'90s Nostalgia Thrives at NYC's JFK Jr. Look-Alike Contest | Vanity Fair

Apologies are in order for those who arrived at Washington Square Park at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 and expected to find a sea of wannabe JFK Juniors trying to out-mog one another. According to social media posts and a Partiful invite—tagline: “may the biggest hunk win”—a look-alike competition inspired by the success of Love Story—Ryan Murphy’s hit FX show about the first son and his eventual wife, Carolyn Bessette—was scheduled to begin at that time. Yet at the appointed hour, on the first warm day during a seemingly endless winter, the chaotic event was already wrapping up. (By some reports, it had concluded even before the advertised start time.)

Why? Blame a tactical error on the organizers’ part. Apparently, none of them were aware that a “March for Liberation” rally celebrating the US and Israel’s recent attack on the Middle Eastern nation was also taking place at 1 p.m.

It was an intense backdrop for what was meant to be a lighthearted competition. But what Zoomers lack in planning, they sure make up for in enthusiasm. Although the contest itself came and went in a flash, the Love Story crowd kept hanging out, sequestered at the northeast corner of the park. In the shadow of “Thank You, President Trump” signs and Iranian x Israeli x American flags, you could spot an errant Kangol or headscarf as Kennedy and Bessette acolytes mixed and mingled. (Most of the people I spoke to asked me not to use their last names.)

Dashingly handsome, with an eclectic style that TikTok hordes are currently trying (and, quite frankly, failing) to emulate, Kennedy is perhaps the only figure who could revive interest in the dormant “look-alike” trend that swept New York City in late 2024. That’s when Timothée Chalamet actually showed up at his own look-alike competition, to the delight of his fans. A year and change later, Love Story’s Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, the portrayers of Kennedy and Bessette, were nowhere to be found—probably because they were busy at Paris Fashion Week. Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy’s nephew—who’s currently running for Congress and has made his animus for Love Story widely known—didn’t show up either.

Plenty of Kennedy wannabes showed up too late to compete, like brothers Denny and Enny—models, actors, and content creators who are originally from Montenegro and now live in Williamsburg. Enny was inspired to compete by his TikTok followers. “We got here at 1:05,” Denny lamented. Though they missed the moment, Enny was still swarmed by women asking him for photos. “Now he’s getting his moment,” his brother said proudly.

Some worthy competitors simply stumbled upon the scene by chance. There was Adam, an NYU student studying musical theater, who was walking through Washington Square Park on the way to meet a friend at the Harry Potter Shop. “I had no clue this was happening. I walked in after the competition, and now people are telling me [I should have competed],” he said. Decked out in a NYU zip-up hoodie, Adam clearly wasn’t dressing the part—though Kennedy did attend NYU Law. As Kennedy reportedly once did, Adam intends on becoming an actor. He hasn’t watched Love Story yet. “I will,” he said. “I feel like now I have to.”

You’d be forgiven for assuming another lookalike came dressed for the competition. But Craig, who’s also an actor, was wearing a suit in Washington Square Park only because he was on his way to shoot a short film about poker with Marty Supreme star Luke Manley. He’s got another interesting connection to the event as well: “I auditioned for JFK Jr., didn’t hear back,” Craig said. “Then they sent the audition for Michael Bergin, called my agents—they were like, ‘Put him on hold.’” He found out he didn’t get either part when the show’s cast was announced on Instagram. It’s a tough business, but Craig was in good spirits about not landing the part of Bessette’s underwear-modeling ex-boyfriend. “I don’t have a six-pack, so they’d have to paint that on.”

Then there was Ramon, a Spanish tech consultant who stood at six foot four. He heard about the contest from a few of his female friends. “I was like, Maybe I’ll give it a shot,” he said. While Ramon actually made it in time for the competition, he didn’t win it despite sharing something in common with Kennedy: “I actually have a pilot’s license,” he said.

Sports media play-by-play broadcaster Joey Lindstrom did miss the competition, but still reaped the benefits of looking like Kennedy. His publicist, who was also there, had Lindstrom pose for photos while making sure to plug his social media handle (it’s @joeylindstrom_, for those curious). Hunter and Barry, a software engineer and a consultant, don’t really look anything like Kennedy; they told me they came to the contest anyway, for the love of the game. “We’re here for the vibes,” said Barry—and because they’ve fallen in love with Love Story. “It’s good. It’s, like, ’90s New York vibes. It’s, like, inspiration.”

Barry informed me that the winner of the competition wore Rollerblades—a nice nod to the actual Kennedy, who was frequently papped blading around Tribeca. But that mysterious man was gone by the time I arrived, blading into the sunset with his grand prize of $250 and a new pickup line—“You know, I won a JFK Jr. look-alike contest.”

Maybe he’ll use it next Saturday when he goes barhopping in the West Village, in search of his Carolyn. There were plenty of Bessette imitators in the crowd, including Jen Humis and Delaney Driscoll, who said they came to the event looking to bag a JFK Jr. of their very own. “We’re here outsourcing, on the scene, taking a look around,” joked Humis. “Boots on the ground.” Unfortunately, their boots were late; they missed the competition because they were too busy drinking a pitcher of mimosas to arrive on time. “We saw a few,” Driscoll said of the competitors. “It was a flop, but whatever.”

Carolyn’s influence on the women of the West Village is so strong that some of them weren’t even aware that they were dressed like her. “I don’t know her, guys. I’m sorry,” said one apparent acolyte named Clarice—wearing a headscarf, a black sweater, a nude knee-length skirt, and sunglasses. “I just had a bad hair day. I put a scarf on to get rid of that.” But Clarice’s friend Abby was very familiar with Bessette: “She’s classy, elegant, icon, queen, timeless.” One woman who asked to remain nameless elected not to have her photo taken because her boyfriend didn’t know she was at the event “surrounded by hot guys.”

In my mind, the guy who looked the most like Kennedy wasn’t a strapping Zoomer or millennial, but rather a contemporary of the actual first son: 61-year-old Steve, a retired media and advertising employee. Based on a photo that he showed me on his phone, Steve absolutely nailed the Kennedy look back in the day, complete with a tall helmet of hair that none of the actual contestants could match. And unlike anyone else there, he’d had a run-in with Kennedy himself too. “Listen, I was in the bathroom once with John F. Kennedy Jr. at Carnegie Hall,” Steve told me. “He was in a tuxedo. I was washing my hands and the door opened, and John Kennedy walked in.”

The youthful energy of the afternoon inspired Steve to wax poetic about old New York. “I look at the young kids today—I’m like, They don’t have a clue,” he said wistfully. Perhaps that’s true. But if the JFK Jr. look-alike competition is any indication, the kids will keep copying the days of yore… even if they can’t figure out scheduling.

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