New York City, U.S.A.: 23-11-2025] In a raw and riveting essay published in “The New Yorker” on November 22, 2025, the 62nd anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Tatiana Schlossberg, the 35 year old granddaughter of JFK and Jackie Kennedy, has courageously revealed her terminal diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Diagnosed shortly after giving birth to her second child in May 2024, Schlossberg faces a rare Inversion 3 mutation, giving her less than a year to live despite aggressive treatments including chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant from her sister Rose, and experimental CAR-T therapy. As the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and designer Edwin Schlossberg, her story weaves personal devastation with sharp critiques of family politics, spotlighting cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s (RFK Jr.) controversial role as HHS Secretary.
Schlossberg’s essay, titled “A Battle with My Blood”, lays bare the shock of her illness, discovered when her white blood cell count spiked post delivery, and her fears for her young children, a 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. “I had a son whom I loved more than anything and a newborn I need to take care of”, she wrote, reflecting on the cruel irony of a once vibrant life cut short. Her revelation has ignited global empathy, drawing tributes from figures like Maria Shriver and renewed focus on the Kennedy family’s storied resilience amid tragedy.
Tatiana Schlossberg: From Environmental Advocate to Cancer Warrior
Born May 5, 1990, Tatiana Celia Kennedy Schlossberg grew up in the shadow of Camelot, embodying the intellectual curiosity of her lineage. A Yale University graduate with a master’s in climate and energy science from Columbia, she carved a niche as an environmental journalist, contributing to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post. Her 2019 book, Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know About, became a bestseller, dissecting hidden ecological costs in everyday products, from cloud storage to coffee pods.
Once an avid runner, skier, and even Hudson River swimmer for leukaemia awareness (eerily prescient now), Schlossberg described her pre-diagnosis self as “healthy” in the essay. Her career blended Kennedy-esque public service with rigorous reporting, including a 2014 Times piece on a mysterious Central Park bear, unknowingly tied to RFK Jr.’s antics. Now, her voice amplifies a new cause, advocating for cancer research amid policy threats.
A Kennedy Legacy: Family Ties and Enduring Tragedies
Tatiana is the middle child of Caroline Kennedy, JFK and Jackie’s sole surviving heir, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2013-2017) and Australia (2022-2024), and Edwin Schlossberg, founder of interactive design firm ESI Design. Caroline, 67, has long shielded her family from the spotlight, but Tatiana’s essay honors her mother’s quiet strength, “My parents have been raising my children and sitting in my various hospital rooms almost every day”.
Her siblings, older sister Rose Schlossberg, 37, a Harvard educated TV producer who married restaurateur Rory McAuliffe in 2022 and donated bone marrow for Tatiana’s transplant, and younger brother Jack Schlossberg, 32, a lawyer eyeing a 2026 congressional run in NYC, form a tight knit trio. The siblings, often compared to their glamorous grandmother Jackie, have navigated fame with poise, Jack’s recent Instagram post linking Tatiana’s essay urged, “Life is short, let it rip”.
Tatiana’s personal life centers on her 2017 marriage to Dr. George Winchester Moran, a Columbia trained urologist from Greenwich, CT, whom she met at Yale. Their Vineyard wedding, officiated by ex-Gov. Deval Patrick, echoed JFK and Jackie’s 1953 nuptials. Tatiana was the first Kennedy grandchild to wed George, son of NRDC treasurer Mary Penniman and NGO founder Garrett Moran, has been Tatiana’s rock, “He would go home to put our kids to bed and come back to bring me dinner”, she wrote, calling him her “kind, funny, handsome genius”. They share son Edwin Garrett (born 2022) and a daughter (born May 2024), whose privacy Tatiana fiercely guards.
The Kennedy curse looms large: JFK’s 1963 assassination, RFK’s 1968 slaying, John Jr.’s 1999 plane crash, Jackie’s 1994 cancer death when Tatiana was 4, and more recent losses like Saoirse Kennedy Hill’s 2019 overdose. “I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life”, Tatiana lamented of her mother.
RFK Jr. Under Fire: Tatiana’s Stark Critique of Family and Policy
In a bold pivot, Tatiana turns her lens on second cousin RFK Jr., 71, the environmental lawyer turned HHS Secretary under Trump. From her hospital bed, she watched his February 2025 confirmation, after endorsing Trump and suspending his presidential bid, with dismay, “Mostly an embarrassment to me and the rest of my immediate family”.
Tatiana lambasts RFK Jr.’s cuts: nearly $500 million from mRNA vaccine research (important for cancer therapies like her CAR-T trial), defending at Columbia Presbyterian and Memorial Sloan Kettering, and broader slashes to women’s health and bone marrow studies. “As I spent more, under the care of doctors, I watched as Bobby cut funding”, she wrote, fearing for future patients. Caroline’s Senate letter and Jack’s public opposition troubles low income family rifts.
RFK Jr.’s allies defend his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, but Tatiana’s words, from a Kennedy fighting for her life, amplify calls for accountability.
A Mother’s Final Wish, Legacy Beyond Loss:
Tatiana’s essay closes with poignant resolve: cherishing fleeting moments with her children, like teaching her daughter to swim, and urging systemic change. “Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I’ll remember this forever”, she muses. Her story, echoing the family’s unyielding spirit, spotlights AML’s toll, a fast spreading bone marrow cancer affecting 20,000 Americans yearly, with Inversion 3 worsening outcomes.
As tributes pour in, from Shriver’s Instagram plea to “read this extraordinary piece”, Tatiana Schlossberg emerges not as a victim, but a voice for hope, reform, and the Kennedy ethos of service amid sorrow. In her words, “Life is short, let it rip”.
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