For those watching the finale episodes of Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story,” they are now aware of one version of the tragedy that immortalized the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette on a hot, overcast July day in 1999.
Like all media outlets, Women’s Wear Daily stood at the center of the unfolding drama, even as time seemed to slow, stretching the wait for confirming their deaths into what felt like years rather than days. Revisiting the moment — and the chosen cover image — the show has revived the nostalgic fantasy of the Kennedy Camelot, so deeply embedded and desired by a public then eager for its return. But it was already lost.
Once again, an industry that helped give rise to modern cultural influence found itself confronting a familiar paparazzi frenzy. This moment echoed the era defined by the untimely deaths of Gianni Versace, Princess Di, now mirrored in the tragedy of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. The question loomed: How should the moment be reflected?
President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis), 1966. Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and JFK Jr., 1999.
Fairchild Archive/WWD
To its credit, WWD navigated the situation with restraint, drawing on its institutional memory long familiar with the Kennedy narrative. The paper had chronicled the family since Senator John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier on Sept. 12, 1953 — their wedding was noted in its They Are Wearing column. That union marked the beginning of Camelot — an image both aspirational and inspirational.
Longtime readers of WWD may recall the late John B. Fairchild’s fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, including the pseudonym he coined for her, “Jackie O,” shortly after her 1968 marriage to Aristotle Onassis. By then, Jackie had already mastered the art of managing the press, WWD included, orchestrating each public appearance with intent.
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 1999, and Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis), 1966.
Fairchild Archive/WWD
In “Love Story,” JFK Jr. is positioned as a seemingly willing subject of the paparazzi. Carolyn, however, as a close friend and designer, Gordon Henderson recently told WWD, was not.
WWD understood the distinction — an experience they’d had with Jackie O — and chose to cover the couple with similar care and discretion it had once extended to Jackie.
So, when choosing a cover for the obituary — before the official announcement of their death that ran on July 19, 1999 — it featured an intimate shot of the couple with the headline “Paradise Lost.” It was Carolyn Bessette Kennedy who emerged not as a dire damsel but as a star. The daily making note that, had it all gone differently, Carolyn was “arguably the only true successor to Jackie’s legacy.” Because by then, she had begun to show the same understanding and intensity regarding the balance between the public and private spheres, becoming increasingly vigilant about protecting her privacy.
In the end, WWD committed to honoring the moment with restraint and respect within its sphere of influence.
