As part of the Kennedy Dynasty, it’s no surprise that Caroline Kennedy has an interest in American government and politics. An author and attorney, Kennedy also served as a United States Ambassador. She is the eldest and only surviving child of former United States President John F. Kennedy and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and grew up during “Camelot” – the term many would come to use to refer to her father’s administration after it was tragically cut short.
After her father was assassinated, Kennedy was moved to New York City and raised there. She attended private schools during her youth and developed an interest in photography. She graduated from Concord Academy in Massachusetts and then attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts.
Kennedy went to work at Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art as a Research Assistant in the Film and Television Department before turning to law. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in 1988, graduating in the top ten percent of her class.
Kennedy began her career in writing, editing, law, and politics in the early 1990s. She co-wrote the book In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action with Ellen Alderman to showcase why the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution was written. In 1995, she and Alderman released a second book on civil liberties called The Right to Privacy. She has also authored a collection of poems, prose, and personal notes from her family history called A Family Christmas.
Kennedy worked as Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education from 2002 to 2004. She helped raise $65 million in funds for the city’s public schools and currently serves as Honorary Director of the Fund.
In 2013, Kennedy was sworn in as the first female U.S. Ambassador to Japan, where she fortified the ties between the two nations, promoted the importance of women in business and government, and, last year, was awarded Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in recognition of her work. Her nomination as the next U.S. Ambassador to Australia is currently pending confirmation by the Senate.