When Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Lee Radziwill exchanged Christmas gifts in 1996, it was a surprise for the elegant wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. Carolyn gave a beautiful Hermès blanket to Lee, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her married aunt. In return, Radziwill gifted her with a purchase at a drugstore.
“They were plastic Goody hair clips and rubber bands from the drugstore,” recalls RoseMarie Terenzio, who was JFK Jr.’s personal assistant and a close friend of both he and Carolyn.
From left: Lee Radziwill and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy on May 5, 1998.
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Terenzio told the story of the two’s memorable gift exchange on Tuesday, December 10 in New York City during a holiday shopping and book party at 148 Lafayette for JFK JR: An Intimate Oral Biography. The conversation between Terenzio and co-author Liz McNeil, who also serves as editor-in-chief at PEOPLE, was moderated by Gina Gershon, who befriended John after the two met through participation in Naked Angels, a downtown theater troupe.
“Carolyn loved Lee,” says Terenzio. But John didn’t want to invite his aunt to their very private – and top secret – wedding on Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia, earlier that year on September 21.
“I think part of the reason John didn’t invite Lee to the wedding was because he knew she wouldn’t bow to their wish to keep it quiet — and she’d probably blow the whole thing,” says Terenzio. “But Carolyn would say, ‘How could you not call Mom’s sister?’ ”
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From the left: John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Carolyn Kennedy on May 1, 1999.
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The John F. Kennedy Jr. Connection. and Carolyn Bessette: a look back at their romance and final days
“The funny thing is, when Christmas came, they exchanged gifts, Carolyn gave her an Hermès blanket — I’m sure it was several thousand dollars — and Carolyn opened her present and it was a box of Duane Reade hair clips,” she continues. “They were plastic hair clips, Goody hair clips and hair ties, but they were all in a box and wrapped nicely.”
As Terenzio recalls, “Carolyn said, ‘I actually think this is hysterical.’ She thought Lee was evil. She thought it was genius.
“Carolyn said, ‘You know what that was, right honey? It was like, ‘F— you for not inviting me to your wedding.’ It was like, ‘How dare you,'” says Terenzio, explaining, “Because I’m sure Lee, who was all about looks, was embarrassed that she wasn’t invited to John’s wedding. But in the end, Carolyn got a big kick out of it from Lee.”
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