Victoria Anne Reggie Kennedy

A Louisiana Lawyer

Victoria Anne Reggie was born on February 26, 1954, in Crowley, Louisiana, into a politically connected Lebanese-American family; her father, Edmund Reggie, was a judge and a longtime ally of the Kennedys in Louisiana Democratic politics. She graduated summa cum laude from Newcomb College at Tulane and from Tulane Law School, then built a career as a banking and financial-services attorney in Washington, D.C.

She had two children, Curran and Caroline Raclin, from her first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1990. She met Senator Edward Kennedy in 1991 at a dinner celebrating her parents' fortieth wedding anniversary.

Marriage to Ted Kennedy and Public Service

Ted and Vicki Kennedy married on July 3, 1992, in a civil ceremony at his home in McLean, Virginia. Colleagues and biographers widely credit the marriage with steadying the senator's personal life and with the productive final chapter of his career in the Senate. She was at his side through his 2008 brain-cancer diagnosis and his death in August 2009.

After his death she co-founded the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston and was regularly mentioned as a candidate for his seat, which she declined to seek. In 2022 President Biden appointed her U.S. Ambassador to Austria, a post she held until 2025.

Who is Victoria Reggie Kennedy?

Victoria Reggie Kennedy is an attorney, the widow of Senator Ted Kennedy, whom she married in 1992, and a co-founder of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Austria from 2022 to 2025.

Did Ted Kennedy and Victoria Reggie have children together?

No. Victoria Reggie has two children, Curran and Caroline Raclin, from her first marriage. Ted Kennedy had three children, Kara, Ted Jr. and Patrick, from his first marriage to Joan Bennett Kennedy.