Ethel Kennedy (née Skakel /ˈskeɪ.kəl/ SKAY-kəl; April 11, 1928 – October 10, 2024) was an American human rights advocate.

[1] She was the sixth of seven children, with a younger sister named Ann and five elder siblings: Georgeann, James, George Jr., Rushton, and Patricia.

[11] Ethel first met Jean's brother Robert F. Kennedy during a ski trip to Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec in December 1945.

[9] Robert Kennedy and Ethel Skakel became engaged in February 1950 and were married on June 17, 1950, in a Catholic ceremony at the St. Mary Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.

[9] In 1952, Ethel and Robert moved into a rooming house in Boston, Massachusetts,[14] and she helped contribute to her brother-in-law John's Senate campaign by organizing "tea parties" for potential voters.

[15] Several months after the birth of Ethel's fourth child, her parents were both killed in a plane crash in Union City, Oklahoma on October 3, 1955.

[21] In 1960, Ethel's brother-in-law John F. Kennedy won the presidential election, at which time he appointed Robert to the post of attorney general.

[23] In 1964, Ethel supported her husband while he campaigned for and won a seat in the United States Senate, representing New York.

[9] During the campaign, Robert was accused of "carpetbagging", and Ethel made light of the criticism by suggesting the slogan, "There is only so much you can do for Massachusetts.

[25] Ethel Kennedy was frequently pregnant during her 18-year marriage, giving birth to 11 children: Kathleen in 1951, Joseph in 1952, Robert Jr. in 1954, David in 1955, Mary Courtney in 1956, Michael in 1958, Kerry in 1959, Christopher in 1963, Maxwell in 1965, Douglas in 1967, and Rory,[26] who was born after her father was assassinated in 1968.

[35] After her husband's assassination, Ethel publicly stated that she would never marry again, wanting to focus on "furthering his work and legacy".

[41] During the late 1970s, with a renewed commitment to public service, Kennedy focused much of her time and energy on various social causes, including the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project.

[44] She publicly supported and held fundraisers at Hickory Hill for numerous politicians that included Virginia gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran.

[56] Also in 2014, Kennedy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama for her dedication 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".