Caroline Kennedy Biography

Fast Facts

• A longtime supporter of the Fund for Public Schools, she helped raise almost $300 million for the organization while serving as a chairwoman in the 2000s
• Helped establish the Profile in Courage Award in 1989, a distinction given to public service members who embody the spirit of her father's book, Profiles in Courage
• Serves as the honorary president of the Kennedy Library Foundation based in Boston
• Named U․S․ Ambassador to Japan by the U․S․ Senate on October 16, 2013
• After earning her bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1980, she would later earn her J․D․ from Columbia Law School
• Briefly campaigned for a seat in the U․S․ Senate once held by her uncle Robert, but ultimately decided to withdraw her efforts in January of 2009
• Interested in journalism since college, she once worked as an intern at the New York Daily News, as well as a photographer's assistant at the 1976 Olympics
• A New York Times bestselling author, she published her first book, In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action, in 1991
• Provided inspiration for Neil Diamond's hit, "Sweet Caroline․"