Robert F. Kennedy’s Granddaughter Kyle Kennedy Dies at 42
Kyle Kennedy, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, has died. She was 42.
Kennedy died peacefully on Sept. 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, according to an online family tribute posted to the Burke Funeral Homes website. News of her death was reported publicly this week. No cause of death was provided.
Kennedy was the daughter of Michael LeMoyne Kennedy and Victoria Denise Gifford, and she was one of the 34 grandchildren of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. She was also a niece of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current secretary of Health and Human Services.
A Life Devoted to Education
Kennedy built her career around helping others learn. After joining Teach for America, she spent two years teaching in New York City’s public schools, according to her family.
Her work later focused on early childhood education and on expanding educational opportunities for disadvantaged children and people with disabilities. She became known as both an educator and a disability rights advocate.
Away from her work, her family described her as competitive, and said she loved art, animals and travel.
A Life-Changing Injury
In 2020, Kennedy suffered a severe spinal cord injury. According to the family tribute, the injury brought long-term paralysis, disability and other medical challenges that she lived with for the rest of her life.
Her experience living with a disability added a deeply personal dimension to her advocacy work, which had long centered on improving access and opportunity for others.
Family and Loss
Kennedy married Liam Kerr in August 2012. The couple welcomed twins, but their daughter, Josephine, died just days after her birth. In the family tribute, Kennedy’s loved ones wrote that she held the memory of her infant daughter close for the rest of her life.
Kennedy also experienced loss at a young age. Her father, Michael Kennedy, died in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997, when she was 13 years old. He was 39.
Her grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, the matriarch of the family and a lifelong human rights advocate, died in October 2024 at the age of 96.
Survived by Her Sons and Family
Kennedy is survived by her sons, Conor and Declan, her mother, her brother Michael and her sister Rory, along with several nieces and nephews.
Her death drew attention this week as news of the family tribute spread. For those who knew her, though, she will be remembered less for her famous last name and more for the work she devoted to children, education and disability advocacy, and for the love she had for her family.
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