Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bassette

[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.

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.

I wonder why so many posts from yesterday were deleted? I find the glorification of and TV show about this couple bizarre particularly since we live in an era being a Kennedy doesn’t make you a star and we now know so much more about their problematic dealings with one another.

So only positive posts allowed? We can’t ask why there is all this nostalgia for two immature, half baked, but pretty people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yep, neither Jackie nor Carolyn was conventionally beautiful or pretty. If you look at old pictures and read the accounts, the most conventionally beautiful Kennedy wife was by far Joan.

[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.

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.

I don’t understand why you would come out of left field and criticize Carole’s face. Especially after defending Carolyn’s? I mean really, what do you people look like! Arm chair critics.

[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.

Many friends of hers and John's have said she was much, much more stunning in person. Maybe just didn't photograph well (believe she tried modeling early on, but maybe just not photogenic though gorgeous IRL).

[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.

Ah, that explains his secret obsession with the TV show “Mr. Ed.”

[Anonymous]

All of this took place in the 90s, so we are getting to a point where most viewers of the show don’t actually know firsthand how the main characters spoke and acted. I think the show was created with this in mind and was less about strict accuracy and more about creating a vibe of the era while playing up the tragic arc of the relationship. I am 42 and while I remember the airplane accident in the news, I don’t have any firm recollection of any of the other stuff that happened in the show.

This is why I think certain casting choices (like Grace Gummer) are not about finding the most identical actress, but about someone who projects the patrician vibe they are going for. I did not know what Caroline looked like at that age but I very much feel like Gummer is giving “Kennedy” as I understand it, if that makes sense.

Now whether that is the best directorial choice, who knows - but a lot of the choices make sense that way.

Naomi Watts is still indefensible. I hate to say that, but this was a miss.

[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.

Many friends of hers and John's have said she was much, much more stunning in person. Maybe just didn't photograph well (believe she tried modeling early on, but maybe just not photogenic though gorgeous IRL).

People looked much more real in the 90s too. I love seeing how much more “flawed” celebs looked in the 90s, but it is pretty shocking how homogenous our facial beauty standards have become.

I think she was beautiful but one of those faces where a photo from a certain angle can freeze her in an angle that does not do her justice

[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.

+1. Part of what’s striking about Carolyn is that she was beautiful without looking like every other conventionally beautiful blonde. She had a beautiful body, gorgeous hair, and striking eyes. I actually think her less conventional looks made her seem more interesting to people subconsciously.

And I know plenty of women like Carolyn who married rich. They weren’t the most naturally beautiful people in the room, but they were thin, disciplined and put together. Most had more impressive pedigrees though. More like Jackie in that sense - from the right families, went to the right schools and were polished in an intentional but subtle way. Carolyn came from an UMC background and went to BU. So it was other factors - namely her looks, dedication to her appearance and her line of work (which was also somewhat related to her looks and dedication to her appearance) that put her in JFK jr.’s orbit.

[Anonymous]

Quick question- does the series get better as it goes on? I’m find the first 4 episodes very slow and a bit boring. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quick question- does the series get better as it goes on? I’m find the first 4 episodes very slow and a bit boring. Thanks

I mean there are only 5 episodes available so you're only one episode away from where anywhere else is.

That said, the show has seemed to pick up for me after Jackie dies and Daryl Hannah is out of the picture, and it's just focused on John and Carolyn. Partly because I just found those two performances hard to watch, but also because now it's genuinely just about their relationship, and Carolyn's conflict over getting serious with someone so famous and scrutinized. That's a lot more interesting to me than multiple scenes about whether Jackie approves of Daryl Hannah and if not why not.

[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.

Many friends of hers and John's have said she was much, much more stunning in person. Maybe just didn't photograph well (believe she tried modeling early on, but maybe just not photogenic though gorgeous IRL).

People looked much more real in the 90s too. I love seeing how much more “flawed” celebs looked in the 90s, but it is pretty shocking how homogenous our facial beauty standards have become.

I think she was beautiful but one of those faces where a photo from a certain angle can freeze her in an angle that does not do her justice

I had not seen the interviews with her friends on her beauty but on her fashion. So many say her fashion was much more interesting before she hooked up with JFK, which is interesting because people are going crazy for her clothes when she was married.

[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.

Many friends of hers and John's have said she was much, much more stunning in person. Maybe just didn't photograph well (believe she tried modeling early on, but maybe just not photogenic though gorgeous IRL).

People looked much more real in the 90s too. I love seeing how much more “flawed” celebs looked in the 90s, but it is pretty shocking how homogenous our facial beauty standards have become.

I think she was beautiful but one of those faces where a photo from a certain angle can freeze her in an angle that does not do her justice

This is so true. I'm 60-something so I lived through this as an adult. You have to understand that having "work" done on one's face and body was just not a common thing in those days. Face lifts, nose jobs, and maybe an eye lift or tummy tuck exisited, but were only for the wealthy, and even then, only much older weathly women. Fillers, botox, etc. just did not exist yet. So most people looked very natural. And I'm feeling very nostalgic for the days with no cell phones. Sigh.

That said, my 20-something daughter talked me into watching this (she said - "I have no idea who these people are - but I'm obsessed!") I told her that Jackie and JFK Jr. were Taylor Swift level of famous with photographers camped outside their apartments 24/7. I guess you could say that JFK Jr. and Carolyn were the Taylor and Travis of the 90s (fame-wise, not comparing them at all!). The protrayal of Jackie is really awful. The two leads aren't terrible, but it's hard to capture the charisma of JFK Jr. I think the Daryl Hannah actress has the hair and mannerisms down, but her face is just not as sweet and pretty as Daryl was when she was young. I told my daughter she should watch Splash - a great rom-com starring Daryl and Tom Hanks to see her in her prime.

[Anonymous]

Can someone summarize what the dramatic tension here is? Two wealthy people fall in love … and?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone summarize what the dramatic tension here is? Two wealthy people fall in love … and?

Well, I don’t want to ruin the ending, but…

In seriousness, it’s not about the dramatic tension. It’s historical semi-fiction. It’s about a glimpse behind the curtains of a couple who were very famous, gorgeous, and essentially American royalty. No matter how fictionalized. It’s essentially a season of the crown, but about the Kennedy’s.

[Anonymous]

I am finding it slow and don't love all the actors (maybe they tried to be too true to life?) but I am enjoying how well they have captured the 90s - clothes, hair, smoking...