55 Incredible Jackie Kennedy Quotes From The Inspirational 35th First Lady

Moumita Dutta
Dec 12, 2023 By Moumita Dutta
Originally Published on Feb 24, 2021
Edited by Monisha Kochhar
Jackie Kennedy
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Age: 0-99
Read time: 8.3 Min

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis popularly addressed as Jackie Kennedy was the former First Lady of the United States being the spouse of John F. Kennedy, and was additionally a photographer and writer.

Not only was she famous for being the wife of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady of the United States, but also was endeared for her fashion sense, her love for her children, and her passion for preserving the historical foundation of the White House. Her pink Chanel suit and pillbox hat have become the symbol of the husband's assassination being the attire that she had worn during the event.

A poignant speaker and a socialite, being the First Lady of the United States, she was known for her beautiful views on life. Here is a list of popular Jackie Kennedy quotes about leadership, Jackie Kennedy quotes Cuban missile crisis, Jackie Kennedy quotes about generosity, Jackie Kennedy quotes on American aesthetic, Jackie Kennedy quotes on regrets, Jackie Kennedy quotes on husband's assassination, Jackie Kennedy quotes on American taste, Jackie Kennedy quotes on power of women, Jackie Kennedy quotes about motherhood, Jackie Kennedy quotes on her desk, her writing, Jackie Kennedy quotes about children, Jackie Kennedy quotes about Camelot, as well as Jackie Kennedy quotes on food. If you're looking for a quote from Jacqueline Kennedy, we really do have them all!

If you like our content on Jacqueline Kennedy, you can check out other amazing articles like [Harry Truman quotes] or Abigail Adams quotes.

Jackie Kennedy Quotes On Life

Old books on a wooden shelf.

Here is a list of important Jackie Kennedy quotes on fashion, life, children, and many more topics that she has poignantly and passionately spoken about. Check out these quotes from Jacqueline Kennedy.

1. "We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see and not just complain about them."

-Jackie Kennedy.

2. "You are an atypical husband — increasingly so in one way or another every year since we’ve been married — so you mustn’t be surprised to have an atypical wife"

-Jackie Kennedy.

3. "If you want things to be right, you have to do them yourself."

-Jackie Kennedy.

4. "If you produce one book, you will have done something wonderful in your life."

-Jackie Kennedy.

5. "The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship."

-Jackie Kennedy.

6. "He didn't even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights... it had to be some silly little Communist."

-Jackie Kennedy.

7. "I have been through a lot and have suffered a great deal. But I have had lots of happy moments, as well. Every moment one lives is different from the other."

-Jackie Kennedy.

8. "History -it's what those bitter old men write."

-Jackie Kennedy.

9. "One should always dress like a marble column."

-Jackie Kennedy.

10. "We are the only country in the world that trashes its old buildings. Too late we realize how very much we need them."

-Jackie Kennedy.

11. "You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either."

-Jackie Kennedy.

12. "I am a woman above everything else."

-Jackie Kennedy.

13. "You must continue. Poets are the ones who change the world."

-Jackie Kennedy.

14. "There will be great presidents again but there will never be another Camelot."

-Jackie Kennedy.

15. "I know everyone says married couples should never separate — as you get off the same wave length — It is true you do — but I think it is usually good when we go away from each other as we both realize so much."

-Jackie Kennedy.

16. "If you cut people off from what nourishes them spiritually, something in them dies."

-Jackie Kennedy.

17. "A great goal in life is the only fortune worth finding."

-Jackie Kennedy.

18. "Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along... So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man."

-Jackie Kennedy.

19. "You have to have been a Republican to know how good it is to be a Democrat."

-Jackie Kennedy.

20. "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much."

-Jackie Kennedy.

21. "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."

-Jackie Kennedy.

22. "I'll be a wife and mother first, then First Lady."

-Jackie Kennedy.

23. "Pearls are always appropriate."

-Jackie Kennedy.

24. "The greatest responsibility is your children. If my children turned out badly, I'd feel that nothing I had done was worthwhile."

-Jackie Kennedy.

25. "Once you can express yourself, you can tell the world what you want from it. All the changes in the world, for good or evil, were first brought about by words."

-Jackie Kennedy.

26. "I think the major role of the First Lady is to take care of the President so that he can best serve the people. And not to fail her family, her husband, and children."

-Jackie Kennedy.

27. "I want to live my life, not record it."

-Jackie Kennedy.

28. "I want minimum information given with maximum politeness."

-Jackie Kennedy.

29. "Americans care about their past, but for short-term gain they ignore it and tear down everything that matters."

-Jackie Kennedy.

30. "You have to be doing something you enjoy. That is a definition of happiness!"

-Jackie Kennedy.

Popular Jackie Kennedy Quotes

This is a list of famous Jackie Kennedy quotes about JFK, being former First Lady of the United States, America, American culture, the White House, and many other things she was endeared for.

31. "A newspaper reported I spend $30,000 a year buying Paris clothes and that women hate me for it."

-Jackie Kennedy.

32. "I think he was as much in love with me as he could be with anyone and now maybe he will want to get married because a Senator needs a wife, but if he ever does ask me to marry him it will be for rather practical reasons – because his career is this driving thing with him."

-Jackie Kennedy.

33. "I think my biggest achievement is that after going through a rather difficult time I consider myself comparatively sane."

-Jackie Kennedy.

34. "Being away from home gave me the chance to look at myself with a jaundiced eye."

-Jackie Kennedy.

35. "The trouble with me is that I'm an outsider. And that's a very hard thing to be in American life."

-Jackie Kennedy.

36. "He’s like my father in a way – loves the chase and is bored with the conquest – and once married needs proof he’s still attractive so flirts with other women and resents you."

-Jackie Kennedy.

37. "What is sad for women of my generation is that they weren’t supposed to work if they had families. What were they going to do when the children are grown – watch the raindrops coming down the window pane?"

-Jackie Kennedy.

38. "It’s so good in a way to write all this down and get it off your chest – because I never do really talk about it with anyone – but poor you has to read it!"

-Jackie Kennedy.

39. "Maybe it will end very happily – or maybe since he’s this old and set in his ways and cares so desperately about his career he just won’t want to give up that much time to extra-curricular things like marrying me!"

-Jackie Kennedy.

40. "Aristotle Onassis rescued me at a moment when my life was engulfed with shadows. He brought me into a world where one could find both happiness and love."

-Jackie Kennedy.

41. "I think I’m in love with – and I think it would interest you – John Kennedy – he’s the son of the ambassador to England – the second son – the oldest was killed. He’s 35 and a Congressman."

-Jackie Kennedy.

42. "All I ask is someone with a little imagination, but they are hard to find."

-Jackie Kennedy.

43. "Just make sure no one has exactly the same dress I do... I want all of mine to be original & no fat little woman hopping around in the same dress."

-Jackie Kennedy.

44. "You have only one chance to raise your child."

-Jackie Kennedy.

45. "The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse. Would you notify the telephone operators and everyone else that I'm to be known simply as Mrs. Kennedy and not as First Lady."

-Jackie Kennedy.

46. "Dear God, please take care of your servant John Fitzgerald Kennedy."

-Jackie Kennedy.

47. "An Editor becomes kind of your mother. You expect love and encouragement from an Editor."

-Jackie Kennedy.

48. "I will tell you one thing. They will never drag me out like a little old widow like they did Mrs. Wilson when President Wilson died. I will never be used that way."

-Jackie Kennedy.

49. "The river of sludge will go on and on. It isn't about me."

-Jackie Kennedy.

50. "I learned not to be ashamed of a real hunger for knowledge, something I had always tried to hide, and I came home glad to start in here again with a love for Europe that I am afraid will never leave me."

-Jackie Kennedy.

51. "A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane."

-Jackie Kennedy.

52. "Even though people may be well known they still hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth - birth, marriage, death."

-Jackie Kennedy.

53. "One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness."

-Jackie Kennedy.

54. "Can anyone understand how it is to have lived in the White House and then, suddenly, to be living alone as the President's widow?"

-Jackie Kennedy.

55. "The only routine with me is no routine at all."

-Jackie Kennedy.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Jackie Kennedy quotes then why not take a look at women's rights quotes, or Woodrow Wilson quotes.

Main image credit: neftali / Shutterstock.com
 

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Written by Moumita Dutta

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

Moumita Dutta picture

Moumita DuttaBachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

A content writer and editor with a passion for sports, Moumita has honed her skills in producing compelling match reports and stories about sporting heroes. She holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta University, alongside a postgraduate diploma in Sports Management.

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