Kyle Kennedy, RFK's Granddaughter, Dies at 42 After Health Struggles

Kyle Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy and niece of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, died at age 42 on September 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts. Her cause of death has not been publicly disclosed, and funeral services were held privately. Kennedy suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2020 that caused long-term paralysis and disability, yet she became an advocate for people with disabilities, testifying at the Massachusetts State House on healthcare discrimination. She was an educator who taught in New York City public schools and worked on education reform after earning degrees from Georgetown, Pace, and Harvard. Born in July 1984, Kennedy is survived by her sons Conor and Declan, her former husband Liam, her mother Victoria, and her siblings. Her father Michael died in a 1997 skiing accident, and the family has faced other recent losses, including granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill in 2019 and Maeve Kennedy McKean with her son Gideon in 2020.