care about the truth,” she wrote. “We think we own our stories. We don’t. Not in life, and certainly not in death. That is the quiet theft—slow at first, then at warp speed.”

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About Perry Carpenter

Perry Carpenter has been covering entertainment news for more than 20 years — and yes, she absolutely has opinions about the latest Bravo casting shake-ups. Throughout her career, she has specialized in celebrity news and television, with a particular obsession for all things Bravo, "The Challenge," "Outlander," of course, Travis & Taylor, and the ever-expanding Taylor Sheridan universe. A member of the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors, Perry has built a storied freelance career covering pop culture's biggest moments and smallest Easter eggs. Her work has appeared in Showbiz Cheatsheet, Daily Express, Radar Online, and on her Muck Rack profile.