The true story behind the mysterious and tragic US icon

She’s also the star of a new nine-part drama from American Horror Story and American Crime Story creator Ryan Murphy. The first season of his latest series, Love Story, tells the story of the courtship and marriage of Carolyn and John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of a former president and his wife Jackie. The show has already been controversial. Jack Schlossberg, nephew of the late JFK Jr. criticized Murphy Because he “profited” from his uncle’s story.

radical simplicity

Bessette fans were outraged online over a test shot of actress Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Carolyn, with what they claimed was the wrong hair color (Carolyn wore her hair in what her colorist called “buttery blonde”), the wrong accessories, the wrong footwear and everything else wrong. Sunita Kumar Naar, author of the 2023 book CBK: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy: A Life in Fashion, writes of her style: “Her mastery lay in the simplicity of her clothes. Carefully considered separate clutches were meticulously fitted to the strict tonal assemblages.” Crisp white shirts, loafers, acetate sunglasses, tortoiseshell headbands, bootcut Levi’s 517s, and long black coats were her sartorial staples. She also worked with luxury brands such as Yohji Yamamoto, Ralph Lauren, Prada, and of course Calvin Klein.

Journalist Liz McNeil, co-author of the 2024 book JFK Jr: An Intimate Oral Biography, told the BBC: “Almost 27 years later, Carolyn still looks like everyone else is trying too hard. There was something about her that made her seem like she wasn’t trying to be anything other than herself. She had an amazing eye for lines and little touches that were all her own: a gold mesh evening bag with a white button-down and a long black fishtail skirt.” It was incredibly cool. She had her own aesthetic. ”

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However, her style has evolved over the years. One of the images from the show that caused so much outrage was of a pigeon that looked like this: carolyn wearing converse. Instagrammers claimed she would never wear her popular high-top sneakers, but she did. She wore more casual clothes before appearing in public. She sometimes preferred track pants. The natural brunette let her hair air dry on the subway, giving it a tousled look. A friend described her as “more of a tomboy.”