Everything We Know About Carolyn Bessette’s Life Before JFK JR
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When you mention Carolyn Bessette today, people will probably mention a few things, such as her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr, her established, minimalist style icon status, and her tragic death in 1999. While people think she was always the private woman thrust into the spotlight, she was someone else entirely before she became famous. When you look up what her friends and family say about her, it’s glowing. She was beautiful, successful, and beloved, all before JFK Jr came along.
Carolyn Jeanne Bessette was born on Jan 7, 1966, and everyone knew she was born for something great. She had a pretty normal upbringing and then attended Boston University. She became a star in the fashion world, and then JFK Jr came along.
We all know what happens there: they fall in love, secretly wed, and years of public scrutiny follow. However, they tragically died, along with her older sister Lauren, in a plane crash on July 16, 1999, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
Even years after her death, people still want to know who she was, even before JFK Jr. Luckily, we found out a lot about her before being in the spotlight.
Below, check out everything we know about Bessette before she started dating JFK Jr.
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She Was Born Into a Normal Family
Born Carolyn Jeanne Bessette on Jan 7, 1966, which makes her a Capricorn, which makes perfect sense to be honest. She was born in White Plains, New York to devout Roman Catholic parents William J. Bessette and Ann Messina, who worked as an engineer and an administrator in the New York City public school system, respectively.
She Was the Yougest Child of Her Family
She was the youngest of her immediate family, because she had two older sisters, twins named Lauren and Lisa, who were born 14 months before her. Per the New York Post, Carolyn “was very close to both of her sisters.”
Lauren, who was the other passenger who died alongside Carolyn and JFK Jr, was extremely impressive. Per Town and Country, she had attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges for economics, then got her MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, was fluent in Mandarin, and worked at Morgan Stanley, including at their Hong Kong office in the mid-1990s.
Lisa is also impressive. For instance, she got her doctorate in Renaissance studies for the University of Michigan, and later published a 500-page dissertation on “the visualization of the contents of the psalms in the early Middle Ages,” per the same New York Post article. Today, she lives off the grid but is said to work part-time at her alma mater, University of Michigan, specifically at their Art Museum as a “contract editor.”
After Her Parents Divorce, She Moved to Conneticut
Carolyn Bessette’s parents William J. Bessette and Ann Messina divorced when she was only eight years old. However, her mother remarried a man named Richard Freeman, who worked as an orthopedic surgeon. Because of this, the family (sans William) relocated to Conneticut.
She Was Beloved in High School
While Carolyn Bessette was attending her high school, St. Mary’s, she was quite beloved. Not only was she voted the “Ultimate Beautiful Person,” but past classmates claimed she was in the “in crowd” and attended “all the right parties,” per NY Times.
She Attended Boston University
After St. Mary’s, Carolyn Bessette attended Boston University’s School of Education, to get her undergraduate degree in elementary education. She graduated in 1988.
She Paid Her Way Through College
In a resurfaced interview with her college roommate Colleen Curtis, she talked about how Carolyn paid her way through college. “One fact not mentioned is that Carolyn worked ber way through college to supplement her tuition. She was a very hard worker,” she said.
She Had an Odd Job Before Working for Calvin Klein
Per the Little Things, Carolyn Bessette briefly worked in event management for a nightclub company.
And She Was Briefly a Model
This probably wasn’t too shocking to hear, considering how stunning she was. But Bessette hired a photographer during college (and took some amazing shots that you can see here), and was even featured in the 1988 “Girls of Boston University” calendar.
She Loved Vintage Clothing
Per MSN, friends said Carolyn Bessette adored vintage clothing, opting for “Levi’s to Louis Vuitton,” and she allegedly scoured all the thrift stores for the perfect looks.
She Dated Another Member of the Spotlight
While she attended Boston University, she dated a man named John Cullen, who would later play hockey in the NHL, along with Italian clothing heir Alessandro Benetton. And then she dated a man named Michael Bergin, who later published a book about their romance called The Other Man: A Love Story, where he alleged he was Bessette’s secret lover. her friends have since denied these claims.
Her Friends Dished on What Type of Friend She Was
In a resurfaced interview with her college roommate Colleen Curtis dished on what friend she was, even as early as college. “Carolyn was the kind of person you could count on if you were in trouble,” she said. “When two girls from our dormitory floor were injured by a drunken driver while crossing the street, she stayed with them in the emergency room until their parents arrived.”
And What Type of Coworker She Was
Carole Radizwell wrote in her memoir What Remains that Carolyn Bessette was the mom friend that everyone needed at work, especially during those crazy days at Calvin Klein.
“One of her responsibilities at the shows is to manage the models. They are constantly, it seems, in crisis,” she said. “She is mother to them all, calm and ready with answers.”
She Was Considered a Social Butterfly
Carolyn Bessette was often seen at events for Calvin Klein, and she often hung out with A-listers. She was pictured with people like Friends star Jennifer Aniston, Kate Moss, and Kelly Klein, to name a few.
She Was Neighbors & Buddies With a Supermodel
According to a profile from Town and Country, Carolyn Bessette was one of two people who convinced Calvin Klein to hire supermodel Kate Moss for his new campaign (and it ended up saving the company)! After that, they became neighbors, and lived in the same Village apartment for years.
She Was a Superstar at Calvin Klein
Soon after college, she started her career as a sales assistant role at Calvin Klein, and quickly rose up the ranks and became trusted with a lot of responsibilities. She was then director of publicity for the flagship store in Manhattan, and worked with high-profile clients, such as Annette Bening and Diane Sawyer, per the New York Times.
She Loved Children
In a resurfaced interview with her college roommate, Colleen Curtis, she said Carolyn loved being around children. It’s not too shocking when you remember her major, but Curtis said: “Even in college, you could tell she was smitten by kids. She worked as a student teacher, baby sat for a co-worker’s child and always peered into carriages.” This news is quite heartbreaking when you remember she wanted to hold off on having children because of the paparazzi.
She Frequented C.O. Bigelow
Per DailyMail, Carolyn Bessette often went to C.O. Bigelow, the oldest apothecary where she would buy hair accessories and more.
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