Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg Relocate to Live with Son-In-Law George Moran | Vanity Fair

Her face looked drawn, her eyes cast down, and her two-year-old granddaughter, Josephine, clung tightly to her side. It’s hard to forget the photos of Caroline Kennedy, daughter of slain president John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as she left the St. Ignatius of Loyola Church on New York’s Upper East side on January 5, following the funeral of daughter Tatiana Schlossberg.

The 35-year-old died following a diagnosis of a rare and aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia, leaving behind her mother, Caroline, and father Ed Schlossberg; siblings Rose and Jack; husband Dr. George Moran; and children Josephine and Edwin. Among the funeral attendees were also prominent figures from American politics and culture, such as former president Joe Biden, former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, talk show host David Letterman, and fashion designer Carolina Herrera.

Caroline Kennedy and Josephine attending Tatiana Schlossberg's funeral.

“History repeats itself,” wrote media outlets around the world immediately after the news of Tatiana’s death, comparing the photo of Caroline with her granddaughter and the now-iconic one taken in the same church in 1963. That earlier photo had depicted Jackie Kennedy in the same situation, forced to care for her two children alone after her husband's assassination. Adding to that trauma was the assassination of her uncle Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 and the death in 1999 of her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., in a tragic plane crash. Assembled together, the span of incidents has prompted rumors of a so-called “Kennedy curse.”

“Tatiana’s son is the same age John was when he lost his father,” a family friend said. “Tragically, history is repeating itself.”

“Caroline must do the same thing her mother did with her and John in raising those children,” the friend continued. “Make sure the children remember their mom, and she can do that.”

Caroline Kennedy with her granddaughter Josephine outside St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in New York

Caroline, a former ambassador to Japan and Australia, certainly hasn’t shied away from the responsibility. She and husband Ed Schlossberg now live with their son-in-law and grandchildren, where they act as surrogate parents and offer concrete support to the family in the wake of the tragedy. Jack Schlossberg, Tatiana’s younger brother, spoke about this new family dynamic, describing his parents’ commitment to supporting their grandchildren in the wake of his sister's death.

“My parents are grandparents, but they’re really playing the role of new parents right now,” he tells People. “They live with my niece and nephew and take care of them every single day. They’re really taking everything in stride, but really taking care of the kids.”

According to Jack, his mother continues to surprise everyone with her ability to channel her grief into care of others. “I don’t understand how my mom has so much energy, but she does. Somehow she manages,” he says. “Like, honestly, I don’t know how she does it.”

Jackie Kennedy with her two children, Caroline and John, on the day of her husband’s funeral.

A few weeks before her death, Tatiana published an essay in The New Yorker in which she spoke about the ordeal she faced with her illness. The essay, titled “A Battle With My Blood,” was published online on November 22, a date that coincides with the anniversary of the assassination of her grandfather, John F. Kennedy. It later appeared in print under the title “A Further Shore.”

In the essay, Schlossberg recounted the moment she discovered her illness: an abnormality in her blood values detected shortly after Josephine’s birth in May, 2024. Doctors initially suspected a connection to her pregnancy and childbirth. The diagnosis, however, soon proved to be far more serious: leukemia, with a rare mutation.

Tatiana Schlossberg

The journalist described the moment of the dramatic discovery with disbelief, recalling a daily life marked by excellent physical fitness: long swims, regular runs, and an active and athletic lifestyle that seemed incompatible with such an aggressive disease. “I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew. I regularly ran five to ten miles in Central Park.” she wrote. “I had a son whom I loved more than anything and a newborn I needed to take care of. This could not possibly be my life.”

One of the most touching passages concerned her mother, Caroline. Tatiana recalled how, throughout her life, she had tried to shield her from the suffering that had marked the Kennedy family. “For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter,” she wrote. “Now I have added a new tragedy to my mother’s life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

The journalist wondered if her son, in the future, might confuse the few memories he had of her “with pictures he sees or stories he hears.” As for young Josie, Tatiana reflected: “I don’t know who, really, she thinks I am, and whether she will feel or remember, when I am gone, that I am her mother.”

In the same article, Tatiana dedicated moving words to her husband, the urologist George Moran, whom she met at Yale University, describing him as “perfect.” She recalled how he had handled every practical aspect of her illness: from dealing with doctors and insurance companies to the endless nights spent on the hospital floor just to be near her. His unconditional support made the prospect of leaving him alone all the more painful.

Finally, in the essay, Tatiana also directly addressed her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. “As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly half a billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers,” she wrote.

Dr. George Moran, Tatiana’s husband, with their son Edwin

On May 31, Caroline Kennedy, who has always been very private about her personal life, broke her silence on her daughter’s death by speaking about it during the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston. The award, presented annually in recognition of acts of political courage inspired by JFK’s book of the same name, was conferred this year on the residents of Minnesota’s Twin Cities and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, both honored for their resistance to pressure from the Trump administration.

“Politics is a family endeavor and I am so grateful to the members of my family who are here tonight and whose support over many years has kept my father’s spirit alive and made this institution a living memorial,” she said. “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, visibly moved.

On that occasion, Caroline also expressed her pride in her son Jack, 33, who is currently running for a seat in the US House of Representatives. “I’m so proud of him for helping thousands of people believe in politics again,” Caroline declared before the audience. “And I know my father would be too.” Caroline recalled how her son has dedicated much of his adult life to preserving the memory of JFK and promoting the values associated with the Kennedy presidency.

Her son “has spent more than 12 years working to bring his grandfather’s legacy to new generations,” she explained, adding that he “is running a fantastic campaign for New York’s 12th.”

Jack and Caroline Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony

In an interview a few months ago on CBS News Sunday Morning, Jack shared his final memories of Tatiana. “The last thing that she said to me was, ‘You better win,’ ” Jack said. “No one knew me better, and I knew no one better than her.”

Originally published by Vanity Fair Italy

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