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Meet Kick Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter who has been linked to newly single Ben Affleck

Erin McDowell   

Meet Kick Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter who has been linked to newly single Ben Affleck
Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy was named after her great-aunt who died in a tragic plane crash.Leigh Vogel/Getty Images
  • Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • She was named after her great-aunt who died in a plane crash.

Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is the latest young Kennedy to make headlines.

New reports claimed she was getting to know newly single Ben Affleck after Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from the actor on August 20. Page Six reported that the two had been spotted at the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel.

However, Affleck's representative said in a statement to People that the two weren't dating, and was unsure if they had even met in person.

"There is no truth to any of it. I don't know if they even know each other," the representative said in a statement on August 27.

A member of the newest generation of America's most famous political dynasty, Kick Kennedy is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s eldest daughter. Her father previously announced his candidacy for president before breaking from family tradition by supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, a decision she has not commented on publicly.

Here's what you need to know about Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy.

Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is 36 years old.

Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is 36 years old.
Kick's father, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., married his third wife, Cheryl Hines, in 2014.      Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

She was born in 1988 and is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Emily Ruth Black.

Kick Kennedy has not commented on her father's political endeavors, though other younger members of the Kennedy family have.

Jack Kennedy Schlossberg, her father's cousin and the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, denounced Kennedy's endorsement of Trump, joining other Kennedy family members who called the move a "betrayal."

"Been saying it for over a year — RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it," he posted on X. "Kamala Harris is for the people — the easiest decision of all time just got easier."

She was named after her great-aunt who died in a tragic plane crash.

She was named after her great-aunt who died in a tragic plane crash.
John F. Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy at Palm Beach, Florida, in 1934.      Corbis/Getty Images

Kennedy's namesake, Kathleen "Kick" Agnes Cavendish, was born in 1920. She was the daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy and the sister of President John F. Kennedy.

However, despite being born into a well-to-do family, she had a wild streak that would inadvertently lead to her death.

Just months after their 1944 wedding, her husband was tragically killed in combat. Following his death, she entered into a relationship with Earl Peter Wentworth Fitzwilliam, a married man, People reported.

The couple planned to travel to Paris to seek her father's approval, but their 10-seat plane encountered severe turbulence and crashed in the mountains between Paris and Cannes.

Both Kick and Peter, who was piloting the aircraft, died instantly. She was only 28 years old. According to The Atlantic, only her father, Joe Sr., attended her funeral.

She has five siblings, four of whom are half-siblings from her father's second marriage to Mary Richardson.

She has five siblings, four of whom are half-siblings from her father
Her father, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has six children from two different marriages.      Scott Eisen/Getty Images

She has one biological sibling from her father's first marriage to Emily Ruth Black: Robert "Bobby" Kennedy III, 39.

Her half-siblings include Conor Kennedy, 30; Kyra Kennedy, 29; William Finbar Kennedy, 27; and Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy, 23.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. married Cheryl Hines, his third wife, in 2014. They have no children together, though she has a 20-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

After her half-brother Conor was linked to Taylor Swift in 2012, Kick called the star "really sweet."

After her half-brother Conor was linked to Taylor Swift in 2012, Kick called the star "really sweet."
Her half-brother Conor Kennedy dated Taylor Swift in 2012.      Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Though the relationship was short-lived, Swift was spotted spending time with Conor and the Kennedy family at their compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, during the summer of 2012.

"She's really sweet. It was a moment, really," Kick Kennedy told the New York Post in 2014 when asked what it was like for the superstar to date her brother. "But we always have exciting things going on — exciting people to meet."

Swift and Kennedy's relationship reportedly ended in October 2012, though the fling may have inspired a few songs on her fourth studio album "Red."

Her own dating life has been pretty low-profile.

Her own dating life has been pretty low-profile.
Kick Kennedy dated Matthew Mellon, left, in 2018 before he died.      Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

Kennedy previously dated Harper Simon, musician Paul Simon's son, in 2014, E! News reported.

She later dated Matthew Mellon, a member of the wealthy Mellon family, before he died on his way to a drug treatment facility in 2018, People reported.

This month, outlets reported she was getting to know actor Ben Affleck in the wake of his very public divorce from Jennifer Lopez.

Page Six reported that the two had been spotted spending time together at the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, though Affleck's representative told People that the two weren't dating.

The rumors about Ben Affleck led the internet to discover a disturbing story Kick Kennedy once shared about her dad during an interview.

The rumors about Ben Affleck led the internet to discover a disturbing story Kick Kennedy once shared about her dad during an interview.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pictured petting a whale in Mexico in 1997.      Bob Carey/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Following the reports about Affleck, people clamored to find out more about the lesser-known member of the Kennedy clan. They resurfaced a 2012 profile of Kick Kennedy in Town & Country, which included a particularly wild story about her father.

Kick Kennedy told the magazine that when she was 6 years old, her father decapitated a dead whale they had found on a beach near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. She didn't share exactly why her father wanted the whale head, other than that he "likes to study animal skulls and skeletons."

Problems arose when the family began making the five-hour drive from Hyannis to their home in New York with the whale head strapped to the roof of their minivan.

"Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet," Kick said.

She said that to deal with the leaking whale juice, "we all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out."

"People on the highway were giving us the finger," she added. "But that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us."

Many have found the story utterly bizarre, but this isn't the first time Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made headlines for questionable behavior relating to animals.

In 2014, he took a dead bear cub from the road and posed with it in a photo as a "prank." The incident made local headlines.

Kennedy himself has said that he has "been picking up roadkill my whole life," NBC reported in August. "I have a freezer full of it," he said.

She's acted in several television shows over the years.

She
Kick Kennedy has worked on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Gossip Girl."      Andrew Toth/Getty Images

Kennedy has appeared in several one-off episodes of popular shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Gossip Girl," and "The Newsroom."

She also acted in an off-Broadway play in 2014, which Today called a "modern retelling" of Sophocles' "Antigone."

"I'm really lucky," Kennedy told the Associated Press at the time. "I've grown a lot just studying this part and I hope I can do it justice. I couldn't really ask for a better story to tell right now. It's just sort of magical that everything fell into place."

She's since shied away from the spotlight to focus on philanthropy.

She
Kick Kennedy now works on philanthropic causes.      Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Kennedy is a member of the Founders' Circle of Well Beings Charity, an organization that focuses on "the well-being of animals, people, and the planet," according to the company's mission statement.

Despite being a member of one of the country's most famous and influential political families, Kennedy has spoken publicly about not wanting to rely on her pedigree to get ahead.

"People ask me, 'What's it like to be a Kennedy?'" Kennedy said in a 2014 interview with the New York Post. "Maybe it's just the temperature of the water, but I'm just like, 'I have no idea.'"

"When I see my face or name in the tabloids, I get a knot in my stomach. It's just not me — it's reading something that's not real," she continued.

She has a modest following of just 25,000 followers on Instagram.

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