Kyle Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died at 42 on 21 September

Death and disclosure

Kyle Kennedy, a 42-year-old woman and granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, died on 21 September 2026 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts. The death became public on 20 October, when an obituary published online by Burke Funeral Homes was released, about a month after it occurred. She was one of 34 grandchildren of Robert and Ethel Kennedy. The cause of death has not been disclosed, and the Westwood municipal office said it is still pending determination. The date of 21 September was confirmed by that same municipal office.

Education and career

She was born on 6 July 1984 in Washington to Michael Kennedy and Victoria Gifford Kennedy. She studied history at Georgetown University, then earned a master's degree in early childhood education at Pace University and a second degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focused on education policy and management. Her first job was teaching in New York public schools through Teach for America, a programme that places graduates in disadvantaged schools. Later she worked on education reform for children with fewer opportunities, and she also collaborated with technology companies working on school curricula.

Injury and disability advocacy

In 2020 she suffered a serious spinal cord injury that left her paralysed. After the injury she became a campaigner for people with disabilities, focusing on discrimination in health care. She testified at a Massachusetts legislative hearing on discrimination against people with disabilities in medical care. Before the injury she was a keen long-distance runner, and in 2019 she ran the Boston Marathon.

Family losses

Her father, Michael Kennedy, died in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997 at the age of 39, when she was 13. Kyle married Liam Kerr in August 2012, and the couple had three children: two sons, aged 12 and 10, and a daughter who died a few days after birth. The couple later divorced. The obituary lists her mother, a brother and a sister among the survivors.

Earlier tragedies in the family

Her death adds to a series of losses in the Kennedy family. Robert F. Kennedy was killed in Los Angeles in 1968 after winning the California Democratic presidential primary. John F. Kennedy, Robert's brother, was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Other young relatives who died include Saoirse Kennedy Hill, Maeve Kennedy McKean and Tatiana Schlossberg.