Rory Kennedy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (born December 12, 1968) is an American documentary filmmaker who is the eleventh and youngest child of
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
and
Ethel Skakel Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of George Skakel and Ann Brannack. Shortly a ...
. Kennedy has made documentary films that center on social issues such as addiction, nuclear radiation, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence. Her films have been featured on many television networks.


Early life and education

Rory Kennedy was born on December 12, 1968 in
Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to parents
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
, a former
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, U.S. Senator, and 1968 U.S. presidential candidate, and his wife
Ethel Kennedy Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of George Skakel and Ann Brannack. Shortly ...
. She was born six months after her father was assassinated. Her mother chose her name "Rory" after the last
high king of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...
, Rory O'Connor, who ruled in the 12th century. On December 19, 1968, a week after Rory was born, her mother took her to her father's grave at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
. Kennedy's older brother
Michael LeMoyne Kennedy Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (February 27, 1958 – December 31, 1997) was an American lawyer, businessman, and activist in Massachusetts. He was the sixth of eleven children to Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel. Kennedy also served as the head of t ...
was assigned as her godparent by their mother. In December 1997, she tried to resuscitate her brother Michael after a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado, which was fatal. Friends of the Kennedy family said Rory and Michael spoke almost every day of their lives. When Rory was a teenager, she was arrested during a protest outside the South African Embassy. When she was 15, her 28-year-old brother
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
died from a
drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.
. Rory graduated from
Madeira School The Madeira School (simply referred to as Madeira School or Madeira) is an elite, private, day and boarding college-preparatory school for girls in McLean, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1906 by Lucy Madeira Wing. History Origi ...
in
McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...
and then
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. During her sophomore year at Brown, Rory organized a rally in front of a Providence supermarket. In solidarity with migrant farm workers, she urged shoppers to boycott grapes.


Career

In the 1990s, Rory and fellow Brown classmate Vanessa Vadim (daughter of
Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...
and Jane Fonda) formed May Day Media, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that specializes in the production and distribution of films with a social conscience. ''Women of Substance'' was Kennedy's first documentary. The film was released in 1994, and the idea came out of a paper about female addicts that she wrote while a student at Brown. In 1998, Kennedy and another fellow Brown graduate
Liz Garbus Elizabeth Freya Garbus (born April 11, 1970) is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are '' The Farm: Angola, USA,'' ''Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,'' ''Bobby Fischer Against the World,'' ''Love, Maril ...
founded Moxie Firecracker Films, which specializes in documentaries that highlight pressing social issues. The television networks that have shown its films include: A&E, the UK's
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
,
Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
,
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
,
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, Lifetime, MTV,
Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
,
Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly kno ...
, and
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
. She directed and co-produced ''American Hollow'' (1999), a film about a struggling Appalachian family that received critical acclaim and many awards. HBO broadcast the film and
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...
simultaneously released Kennedy's companion book. Kennedy presented the documentary at Wittenberg University on September 13, 2001. After the film's presentation, she answered questions. In October 2001, Kennedy traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to address the opening meeting of the National Council of Jewish Women. At the meeting, she spoke about her documentary film-production company ''Change the World Through Film''. Kennedy directed and co-produced the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated series ''Pandemic: Facing AIDS'' (2003), which premiered at the
International AIDS Conference The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries , including clinicians, people living with HIV, service providers, policy makers and others. It aims to r ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain, on July 8, 2002. It was funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
, and it tells the real stories of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
patients outside the Western world. It was broadcast in America as a five-part series on HBO in June 2003. Kennedy directed and co-produced ''A Boy's Life'' (2004), the story of a young boy and his family in rural
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. The movie premiered to rave reviews at the 2003
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
and was awarded the Best Documentary prize at the
Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...
; it was later broadcast on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. When Kennedy was asked in a March 24, 2004, interview with ''Salon'' about her interest in the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, she cited her father's experiences in the region as an inspiration and starting point. In the same article, she goes on to mention that showing class differences in American culture also motivates her. She directed and co-produced ''Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable'' (2004) for HBO, which was broadcast on September 9, 2004. The film takes a "what if" look at the catastrophic consequences of a
radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
release at the
Indian Point Energy Center Indian Point Energy Center (I.P.E.C.) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, just south of Peekskill, in Westchester County, New York. It sits on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of Midtown Manhattan. ...
, a three-unit
nuclear-power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...
plant station, located north of
midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
, New York City, New York. Rory directed and co-produced ''
Homestead Strike The Homestead strike, also known as the Homestead steel strike, Homestead massacre, or Battle of Homestead, was an industrial lockout and strike that began on July 1, 1892, culminating in a battle in which strikers defeated private security age ...
'' (2006) as part of
The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's series, '' 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America'' (April 2006). She was a co-executive producer for '' Street Fight'' (2005), which chronicles the 2002
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Democratic
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...
— then a Newark Municipal Councilman — against Democratic eighteen-year
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Sharpe James Sharpe James (born February 20, 1936) is an American Democratic politician from New Jersey, who served as State Senator for the 29th Legislative District and was 37th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. James was the second African American Mayor of ...
. The film earned an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for Best Documentary (Feature). (Booker later won the mayoral election on May 9, 2006, against Democratic
Ronald Rice Ronald L. Rice (born December 18, 1945) is a former American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1986 to 2022. He represented the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state s ...
; James did not seek re-election for another four-year term in 2006.) Kennedy directed and co-produced ''
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib ''Ghosts of Abu Ghraib'' is a 2007 documentary film, directed by Rory Kennedy, that examines the events of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. The film premiered January 19, 2007, at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film a ...
'' (2007), which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
and won the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Documentary. Kennedy first learned of the Abu Ghraib prison practices when images came out in the media, which were accompanied by a ''New Yorker'' article by Seymour Hersh. According to Kennedy, she was "horrified and shocked and disgusted" by the images of the naked prisoners and laughing American soldiers. She conducted interviews with people who were present at the prison along with those directly involved in the abuse. Kennedy's opinion of the participants changed after she interviewed them, when she began feeling they "were very humane and very much like me" and discovered they "were not monsters." She directed ''Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House'' for HBO Documentary Films, which premiered on HBO on August 18, 2008. According to reviews, the 40-minute-long documentary provided an interesting, though brief, glimpse into the iconic journalist. On June 30, 2009, Kennedy was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
. Kennedy directed ''The Fence (La Barda)'', which premiered at the opening night of The Sundance Film Festival 2010. The film made its debut on HBO on September 16, 2010. Favorably received, it details the woeful inadequacies of the border fence between the United States and Mexico, which has increased migrants' deaths, but does not deter illegal immigration. In 2011, she produced and directed ''
Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...
'', which was a documentary about her mother. The movie premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO on October 18, 2012. Reviews portrayed the documentary as a moving tribute, but criticized its lack of depth. Kennedy conducted interviews with her siblings over five days at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port. For the finished film, she went through "some 100 hours" of archive footage, photos and home videos. ''
Last Days in Vietnam ''Last Days in Vietnam'' is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014. After its premiere at Sundance Film Festival, '' Am ...
'' was directed by Kennedy and co-produced with Keven McAlester; the documentary film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. During production of the film, she spoke with U.S. military and Vietnam nationals now in the U.S. and said the most exciting part of the film to her was "telling the untold stories about Americans and Vietnamese who were on the ground, who went against U.S. policy and risked their lives to save Vietnamese". Kennedy was reported to have signed with production company Nonfiction Unlimited in May 2014. In September 2014, ''Last Days in Vietnam'' opened at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles. Kennedy had difficulty getting some of the people featured in her film to get involved. Out of them, she believed
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
had the most reluctance to the project. On their reluctance, Kennedy stated: "I think a lot of those folks suffered post-traumatic stress from that moment. When I asked them to relive it, it really took a toll. Many of the people told me it took them a week to recover from the interviews. I've gotten tons of emails from people in Vietnam who can't see the film because it's too traumatic for them." ''Last Days in Vietnam'' was nominated as Best Documentary Feature for the
87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
.


Activism and politics

Kennedy advocates for several social activism organizations and sits on the board of numerous non-profit organizations. In March 2010, Kennedy gave a presentation at The Ritz-Carlton, where she spoke on the effects of alcohol and drug abuse and concluded that addiction and domestic violence "are intricately connected." She also voiced her support of treatment options, calling them "more important than the criminal justice approach". Executive director and CEO of Comprehensive Alcoholism Rehabilitation Programs Robert Bozzone agreed with her opinion and added, "If you listen to Rory, treatment is more effective than incarceration." Referring to the shooting of Michael Brown, Kennedy believed the reason it garnered national media attention "is that it's a touch point that indicates a larger social challenge that we all need to mull over and try to grapple with in a thoughtful and considerate way, and I think it has to do both with race and class." On January 11, 2019, Kennedy co-authored a
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
opinion piece with
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
singer
Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
and the Malibu Foundation's Trevor Neilson on the current
climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term describing global warming and climate change, and their impacts. The term and the alternative term ''climate emergency'' have been used to describe the threat of global warming to humanity (and their planet), and to u ...
.


2008 Barack Obama endorsement

Kennedy announced her support of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
as the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
's nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election in an
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
essay, "Two fine choices, one clear decision - Obama", in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' stating: Kennedy subsequently endorsed Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
in 2016.


Personal life

Following college graduation, Kennedy moved to New York and then briefly to Los Angeles. Kennedy's brother
Michael LeMoyne Kennedy Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (February 27, 1958 – December 31, 1997) was an American lawyer, businessman, and activist in Massachusetts. He was the sixth of eleven children to Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel. Kennedy also served as the head of t ...
died in December 1997 as a result of a skiing accident. She was with him at the time of the accident and tried to save his life by giving him
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a form of artificial ventilation, is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration in which a rescuer presses their mouth against that of the victim and blows air into the person's lungs. Artificial respiration ta ...
. Despite her efforts, he had been fatally injured and his blood stained her mouth. Kennedy attended his funeral in January 1998. On August 2, 1999, Kennedy married Mark Bailey in Greece at the mansion of shipping tycoon Vardis Vardinoyiannis. Kennedy met Bailey in Washington through mutual friends after graduating from Brown University. The wedding was originally scheduled for July 17 in
Hyannis Port, Massachusetts Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is an affluent summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis. Community It has ...
, but was postponed after the plane piloted by her cousin John F. Kennedy, Jr. and passengers
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (January 7, 1966July 16, 1999) was a publicist for Calvin Klein. After her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., Bessette-Kennedy's relationship with her husband and her fashion sense became the subjects of media scr ...
(his wife) and her sister, Lauren Bessette crashed en route to the event. The tent erected for the wedding instead became a site for family prayers during the search for her cousin. In October 1999, Kennedy and her husband moved with their dog Clementine to a new home in a West Village neighborhood they reportedly "loved." Rory and Mark have two daughters, Georgia Elizabeth Kennedy-Bailey (b. 2002) and Bridget Katherine Kennedy-Bailey (b. 2004), and one son, Zachary Corkland Kennedy-Bailey (b. 2007).Beggy, Carol and Mark Shanahan, Mark (July 17, 2009)
"Busy Moore Takes Time to Sing Local Costar's Praises"
''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. Accessed August 25, 2009.
Around the time of the birth of her second daughter in 2004, Kennedy and her husband purchased a home. Kennedy went on maternity leave from her filmmaking career for the birth of her son in 2007. She sold her Shelter Island home in December 2009. Rory's nephew Conor dated
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
in 2012. According to Ethel Kennedy, Swift began associating with the family after Rory attended a concert with Georgia and Bridget Kennedy. Rory said she loved the singer and her music. In July 2012, Kennedy's sister
Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
swerved her Lexus SUV into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 684. During the trial in February 2014, Kennedy defended her sister by insisting that she had "reputation for sobriety and general healthy living". According to Trulia.com, Kennedy purchased a home in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...
, in January 2013 and currently resides there.


Public image

Prior to the 1990s, Kennedy was said to have been known solely for being the child who was born after the assassination of her father, Robert F. Kennedy. Following the plane crash of her cousin John F. Kennedy, Jr., she established notability for being the cousin whose wedding he planned to attend. Anita Gates of ''The New York Times'' wrote that Kennedy would understandably want to be known as "the one who became a filmmaker." She has elicited sympathy in some corners. Edward Klein wrote in his book ''The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years'' that Rory Kennedy "had suffered more from the Kennedy Curse than any other member of the family." Klein then listed the deaths of her father and brother David, as well as her role in unsuccessfully attempting to save the life of her brother Michael Kennedy. Kennedy has spoken of her work and its relation to that of her father. "I don't think of it as a continuation of his work, but I certainly think I was influenced by the person that he was and have made a range of choices because of what he contributed to the world. I have enormous respect for all that he accomplished in his short life and how much he was able to move people and touch people. I've certainly been inspired by that." On January 14, 2010, Full Frame announced Kennedy and Liz Garbus would be the recipients of that year's Career Award. In the press release, Full Frame called the duo's work "unique".


Works


Bibliography

*Kennedy, Rory; Lehman, Steve; Bailey, Mark (1999). ''American Hollow''. Boston. Bulfinch Press (
Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown (publisher), James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Ear ...
).


Documentary filmography (as director)

*'' American Hollow'' (1999) *''Different Moms'' (1999) *''Epidemic Africa'' (1999) *''The Changing Face of Beauty'' (2000) *''America: Up In Arms'' (2000) *''All Kinds of Families'' (2001) *''Healthy Start'' (2001) *''Pandemic: Facing AIDS'' (2003) *''A Boy's Life'' (2004) *''Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable'' (2004) *''Homestead Strike'' (2006) *''
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib ''Ghosts of Abu Ghraib'' is a 2007 documentary film, directed by Rory Kennedy, that examines the events of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. The film premiered January 19, 2007, at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film a ...
'' (2007) *''Thank You Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House'' (2008) *''The Fence'' (2010) *''
Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...
'' (2012) *''
Last Days in Vietnam ''Last Days in Vietnam'' is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014. After its premiere at Sundance Film Festival, '' Am ...
'' (2014) *''Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton'' (2017) *''Without a Net: The Digital Divide in America'' (2017) *''Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow'' (2018) *'' Downfall: The Case Against Boeing'' (2022)


Documentary filmography (as producer)

*''The Execution of Wanda Jean'' (2002) *''Sixteen'' (2002) in four parts: **''Schooling Jewel'' **''Sex Talk'' **''Pepa's Fight'' **''Refuse to Lose'' *''Hidden Crisis: Women and AIDS'' (2002) *''Together: Stop Violence Against Women'' (2003) *''The Nazi Officer's Wife'' (2003) *''Girlhood'' (2004) *''Xiara's Song'' (2004) *'' Street Fight'' (2005) *''Yo Soy Boricua'' (2006) *''
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib ''Ghosts of Abu Ghraib'' is a 2007 documentary film, directed by Rory Kennedy, that examines the events of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. The film premiered January 19, 2007, at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film a ...
'' (2007) *''Coma'' (2007) *'' Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech'' (2009) *''The Fence'' (2010) *'' Bobby Fischer Against the World'' (2011) *''
Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...
'' (2012) *''The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari'' (2022)


See also

* Kennedy tragedies *
Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...
*
Kennedy family tree The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Rory 1968 births Living people American documentary filmmakers American film producers American people of Dutch descent American people of Irish descent Brown University alumni Primetime Emmy Award winners
Rory Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", ...
Madeira School alumni Writers from Brooklyn Robert F. Kennedy Writers from Washington, D.C. Film directors from Washington, D.C. Film directors from New York (state) American women documentary filmmakers