Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bassette

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Carolyn was an example of someone truly making the most of her looks in every possible way. It's true her face was not conventionally beautiful. And someone else would have handed that by getting plastic surgery or trying to "correct" things like her more prominent nose or her hooded eyelids. Instead, she embraced them via a stripped down style. Minimal makeup with emphasis on strong lip color and little else. She often parted her hair in middle or in a severe way that drew attention to her face and its features. No bangs or shorter layers near her face, and she often slicked her hair back or used a headband to highlight her facial features. She was tall and super thin, and she wore clothes that emphasized both things. She stuck to black and white for most of her clothes, rarely wore patterns or anything that would pull attention.

And it worked. She was magnetic looking. Like, yes, I get what you're saying that her face was not what we think of when we think of beauty. But look at her and tell me that she wouldn't be the most striking and appealing woman in most rooms she entered:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, not to pick, but as Catholics, the Kennedy family would have made the Sign of the Cross both before and after the dinner prayer.

Noticed this too. Really bugs me when this happens in shows, or they have them hold hands during grace, which Catholics don't traditionally do, or say anything other than the "Bless us, O Lord" grace. It's not hard to find out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not denying that he wasn't a perfect high school student, but he chose Brown in part because his cousin Kerry had gone to college there and really loved it.

That's the cover story to try to cover that even for a Kennedy he wasn't very bright.

Had he wanted to go to Harvard, not being very bright would not have stopped him. They would have happily admitted JFK's not very bright son. In a heartbeat.

If he had the self-awareness to realize that he might not fit in well at Harvard specifically because he's just not that academic of a person, good for him. I see how Brown was a better fit for his personality and the professional goals he wound up pursuing. Also by the time he went to college, his corner of the family was always leaning way more towards the arts and humanities (as opposed to law and politics) and Brown has more of a rep in those areas. His mom was a book editor, his sister a writer who married and artist. His aunt Lee was in fashion and interior design. His cousin Anthony (Lee's son, who he was close to), made films. These were rich people enjoying their lives by pursuing artistic passions, and Brown is a better fit for someone like that.

I think he got pushed into law by his dad's end of the family, and by the weight of his dad's and uncle's legacy. I don't think he actually wanted to go to law school or be a lawyer, but people viewed his acting ambitions as a joke and there was immense pressure on him to carry on a legacy. I think way less from his mom and sister (who just wanted him to get his act together) than from the rest of the Kennedy clan.

I'm around the same age and Brown was very cool at that time. It was hip and glamorous and popular and I can see why it appealed to him. He was arty and cool.

But I think Jackie pushed him into law. She was against his becoming an actor and discouraged it. He probably should have pursued that. He would have been a success at it because there would have been huge PR efforts to promote him. Even if he couldn't act, lots of successful actors can't, but many have star quality, which he had.

[Anonymous]

I loved the Hyannis Port stuff but it also made John seem like an ass not warning Carolyn about all the idiosyncrasies of the place. There's really nothing so weird about signing up for meals at a compound with so many people: otherwise how are the hostess/staff going to deal with preparing food, setting table, cleaning...? Same with the separate rooms, political dinner quiz...And what was up with them leaving without saying goodbye to Ethel at the end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Looks like he had better taste than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actress playing Daryl Hannah looks nothing like her. Her face and accent are completely wrong and very distracting.,

I actually think the actress captures her likeness remarkably well. Her shaggy hair, her walk, her voice. I agree Daryl Hannah is supremely irritating and whiny in this show, but job well done on the actor’s part.

The actors portraying Carolyn B and John don’t capture their essence at all. And of course Naomi Watts playing Jackie is a joke. Terrible casting.

The Daryl Hannah portrayal is a hoot. It is not flattering but probably accurate. She was probably very Hollywood-New Age.

How’d she end up married to Neil Young?

They are both really into environmental causes and activism.

Darryl grew up around even more wealth than jfk jr. Darryl’s stepfather was a billionaire real estate tycoon from Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Carolyn was an example of someone truly making the most of her looks in every possible way. It's true her face was not conventionally beautiful. And someone else would have handed that by getting plastic surgery or trying to "correct" things like her more prominent nose or her hooded eyelids. Instead, she embraced them via a stripped down style. Minimal makeup with emphasis on strong lip color and little else. She often parted her hair in middle or in a severe way that drew attention to her face and its features. No bangs or shorter layers near her face, and she often slicked her hair back or used a headband to highlight her facial features. She was tall and super thin, and she wore clothes that emphasized both things. She stuck to black and white for most of her clothes, rarely wore patterns or anything that would pull attention.

And it worked. She was magnetic looking. Like, yes, I get what you're saying that her face was not what we think of when we think of beauty. But look at her and tell me that she wouldn't be the most striking and appealing woman in most rooms she entered:

Jackie was not conventionally beautiful at all either, and yet. There is more than one way to be striking and stylish and it's sad people now feel there is a mold of perfect little neat features to conform to, or else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were ridiculously beautiful and charismatic, but I can't believe anyone is romanticizing their relationship. She was his sidepiece while he had an official GF for years, and she was completely miserable within a year of the marriage. They both cheated. I mean, ick.

Who cares if they cheated? They were the “it” couple. Beautiful, charismatic, dashing.

She was a totally standout among the Kennedy women in any gathering. Like, there wasn't anyone even close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Looks like he had better taste than you.

No, he just liked horse faced women - SJP, Daryl, Carolyn. All have/had long faces and prominent noses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Looks like he had better taste than you.

No, he just liked horse faced women - SJP, Daryl, Carolyn. All have/had long faces and prominent noses.

Yet you were “shocked” he dated her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Looks like he had better taste than you.

No, he just liked horse faced women - SJP, Daryl, Carolyn. All have/had long faces and prominent noses.

True. Carolyn is a great beauty compared to ugly-faced Sarah Jessica Parker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

I think she was very striking. Gorgeous eyes, hair, and figure.

She embodied that era’s beauty standard—tall, Caucasian, straight figure up and down, rail thin, fake but tasteful(ish) blond, plain face that stood out with makeup such as a bold lip. It’s was a look for the era that very few could match.

We can’t talk about horse faces without talkings about Carol(e?) Radziwell. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Naomi Watts going for a parody of Jackie O? She gave one of the worst performances I’ve seen. I wanted to fast forward all the scenes with her as she was so awful. Meryl’s daughter is a plank of wood as well.

People are criticizing Naomi's performance because it comes off as weird, but Jackie really was that stilted and affected. Go watch the Jackie O White House tour. Naomi is doing a slightly less affected version of that, which makes sense, since she probably wouldn't be that stiff in private. But she had that very affected accent and breathy voice.

Yes, we all know. Regardless, Watts was terribly miscast. Not every actor can play a character. Her Jackie was nothing like Jackie O - her physicality was so different, her face, her movement, even her version of “breathy” wasn’t accurate. It was a big miss. Since she is only in the early episodes, it doesn’t sink the show.

For me, it isn’t even about Naomi missing. I just find the character really grating and I feel like we have 100 documentaries and fictionalized movies of Jackie. I wanted to focus on Carolyn and JFK Jr. I totally get that her presence affected him and she is a big part of the story, but I could’ve done with less of a focus on her in those early episodes. It was almost enough to get me to stop watching, but the first one was so good I powered through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn was a very pretty woman but I never understood the hype behind her personal style.

I did. She looked like someone who was effortlessly beautiful. A total it girl. Granted, I was 10 years old when she passed away so I’m sure what appeared effortless to me actually required a lot of maintenance.

Except her face was far from beautiful. I’m actually shocked JFK jr dated her.

Carolyn was an example of someone truly making the most of her looks in every possible way. It's true her face was not conventionally beautiful. And someone else would have handed that by getting plastic surgery or trying to "correct" things like her more prominent nose or her hooded eyelids. Instead, she embraced them via a stripped down style. Minimal makeup with emphasis on strong lip color and little else. She often parted her hair in middle or in a severe way that drew attention to her face and its features. No bangs or shorter layers near her face, and she often slicked her hair back or used a headband to highlight her facial features. She was tall and super thin, and she wore clothes that emphasized both things. She stuck to black and white for most of her clothes, rarely wore patterns or anything that would pull attention.

And it worked. She was magnetic looking. Like, yes, I get what you're saying that her face was not what we think of when we think of beauty. But look at her and tell me that she wouldn't be the most striking and appealing woman in most rooms she entered:

Jackie was not conventionally beautiful at all either, and yet. There is more than one way to be striking and stylish and it's sad people now feel there is a mold of perfect little neat features to conform to, or else.

I agree (though I don’t like Carolyn’s style myself). I hope you appreciate the irony of all these people in 2026 trying to confirm to Carolyn’s mold.