In Washington she took a job as "inquiring photographer" for Washington Times-Herald. Her path crossed that of Senator Kennedy in 1951, who had the reputation of being the most eligible bachelor in the capital. Their romance progressed slowly and privately, but their wedding at Newport on September 12, 1953 attracted nationwide publicity and 1,300 well wishers.

With marriage "Jackie" had to adapt herself to the new role of wife to one of the country's most energetic political figures. Her own public appearances were highly successful, but limited in number. After the sadness of a miscarriage and the stillbirth of a daughter, Jackie suffered another loss when her father died early in 1957. This was also a difficult period in the Kennedy marriage. Much was rumored at the time and has been written subsequently about the various extramarital affairs that John Kennedy had both before and during his presidency, all of which undoubtedly put a strain on their marriage. Later that year, Caroline Bouvier was born relieving some of the stress of the marriage. John Jr. was born between the election of 1960 and Inauguration Day. Patrick Bouvier, born prematurely on August 7, 1963, died two days later.

To the role of First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy brought beauty, intelligence, and cultivated taste. Her interest in the arts, publicized by press and television, inspired an attention to culture never before evident at a national level. She devoted much time and study to making the White House a museum of American history and decorative arts as well as a family residence of elegance and charm. But she defined her major role as "to take care of the President" and added that "if you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

Mrs. Kennedy's gallant courage during the tragedy of her husband's assassination won her the admiration of the world. Thereafter it seemed the public would never allow her the privacy she desired for herself and her children. She moved to New York City; and in 1968 she married the wealthy Greek businessman, Aristotle Onassis, 23 years her senior, who died in March 1975. From 1978 until her death in 1994, Mrs. Onassis worked in New York City as an editor for Doubleday. At her funeral her son described three of her attributes: "love of words, the bonds of home and family, and her spirit of adventure."

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Biography
Recommended Reading
Jack and Jackie, Portrait of an American Marriage by Christopher Andersen
America’s Queen by Sarah Bradford.
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years by Hamish Browles
Jackie Under my Skin: Interpreting an Icon by Wayne Koestenbaum
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis A&E Biography video
100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century by Kevin Markey
Jackie: The Clothes of Camelot by Jay Mulvaney
The John F. Kennedys by Mark Shaw
Jackie: Her Life in Pictures by James Spada
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography by Donald Spoto