Mary Kathleen Richardson was born on October 4, 1959, and grew up in a large Irish-American family in the New York area. She met Kerry Kennedy at boarding school and became a fixture in the Kennedy household long before she married into it. Trained as an architectural designer, she worked at Parish-Hadley and later built a practice focused on sustainable design.
She married Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 15, 1994, aboard a boat on the Hudson River. They had four children: Conor (1994), Kyra (1995), William Finbar (1997) and Aidan (2001). Mary led the celebrated green renovation of the family's Bedford, New York, home, which became a showcase for environmentally responsible building.
Mary Richardson Kennedy struggled with depression for many years, a struggle her family acknowledged publicly after her death. Robert Kennedy Jr. filed for divorce in 2010. She died at the Bedford home on May 16, 2012, at the age of 52; the death was ruled a suicide. She is buried in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text in the United States.
Mary Richardson Kennedy married Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. See Robert Kennedy Jr.'s children →
Mary Richardson Kennedy (1959–2012) was an architectural designer and environmental advocate, and the second wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She was the mother of Conor, Kyra, Finn and Aidan Kennedy.