RFK Jr. Reveals If He’s Spoken to Cousin Caroline Kennedy, Weeks After Daughter Tatiana Schlossberg’s Death

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has not been in contact with his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, in the weeks following the death of her daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg.

The 72-year-old U.S. secretary of health and human services addressed the topic while attending the Starry Starry Night Gala in Palm Desert, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 31. The event raised money and awareness for breast cancer, with proceeds supporting the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.

Asked whether he and Caroline, 68, have been in touch since Tatiana died at 35 in late December following an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis, Kennedy responded simply: “Not recently.” He added, “Everybody’s praying for them.”

Kennedy attended the gala with his wife, Cheryl Hines, and the couple received an award during the third annual event at the Chaparral Country Club.

Tatiana had shared her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published in The New Yorker in November. An environmental journalist, she was the daughter of Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy, and the granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy. She died about a month later, and the social media accounts for the JFK Library Foundation announced the news on behalf of her extended family on Dec. 30.

A funeral was held in New York City on Jan. 5, drawing immediate family members including her parents and siblings, Rose Schlossberg and Jack Schlossberg. Tatiana’s husband, George Moran, also attended, along with their two young children, son Edwin and daughter Josephine.

Kennedy was not among those gathered at The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Instead, he unveiled a new shift in vaccine requirements for children, reducing the number of vaccines from 17 to 11 — a major change in national public health policy.

Before her death, Tatiana had publicly criticized Kennedy, particularly over his views on vaccines and his role in the Trump administration. She described him as “an embarrassment to me and the rest of my immediate family,” and argued that his HHS appointment was harming the American health care system — something she said she experienced firsthand during her cancer treatment.

Caroline Kennedy has also condemned her cousin in unusually direct terms. Ahead of his confirmation hearings to lead HHS last January, she called him a “predator,” said he is “addicted to attention and power,” and argued he was “unqualified” to shape the nation’s health policy. Her letter marked a rare public statement from Caroline, who had previously been less outspoken than other Kennedy relatives — including some of Kennedy’s siblings — who have criticized him for promoting conspiracy theories and aligning with President Donald Trump.