NEED TO KNOW

  • Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of JFK, says the modern-day Kennedy family isn’t as close as some might think
  • “It’s a lot of people I don’t know,” he said on CBS News Sunday Morning in reference to his dozens of extended relatives
  • There are also political divides among the massive clan: Jack is currently running for Congress as a Democrat while his uncle, RFK Jr., is a member of Trump’s Cabinet

The Kennedys remain, to this day, one of America’s most powerful and influential families. But they’re not as close as some might think, one prominent descendent of John F. Kennedy revealed.

Jack Schlossberg, the only son of Caroline Kennedy, opened up about his famous family in a candid new interview with CBS News Sunday Morning on March 1 as he promotes his House campaign in New York’s 12th Congressional District.

Jack, 33, is the great-grandson of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., who, with his wife, Rose, had nine children, including prominent politicians like JFK, Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. As that generation married and had children and grandchildren of their own, the Kennedy clan became a massive group, which Jack admitted isn’t easy to keep track of.

“For me, when you talk about the Kennedy family, it’s a lot of people I don’t know,” he said on Sunday.

“When you talk about what family is,” he continues, “it’s me, my sisters, my parents. We’re a unit, and we’re really close.”

Jack has at times criticized his extended family members — mostly for their silence on his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s transition to MAGA politics — and has received the support of his immediate family in doing so.

Jack’s parents, Caroline and Edwin Schlossberg, married in 1986, and the couple had three children, also including Rose, 37, and Tatiana, who died in December 2025 at the age of 35.

Speaking to growing up with two sisters in his tight-knit nuclear family, Jack joked that the experience was “absolutely brutal.”

“They don’t let you get away with anything. My style is never good enough. I’ve never gotten an answer right in my entire life,” he joked. “But in all honesty, they taught me everything I know about how to be a strong person.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

That strength was put to the test last year, when Tatiana died about a month after publicly sharing her acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. The family closed ranks in her final months to protect their privacy and offer as much support as possible. Rose donated stem cells, and they all pitched in to take care of Tatiana, her husband, George Moran, and their two young children through the arduous treatment process.

“I can tell you now that she’s still rooting for us,” Jack said of his late sister. “The last thing that she said to me was, ‘You better win.’ No one knew me better, and I knew no one better than her.”

Related Stories

Kennedy Family Reunites for Their Annual Fourth of July Gathering — See a Video from This Year’s Massive Celebration

Some members of the expansive Kennedy family did attend Tatiana’s funeral in New York City on Jan. 5, 2026, including Caroline’s cousins Kerry Kennedy, Maria Shriver and Tim Shriver.

“Yesterday, we said goodbye to Tatiana,” Tim, 66, wrote on social media the following day. “Heartbreak doesn’t begin to capture the sadness we feel. Our hearts are with Caroline and Ed and George and Josie and Eddie and Rose and Jack.”

“She had so much more living to do,” he continued. “She was so smart and so funny, just like her mom. She was so thoughtful and so brilliant, just like her dad. She had faith in the sacredness of nature and in its maker too. She was willing to take on the great work of our time—telling the truth without fear.”

“There is no sense to be found in this suffering. Only indescribable sadness and all of our faith.”