Anonymous wrote:Disagree. It was possible for JFK Jr to walk down the street by himself in Manhattan; I saw it with my own eyes. Not remotely possible for Diana to be in public without bodyguards fending off admirers.

This. Diana couldn't go anywhere in the world without hordes of people following her, not just paparazzi but just regular people. Her face was iconic. When she died it overshadowed the death of Mother Theresa.

Had JFK Jr not died, I think he'd be little more famous than other members if his family now -- Maria Shriver level I think. It's probable he and Carolyn would have divorced without having kids, so that spell would have broken, and he'd be just another rich nepo kid in NYC.

Disagree. It was possible for JFK Jr to walk down the street by himself in Manhattan; I saw it with my own eyes. Not remotely possible for Diana to be in public without bodyguards fending off admirers.

Michael Jackson and Elvis were as famous as Diana

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On an international level, Diana was definitely the more famous of the two. Here in the US in the 90s though, I would say she and JFK Jr were on equal footing.

This I agree with.

Ever since those two, there has been no one to replace them with that level of fame and interest.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt

Princess Diana was known worldwide, even to those of us who aren't Royal followers, thanks to her humanitarian efforts, esp. with AIDS/HIV awareness and work to ban landmines.

JFK Jr. was more like a rich American "guy" with famous parents and People giving lots of coverage in the 90s. And several references on "Seinfeld", too.

I'm in my 50s, remember both their deaths very well. But Diana >> JFK Jr.

I think Diana was more famous. That said I remember watching the coverage of both of their deaths as a child. My mom was particularly devastated by jfk jr’s death but I think Diana’s was more global, consuming and long term covered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French, and lived in Paris when Lady Di crashed in the tunnel. It was on all news channels, constantly, for days. I was vaguely aware that her personal life had been splashed in the papers for years before that, but I was a kid back then. I had never heard of JFK Jr. until his helicopter accident.

But maybe in this country there's more of an equivalency?

It was a small plane, not a helicopter.

Ah, sorry. Clearly I still don't know much about him.

You probably mixed that incident up with Kobe Bryant. Its understandable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French, and lived in Paris when Lady Di crashed in the tunnel. It was on all news channels, constantly, for days. I was vaguely aware that her personal life had been splashed in the papers for years before that, but I was a kid back then. I had never heard of JFK Jr. until his helicopter accident.

But maybe in this country there's more of an equivalency?

It was a small plane, not a helicopter.

Ah, sorry. Clearly I still don't know much about him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On an international level, Diana was definitely the more famous of the two. Here in the US in the 90s though, I would say she and JFK Jr were on equal footing.

Absolutely false.

Not every American was obsessed with the British royals.

The thing about Diana was that you could know nothing about the British royals and you'd still know Diana. Also she was known by people of every age. I think JFK Jr. had a narrower demographic reach, consisting of Boomers nostalgic for his parents (which was not all Boomers and would skew towards Democrats, Catholics who idolized the Kennedys, and women) and women in their 20s in the 90s who would have considered him a lust object. But children, middle aged men, most Republicans -- these people didn't care about JFK Jr. But a lot of those people still cared about Diana.

PP here again. I'll add that Diana's funeral was on the day I got married. I was getting ready with the TV on and all of us glued to the coverage. Then my mom came into my room and turned it off - saying why on earth was I watching a funeral on my wedding day!

I'm the same age as Diana and JFK Jr. so I lived through their fame as an adult. I agree with everyone who says that Diana was much more internationally-known. I also agree with the PP who said Diana's fame and world-wide admiration was more akin to Jackie's.

I was from a working-class, immigrant family who knew NOTHING about the BRF, but all my friends and I got up at 4:00 a.m. to watch Charles and Diana's wedding. And discussed whether or not it was worth marrying that old, ugly guy to become a princess!

Anonymous wrote:Diana was world wide popular. JFKJ mostly a US thing.

This. Diana was global but JFK Jr was not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an Irish American Catholic in my 40s, so I was in my late teens when they each died. I was aware of Princess Di for my entire life. I had Princess Di and Grace Kelly paper dolls. I knew the iconic photo of JFK Jr saluting at his father’s funeral but I was not aware of JFK Jr as a celebrity in his own right until the Seinfeld episode where Elaine goes to his gym and fantasizes about him.

Isn’t the fact that the #1 American sitcom at the time had an episode with a character fantasizing about him an indication of the American perspective on his popularity and fame?

He was perfect for the show because he was a thoroughly NYC obsession. And NYC was pretty much the extent of his reach.

Diana was world wide popular. JFKJ mostly a US thing.

Yes, living outside the US, the only time I heard of jfk junior was in the news on the crash. Diana was everywhere though.