Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (also referred to as Jackie Kennedy or Jackie O) was the wife of John F. Kennedy from 1953 to 1963 and First Lady of the United States.
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Way ahead of her time
Jackie O was a shrewd lady and way ahead of her time. I had seen her shopping many times on Hermou Street in Athens as the road was filled with paparazzi and she would ascend to the roof of the building to have a helicopter take her away. I always wondered if she spoke one word of Greek as I know that at her funeral they did recite from the Alexandrian Greek poet C. P. Kavafy the famous poem" Ithaca" which was a favourite of hers apparently. At the Onassis Foundation building, her portrait is formidably situated between Tina Onassis, Maria Callas and Penelope, the mother of Onassis. Her time as Jackie O gave her a new lease on life. She was cultured but not giving. Jackie evoked a hysteria when she was First Lady like no one before her or since. Onassis, it is said, once took her to a Greek nightclub asking her to take her lipstick off. He owned the club where the famous Christakis sang bouzouki numbers like "I want to be as free as a bird" and he made her dance while he threw caly plates that broke on the floor. That is the way I will remember Jackie on that night in Athens when she, like Zorba before her, was celebrating life.
Anita, Canada - 21 February 2008
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A spirit of adventure
Jackie Kennedy brought beauty, intelligence and cultivated taste. At her funeral, her son described three of her attributes: "love of words, the bonds of home and family, and her spirit of adventure". Still today Jackie is known for an impeccable style and is thought of as one of the most stylish of the First Ladies.
Joanna, Poland - 03 February 2008