Joan Bennett Kennedy: Virginia Joan Bennett Kennedy Bio (Photos)
Virginia Joan Bennett Kennedy was formerly the wife of late Ted Kennedy. Read a Joan Bennett Kennedy biography and see photos and video here. Joan Kennedy married Ted Kennedy on November 29, 1958 in New York. She was lovingly called “the dish” by his brother-in-law JFK because of her good looks and sense of style. She had three children with the late senator; Kara Kennedy Allen, Edward Moore Kennedy…
Virginia Joan Bennett Kennedy was formerly the wife of late Ted Kennedy. Read a Joan Bennett Kennedy biography and see photos and video here.
Joan Kennedy married Ted Kennedy on November 29, 1958 in New York. She was lovingly called “the dish” by his brother-in-law JFK because of her good looks and sense of style. She had three children with the late senator; Kara Kennedy Allen, Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr., and Patrick Joseph Kennedy.
She was born in Riverdale, New York to Henry Wiggin Bennett, Jr. and Virginia Joan Stead. She went to Manhattanville College, Sacred Heart Academy. She was also a model as a teen, and did campaigns for television advertising.
Not long after marrying Ted Kennedy, Joan was widely reported to have struggled with a drinking problem. Most observers point to two traumatic life events that may have triggered her supposed habit. One occurred when Ted Kennedy sustained a serious back injury after a plane crash. Following that event, she took over his campaign-appearances for his US Senate run in 1964.
Then, in 1969, Ted Kennedy was driving on Chappaquiddick Island when he was involved in a car accident that left his passenger dead. During that time period, Joan Kennedy had recently dealt with two miscarriages, and was pregnant for a third time. She maintained her dignity through a trying court case, in which Ted Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. Shortly afterwards, she suffered her third miscarriage.
Her drinking began to have a major impact on her personal life, when in 1974 she was arrested and charged with DUI in Virginia. Four years later she and Senator Kennedy separated, but didn’t officially divorce until 1981. Joan Bennett Kennedy received a few other DUIs following their divorce, the most recent being in 2000. After which time she was ordered to attend a rehabilitation program.
Things began to get a little ugly a few years later, when her children began to feel she was incapable of taking care of herself. In 2004 her eldest son Edward, Jr. was appointed as her legal guardian. Not long after, a passerby in Boston found her lying on the sidewalk in the rain, bloodied from a rough fall. She suffered a concussion and broken collarbone.
The following year, her financial adviser began to bar her children from access and control over her $9 million estate, which was partly in violation of the court ordered guardianship. Following successful legal action, her children regained control of her estate, but Joan managed to avoid being placed into the permanent custody of her children, and instead was granted a court-appointed legal guardian.
Her ex-husband Ted Kennedy passed away this week, after a lifetime of public service in the US Senate.
See photos and video below.
Photos: www.wenn.com