Kara Kennedy, Producer and Daughter of Sen. Edward Kennedy
In addition to working for nonprofit organizations, Kennedy was a producer for Boston's WBZ-TV.
Kara Kennedy, the eldest daughter of the late Senator Edward Kennedy and Joan Kennedy, died September 16, 2011. She was 51.
According to news reports. the cause was a heart attack.
In 2002, she was diagnosed with cancer. With the assistance of her father, she found a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Woman's Hospital who took part of her lung as part of the cancer treatment. Five years later, Joan Kennedy said in an interview that her daughter was cancer-free and running five miles per day.
Kara Kennedy was born February 27, 1960. She has two brothers, Edward Jr. , a congressman, and Patrick. She graduated from Tufts University and was a producer for VSA arts, a nonprofit organization founded by her aunt Jean Kennedy Smith. She also served on the board for the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome with her cousin.
She worked as a television producer for Evening Magazine at Boston's WBZ-TV.
Kennedy was married to professional sailor Michael Allen. The couple had two children.
She accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2009 on behalf of her father, who was terminally ill at the time.