10 Jackie Kennedy Quotes That America Still Needs To Hear

Publish date: 2024-08-04

These Jackie Kennedy quotes reveal the iconic first lady's wisdom on everything from history to sex to her husband's assassination.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is likely the most iconic first lady in American history.

Embracing the role, she transformed the White House with museum quality paintings, a French chef, and many glamorous parties. Her fashion sense was religiously imitated by women around the globe, her popularity abroad once prompting John F. Kennedy to say, “I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris — and I have enjoyed it.”

Despite her fame, an integral part of her allure lay in her mysteriousness. She spoke carefully and quietly, but her words had staying power.

Here are some of our favorite Jackie Kennedy quotes:

On Changing The World:

Jackie Kennedy Quotes "One man can make a difference and every man should try." AFP/Getty Images

On Feeling Different:

Inspiring Jackie Kennedy Quotes "The trouble with me is that I'm an outsider. And that's a very hard thing to be in American life."Art Rickerby/Getty Images

On Her Press Policy:

White House Jackie "I want minimum information given with maximum politeness."White House Photo/Library of Congress

On Her Husband's Assassination:

Kennedy Christmas "He didn't even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights. It had to be some silly little communist."Robert Knudsen -- Official White House Photo/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

On Her Unwillingness to Keep a Diary:

Reporter Jackie "I want to live my life, not record it."AFP/Getty Images

On Sex:

Bride Jackie "Sex is a bad thing because it rumples the clothes."AFP/Getty Images

On Switching Parties:

Kennedy Family Dogs "You have to have been a Republican to know how good it is to be a Democrat."Cecil Stoughton/U.S. National Archives

On Parenting:

Jackie And John Jr "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."AFP/Getty Images

On History:

Old Jackie "History -- it's what those bitter old men write."STAFF/AFP/Getty Images

On Spontaneity:

Interesting Quotes From Jackie Kennedy "The only routine with me is no routine at all."STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Love this first lady wisdom in these Jackie Kennedy quotes? Check out these Eleanor Roosevelt quotes. Then take a look at these amazing John F. Kennedy photos.

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