The Kennedy family kept it private for nearly a month. Kyle Francis Kennedy, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died on September 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts — and the public only learned of it on Tuesday, when her obituary from Burke Funeral Homes became public and major outlets began reporting her death. She was 42.
Kyle was the daughter of Michael Kennedy, one of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's 11 children, and Victoria Denise Gifford — making her a granddaughter of NFL great Frank Gifford on her mother's side, and one of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's 34 grandchildren. Her father died in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain on New Year's Eve 1997, when Kyle was just 13 years old.
Her life changed in 2020, when she suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left her with long-term paralysis and other medical challenges. Her obituary does not say how she was injured — but it is clear about what she did next.
Rather than retreat, Kennedy became an advocate for people living with disabilities, including testifying at the Massachusetts State House about discrimination in disability health care — speaking from her own experience of a system she had to fight her way through.
Before the injury, she had built a career devoted to children and education. Educated at Milton Academy, she earned a history degree from Georgetown University and advanced degrees from Pace University and Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. She began teaching in New York City public schools through Teach For America and spent her career working to improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. An accomplished runner, she completed the Boston Marathon in 2019 — finishing ahead of her father's time.
No cause of death has been released; her death certificate lists the cause as pending, and her funeral services were private. She is survived by her sons, Conor, 12, and Declan, 10, her mother Victoria, her brother Michael and her sister Rory, and extended family. She was preceded in death by her infant daughter Josephine, Conor's twin, who died days after she was born.