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1954–present
Who Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.—the son of former U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy—is an attorney, environmental and anti-vaccine activist, and syndicated talk radio host. He is a co-founder and former president of Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental protection organization focused on the preservation and conservation of water resources. In addition to writing on environmental issues for numerous publications, he served as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is married to Curb Your Enthusiasmactor Cheryl Hines. In April 2023, the Democrat announced he is running for president in the 2024 election.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.
BORN: January 17, 1954
BIRTHPLACE: Washington, D.C.
SPOUSES: Emily Ruth Black (1982–1994), Mary Richardson Kennedy (1994–2012), Cheryl Hines (2014–present)
CHILDREN: Robert, Kathleen, Conor, Kyra, William, and Aiden
PARENTS: Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn
Early Life and Education
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., who goes by Bobby, was born on January 17, 1954, in Washington, D.C., to Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. One of 11 children born to Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy—a former Democratic senator for New York and U.S. attorney general, who was assassinated in 1968—Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the nephew of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy and former U.S. senator Ted Kennedy. At a young age, Kennedy was taught to value a strong education and political activism.
After graduating from Millbrook Academy in Gloucestershire, England, Kennedy studied at the London School of Economics and Harvard University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in American history and literature in 1976. He went on to obtain doctorate in law from the University of Virginia and later a master’s degree in environmental law from Pace University. In 1983, he served as the assistant for district attorney of New York and that summer passed the written portion of his bar examination after his second attempt. He stepped away from his budding legal career after being arrested for drug possession at a South Dakota airport. He was charged with a felony and pleaded guilty.
As part of his sentencing, he began doing community service for Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the Hudson River. He became so involved at the nonprofit that after he finished his 1,500 hours of community service, he was hired as its chief attorney after having passed the final portion of the bar exam in 1985.
Environmental Activism
In 1998, Kennedy co-founded a bottled water company, Tear of the Clouds LLC, with Chris Bartle and John Hoving. A year later, he helped found Waterkeeper Alliance, a global umbrella group which supports local environmental organizations protect their respective bodies of water. In 2004, he became a co-host—along with Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder—of Ring of Fire, a syndicated U.S. talk radio show that focuses on American politics.
In the mid-2000s, Kennedy’s work centered on advocating for renewable energy development and encouraging citizens to protect their local waterways. In May of 2010, he was named a “Hero for the Planet” by Time for his work with Riverkeeper, helping to restore the Hudson River. Kennedy’s environmental activism also includes writing two books and numerous articles on issues affecting the environment. He served as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council for many years.
In 2016, he joined thousands of concerned citizens and Native Americans from numerous tribes at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline. He also denounced the use of militarized police against the peaceful protesters. “Today, we stand in solidarity with the people of Standing Rock and commend the Sioux Nation for taking on this courageous fight on behalf of our country, humanity, and democracy,” Kennedy said. “Across the nation, communities of color face environmental and public health threats most communities don’t have to think about. This historic peaceful protest declares that all communities deserve clean water.”
In 2017, after 33 years with Riverkeeper, Kennedy resigned as the New York–based group’s chief attorney and board member, citing a long-distance commute from his home on the West Coast and other commitments. Three years later, in November 2020, he left his position as president of Waterkeeper Alliance “to devote himself, full-time, to other issues.” He had been president since the nonprofit’s founding in 1999, and during his tenure, Waterkeeper Alliance grew to include more than 350 groups across 48 countries.
Anti-Vaccine Advocacy and Controversies
More recently, Kennedy has turned his focus to anti-vaccine activism, though he has said all his children were vaccinated and he got flu shots annually. He is known for his controversial views on the link between vaccinations and autism. He has been vocal against including the preservative thimerosal in vaccines, believing there is a government cover-up on its damaging effects on children. Peer-reviewed research studies have not found evidence of harmful side effects from thimerosal-containing vaccines.
In April 2015, Kennedy helped promote a film called Trace Amounts, which supports his views. The next year, he founded Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit previously known as the World Mercury Project. The group gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, though Meta banned its accounts on Facebook and Instagram in August 2022 for violating the platforms’ policies on spreading misinformation. Kennedy’s personal Instagram account had previously been banned in February 2021.
Over the years, he has made, then later apologized for, controversial statements connecting vaccine side effects and mandates to the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. His remarks have been widely condemned, including by his own family members.
2024 Presidential Campaign
Hoping to continue his family’s long lineage of public service, Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy for the 2024 presidential election on April 6, 2023. He is running for president as a Democrat. According to the Children’s Health Defense’s website, Kennedy began a leave of absence as the nonprofit’s chairman and chief legal counsel days prior to his filing, on April 2.
Kennedy has been open about his political ambitions. In a 2007 magazine interview with Oprah Winfrey, he said being a father was one reason he hadn’t yet run for office but that he was interested. When Winfrey asked if he would ever run for president, Kennedy said, “If opportunities came up for me to run for office, I would probably do it.”
Legal Troubles
Kennedy has had a few brushes with the legal system. As a teenager, he was arrested in Massachusetts for smoking marijuana and placed on 13 months’ probation.
In September 1983 when he was 29 years old, Kennedy was arrested after experienced an apparent drug overdose during a flight to Rapid City, South Dakota. At the airport, police confiscated his luggage and found “a small amount”—reportedly 183 milligrams—of heroin. Shortly after, he entered a drug treatment program in New Jersey. Kennedy pleaded guilty to a felony possession charge and was sentenced to two years’ probation, drug testing and treatment, and several hours of community service. Not long after, the charge was expunged from his record. In a 2007 interview, he said he had been sober for 23 years.
Decades later, in 2001, he and several others—including Al Sharpton and Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of Jesse Jackson—were convicted of trespassing during a protest of U.S. Navy bombing exercises on Vieques island in Puerto Rico. Kennedy served a 30-day jail sentence. In 2019, he was arrested at the U.S. Capitol during a climate change protest, organized by actor Jane Fonda.
Wives and Children
Kennedy married Emily Ruth Black, whom he met at the University of Virginia law school, in 1982. The couple had two children, Robert and Kathleen, and divorced in March 1994.
Less than one month later, Kennedy married Mary Richardson during a ceremony that was held aboard a ship on the Hudson River. They had four children: Conor, Kyra, William and Aiden. On May 12, 2010, Kennedy filed for divorce from Mary Richardson Kennedy, and shortly after, she was arrested for drunk driving on two separate occasions. Mary was found dead in her home on May 16, 2012, and it was later determined that she had died of asphyxiation due to hanging. Their divorce had not been finalized at the time of her death.
Kennedy began dating actor Cheryl Hinesin 2010. They met through Larry David, Hines’ co-star on Curb Your Enthusiasm, who introduced them two years in a row. Kennedy and Hines married on August 2, 2014. She has a daughter from a previous marriage. Both Kennedy and Hines ski.
Health Challenges
When he was in his 40s, Kennedy was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition affecting the voice box that causes strained speech. In a 2007 interview, he said his condition began as a mild tremble before progressing.
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