Quick Read
- Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK’s granddaughter, died at 35 after a rare leukemia diagnosis.
- She was a climate journalist, author, and mother of two young children.
- Schlossberg criticized federal health policy cuts and spoke out against anti-vaccine stances.
Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy and a respected voice in climate journalism, died on Tuesday at the age of 35, following a brief but courageous battle with a rare form of leukemia. Her passing, announced by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, marks a poignant chapter in the story of one of America’s most storied families.
Schlossberg’s diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia with a rare mutation came just months after the birth of her second child in May 2024. In a deeply personal essay for The New Yorker in November, she revealed her prognosis: less than a year to live. “I did not – could not – believe that they were talking about me,” she wrote, reflecting on the surreal shock of illness. Even nine months pregnant, she had swum a mile the day before learning the news, feeling as healthy as ever.
Her essay, titled A Battle With My Blood, wasn’t just about illness—it was about the intersection of personal health, family legacy, and public policy. Schlossberg criticized her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Secretary of Health and Human Services, for his anti-vaccine stance and for cutting funding to crucial medical research. As she underwent treatment at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, she witnessed firsthand the uncertainty wrought by policy changes and funding cuts. “Suddenly, the health-care system on which I relied felt strained, shaky,” she wrote, describing the anxiety of patients and practitioners alike as they faced an uncertain future.
Schlossberg’s words resonated widely, not only because of her famous lineage but because of her ability to connect the personal with the political. Her family, including parents Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, siblings, husband George Moran, and their two young children, mourn her loss with a statement: “Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts.” The message, shared via social media, was signed by immediate family and close relatives, underscoring the deep bonds that sustained her during her illness.
Born into the Kennedy dynasty, Schlossberg carried forward the family tradition of public service and intellectual engagement. She graduated from Yale and earned a master’s degree from Oxford, distinguishing herself early as a climate journalist. Her work at The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair explored the urgent challenges facing the planet, from the impact of consumption to innovative solutions for sustainable energy. Her book, Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have (2019), examined the hidden ways our daily choices shape the environment.
Schlossberg’s reporting was marked by curiosity and rigor. In December 2021, she documented experimental efforts to harness the heat of the London Underground to warm homes, a vivid example of her commitment to exploring the science behind climate change. “It’s about science and nature, but it’s also about politics and health and business,” she wrote, capturing the interconnectedness of modern life.
Despite her accomplishments, Schlossberg was not immune to the personal tragedies that have shadowed her family. Her grandfather, President Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963; her uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., died in a plane crash in 1999. Schlossberg herself worried about the pain her passing would cause her loved ones, writing candidly about her hopes to “fill my brain with memories” of her children and live in the present, even as time grew short.
Her younger brother, Jack Schlossberg, is currently running as a Democrat for New York’s 12th Congressional District, continuing the family’s involvement in public life. The Kennedy legacy, with its triumphs and heartbreaks, remains woven through Tatiana’s story.
At the heart of Schlossberg’s final months was her determination to speak truth to power. Her critique of federal health policy was not abstract; it was rooted in her lived experience as a patient. She condemned the reduction in funding for mRNA vaccine research and other critical medical initiatives, highlighting the tangible harm such decisions cause. Her essay became a rallying cry for patients, doctors, and researchers navigating a shifting landscape.
Schlossberg is survived by her husband, George Moran, their three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, her parents, and siblings. Her death is a loss for journalism, environmental advocacy, and all those who seek to bridge the gap between personal experience and public action.
Tatiana Schlossberg’s life was a testament to resilience, inquiry, and the power of honest storytelling. Her legacy challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths—about illness, family, and the systems that shape our lives—and to honor the memories we build, even in the face of uncertainty.
Sources: The Guardian, CNN, BBC