Kennedy Family Matriarch Ethel Kennedy Hospitalized After Suffering Stroke

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (L), Ethel Kennedy (2nd L), Kerry Kennedy (2nd R), and Mariah Kennedy Cuomo (R) attend an event at New York Hilton Midtown in New York, on Dec. 11, 2013. Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Ethel Kennedy, the 96-year-old widow of late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Sr., was hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week, her family said on Tuesday.

Her grandson, former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III, said the Kennedy matriarch suffered a stroke in her sleep on Oct. 3 and has been taken to the hospital for treatment.

“She is comfortable, she is getting the best care possible, and she is surrounded by family,” Joe Kennedy said in a statement posted on the social media platform X. “She is, as you may know, a strong woman who has led a remarkably fulfilling life. We are here looking after her.”

Joe Kennedy stated that his grandmother has had “a great summer” enjoying time with her children and other family members. He described how his grandmother was still able to “get out on the water” and “visit the pier” before suffering a stroke.

“Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We ask that you respect our family’s privacy at this time,” the statement added. Ethel Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry Kennedy, shared the same statement on Wednesday.

Ethel Kennedy was born in April 1928 in Chicago. She was married to the late Robert F. Kennedy Sr., who served as a senator for New York and U.S. attorney general.

The couple had 11 children together, including former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Ethel became a widow when her husband was assassinated in June 1968, shortly after he won the California Democratic presidential primary. She gave birth to their 11th child, Rory Kennedy Bailey, six months after her husband’s death.

She later founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to continue her husband’s legacy. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of her efforts for various causes.

“Ethel Kennedy has dedicated her life to advancing the cause of social justice, human rights, environmental protection, and poverty reduction by creating countless ripples of hope to effect change around the world,” the White House stated in 2014.

Ethel Kennedy was also involved in other human rights organizations, including the Coalition of Gun Control, which she co-chairs. She is also the sister-in-law of the late President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963 while riding in a motorcade in downtown Dallas, Texas.