Mary Kerry Kennedy

Early Life and Education

Mary Kerry Kennedy was born on September 8, 1959, in Washington, D.C., the eighth of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy's eleven children. Named for the Irish county that holds deep significance in the Kennedy family heritage, she grew up surrounded by the defining political and social movements of the 1960s. Her father's assassination in June 1968, when Kerry was just eight years old, was a formative trauma that ultimately deepened her commitment to the principles of justice and human dignity he embodied.

Human Rights Leadership

Kerry Kennedy is best known as the founder and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, an organization that carries forward her father's vision through advocacy, litigation, and the annual Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award — a prize given to grassroots activists whose work reflects RFK's legacy. In 1999, she authored Speak Truth to Power, a landmark book pairing her interviews with 51 human rights defenders worldwide with photographs by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams. The book was adapted into a play and an educational curriculum used in schools around the world.

Kerry has traveled extensively to document human rights abuses across the globe, meeting with dissidents, prisoners of conscience, and advocates in some of the world's most repressive environments. Her work has made her one of the most prominent human rights advocates in the United States.

Personal Life and Legal Controversy

Kerry Kennedy was married to Andrew Cuomo, who later served as Governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. Together they have three daughters: Cara, Mariah (Cara's twin), and Michaela. The couple divorced in 2005. In 2012, Kerry was arrested for drugged driving after her car struck a tractor-trailer on a New York highway; she maintained that she had inadvertently taken Ambien instead of her thyroid medication. She was acquitted by a jury in 2014. The incident drew significant media attention but did not derail her advocacy work.

What is Kerry Kennedy's organization?

Kerry Kennedy is the founder and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, an organization that advocates for human rights globally and awards the annual RFK Human Rights Award to grassroots activists.

What happened with Kerry Kennedy's 2012 arrest?

Kerry Kennedy was arrested in 2012 for drugged driving after her car struck a tractor-trailer in New York. She maintained she had accidentally taken Ambien instead of her thyroid medication and was acquitted by a jury in 2014.