Grainy paparazzi shots on social media show her hailing a cab in a black slip dress. Walking the streets of New York in an oversize coat. Wearing that signature red lipstick.
Nearly three decades after her death at age 33, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy is back in the spotlight as one of fashion’s most powerful style influencers. The new TV series “Love Story” chronicles her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr., and many fans are watching for the clothes.
In an era dominated by conspicuous branding and obvious cosmetic enhancements, Bessette Kennedy’s enduring appeal lies in what she did not do.
She had no platform, no brand partnerships, no social media presence.
“She looks so different from the people we see now on Instagram,” said Ashley Traher, a 45-year-old attorney in Phoenix who grew up admiring Bessette Kennedy from afar. “I think we’ll be able to date today’s influencers immediately because of their makeup, clothes, even plastic surgery. But Carolyn had an effortlessness that always looks modern and cool.”
Traher, who first encountered Bessette Kennedy as a teenager flipping through People magazine in rural Lamar, Colorado, dreamed of copying her understated elegance.
“Middle-aged me is still trying to emulate her,” she said.
Bessette Kennedy rarely gave interviews, communicating with the outside world mostly through her clothes, says Sunita Kumar Nair, who wrote “CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion," and consulted on the show.
“I really got a sense that she was extremely private, and it shows because there’s barely any footage of her speaking,” Nair said.
Yet Bessette Kennedy's influence has proven durable. On TikTok and Instagram, accounts such as @allforcarolyn and @carolynbessettepage are devoted to chronicling her wardrobe. Three of her coats and a little black dress are being auctioned off this month at The Fashion Auctioneer.
Bessette Kennedy, a former Calvin Klein publicist, married Kennedy in 1996. Although her mother-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was also famous for her style, “she didn’t copy Jackie. She had her own voice,” Nair said.
"And it wasn’t something that she just deliberately did when she married John. And this is what I loved about Carolyn. She’d actually dressed like this almost throughout her life,” she said. The couple died in a plane crash in 1999.
You can still buy Bessette Kennedy's exact Charles J. Wahba tortoise headband from C.O. Bigelow, a Greenwich Village apothecary where she shopped.
“It’s the original one. That’s the one,” said Alec Ginsberg, 34, whose family has owned the store for four generations.
"We still have one of the beauty associates who remembers her. She was super-sweet. My father remembers her as well,” he said.
Ginsberg has seen more customers coming in over the past couple of years — and especially since “Love Story” began airing — because of interest in Bessette Kennedy.
“It’s not just the headband, it’s that people want to shop where she shopped,” he said. "Girls will come in and ask if anyone knew her. They try to find out little bits of information.”
“Love Story,” part of Ryan Murphy’s expanding slate of cultural retrospectives, sparked debate after fans who saw early test images of the actors in costume felt the clothing failed to capture Bessette Kennedy’s precise restraint.
Some of the criticism, Nair said, caught the wardrobe team off guard, and led them to pay more attention to every tailoring detail.
“I think that is actually the irony of Carolyn’s clothes, that it does look simple, but it’s actually really not,” she said.
The first few episodes mostly take place during the period before Bessette Kennedy was famous, and her wardrobe is generally approachable — a simple black dress, or jeans and a basic top.
“I’m very interested to see if the character’s clothing choices will change as she becomes more ingrained with the Kennedys,” Traher said. “So far she’s still cool and very '90s Calvin Klein with the slip dresses, but maybe less polished than she ended up being.”
There's an “undercover quality” to Bessette Kennedy's influence, said Rebecca Resnick Gick, a former editor at Vogue and Teen Vogue and a personal shopper. She describes the look as “educated tailoring."
“She looked high-end and well-fitted without being flashy,” she said.
That sensibility has quietly shaped contemporary fashion. Brands like The Row have built entire aesthetics around a similar vocabulary.
“It’s always been there,” Resnick Gick said. “That New York restraint. Masculine tailoring as empowerment.”
There's also been a resurgence of interest in ‘90s and Y2K fashion in general, fashion industry observers say . Vintage shopping has surged among Gen Z.
Part of it is the cyclical nature of fashion — younger generations wanting to express their own sensibilities, and perhaps seeing the styles of their childhoods as retro, quaint or nostalgic.
Danielle O’Connell, a 30-year-old stylist in New York, said that after years dominated by casual streetwear, maximalist branding and algorithm-friendly spectacle, some fashionistas are swinging back toward polish. To dress a client attending the “Love Story” premiere, O’Connell and her Los Angeles-based partner, Alix Gropper, naturally turned to Bessette Kennedy as a reference point.
“We wanted that quiet luxury moment,” O’Connell said.
Natalie Decleve, a New York-based homes and style designer, says Bessette Kennedy’s “clean, classic, old-money" style has an American vibe akin to Ralph Lauren.
“It’s that same language,” Decleve said. “A very clean version of the ’90s.”
Bessette Kennedy is also compared often to Princess Diana, Decleve noted, because both women managed to look approachable while remaining aspirational.
Actor Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Bessette Kennedy in “Love Story,” said she got a glimpse of the real person underneath the stylish facade.
“There is a bit of mystery about her, you know — she never sat down for an interview. There’s no memoir that she wrote," said Pidgeon.
“But from everything I’ve learned about her, she was an incredibly ambitious, vivacious, warm, funny woman," said Pidgeon. “And I think that while her style is replicated so often, there is something about the woman who wore the clothes, and how she embodied them, that makes those photos so enduring.”
Associated Press journalist Alicia Rancilio in Detroit contributed to this report.
FILE - John F. Kennedy Jr., and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy leave a party in New York on Oct. 10, 1996. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey, File)
FILE - John F. Kennedy, Jr., left, and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, arrive at the Minskoff Theatre in New York on April 6, 1998. (AP Photo/Mitch Jacobson, File)
President Donald Trump announced Thursday at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package, while five countries have agreed to deploy troops to take part in an international stabilization force to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
But $7 billion is only a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal looms over Trump’s ambitions for his board to rival the United Nations in solving world conflicts.
Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
Instead, the president is turning his focus to domestic issues: In an hour, he’ll arrive in Georgia for a trip designed to help boost Republicans’ political standing heading into the midterms.
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The Trump administration last week made a $160 million partial payment of its past dues to the United Nations regular budget, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told the Associated Press.
The payment comes as Trump adjourned his first meeting Thursday of the Board of Peace, a new initiative many see as his attempt to replace the U.N. Security Council’s role in preventing and ending conflict around the world.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned earlier this month that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States.
The U.S. owes $2.196 billion to the U.N.’s regular operating budget, including $767 million for this year, according to a U.N. official. The U.S. also owes $1.8 billion for the separate budget for the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping operations, and that also will rise.
It wasn’t only heads of state who offered major contributions to Trump’s Board of Peace.
FIFA president Giovanni Infantino outlined a new plan by the world’s governing body of football — “soccer” for those who live in the U.S. — to bring new sports opportunities to war-torn Gaza.
“We don’t have to rebuild houses or schools or hospitals or roads,” Infantino said. “We also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.”
Specifically, FIFA pledged to spend $50 million for a national football stadium in Gaza to hold between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators in addition to a FIFA academy at a cost of $15 million. The organization also vowed to build 50 “FIFA arena mini pitches” and five full-sized pitches at a total cost of $7.5 million.
Workers are restoring an exhibit depicting the history of the nine people once enslaved in Philadelphia amid a legal fight between the city and the Trump Administration.
Mayor Cherelle Parker visited the site Thursday morning and saw the work being done, spokesperson Joe Grace said.
A federal judge had set a Friday deadline for the Interior Department to restore the exhibit on the people enslaved by George Washington at the former President’s House on Independence Mall.
Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued the deadline Wednesday even as the Justice Department appeals her order to reinstate the exhibit.
In the last of several statements made about the United Nations, Trump ended his inaugural meeting Thursday by hinting that the U.S. -- the world body’s largest donor -- will be making more changes to the institution, including to the appearance of its headquarters in New York.
Many world leaders and diplomats have been worried that Trump’s new initiative was an attempt to eclipse the U.N. Security Council. But Trump attempted to assuage those concerns, saying that the U.S. will “work again with the United Nations and, bring it back to health.”
He added that his administration plans to “fix up even the building.”
“I like to see beautiful buildings. I like to see buildings fixed up physically, not look like they are in disrepair,” Trump said. “We don’t like that. So we’re going to do a job with the United Nations.”
Billionaire investor Marc Rowan, a member of the Board of Peace’s executive committee, said reconstruction would begin in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
He said 100,000 homes for 500,000 people, about a quarter of Gaza’s population, were initially planned, along with $5 billion of infrastructure. He said “over time,” 400,000 new homes for Gaza’s entire population were planned, with $30 billion in infrastructure projects.
He gave no timeline for when construction would begin.
“This is not a problem of money or collateral,” he said. “This is a problem of peace.”
In an hourslong meeting, leaders from various countries, including Peru, Bahrain and Pakistan, spent most of their speaking time praising Trump and what they called his “unprecedented” ability to end conflicts around the world.
Pakistan called him the “savior of South Asia,” while others said that years of U.S. foreign policy efforts by his predecessor failed to do what Trump has done in the last year.
The glowing remarks that went around from each corner of the globe resembled the same format and tone of Trump’s Cabinet meetings, which involve less policy substance and more adulation for the Republican president.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge that Gaza will not be rebuilt until Hamas disarms.
“We agreed with our friends in the United States: There will be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip before the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” he said in a speech to graduating officers at an army base in southern Israel.
“Soon, Hamas will face a dilemma: disarm the easy way — or disarm the hard way. But it will be disarmed, and Gaza will no longer threaten Israel.”
Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out.
Trump said he hopes to reach a deal with Iran, but the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups. Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress, and one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.
Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable than ever, following 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and military last year, as well as mass protests in January that were violently suppressed. But it is still capable of striking Israel and U.S. bases, and has warned that any attack would trigger a regional war.
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Despite repeatedly underscoring the importance of preventing and ending conflict, Trump made several pointed remarks during his Board of Peace meeting directed at Iran as the U.S. has amassed a significant military in the region.
The Republican president stood in front of many of the same regional allies who have pressured the U.S. in the last few weeks to not take military action against Iran and once again warned its longtime adversary to come to the table with an acceptable deal or face the consequences.
“We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.
The inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace comes perhaps ironically at a time of high tension between the United States and Iran and one of the largest U.S. military buildups in the Middle East in decades, with one aircraft carrier group in the region already and another on the way.
The military moves have coincided with the series of threats Trump has made to Iran if it does not accede to his demands to denuclearize, give up ballistic missiles and halt funding extremist proxy groups.
Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the leader of the newly-created International Stabilization Force, announced that Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have all pledged troops to the effort. In addition, Egypt and Jordan, which border the Gaza Strip, have agreed to train the police and security forces.
“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved Trump’s proposal, despite raising concerns at the panel’s January meeting. Some commissioners had questioned the lead architect about its “immense” design and scale, roughly twice the size of the White House itself.
Trump’s demolition of the East Wing prompted a public outcry when it began without the independent reviews, congressional approval and public comment typical for even relatively minor modifications to historic buildings in Washington.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. And the project is scheduled for additional discussion at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, now led by one of Trump’s top aides.
The vice president nodded to domestic politics heading into the midterm elections in his brief statement to the board.
“The reason that we’re here today is yes to save lives and yes to promote peace, but this creates incredible prosperity for the American people,” Vance said.
He said the countries represented on the board represent “trillions of dollars of investment” in the U.S., and support millions of American jobs by buying goods made in America.
The direct line between the Board of Peace and the U.S. economy is not completely clear. Trump’s trade war has strained economic relations with several major U.S. allies.
The Republican president repeated his concerns and criticism of the United Nations during his Board of Peace meeting, saying the UN should have been more involved in conflict-solving than it has been.
But, Trump also said that the U.S. is going “to be working with the United Nations very close.”
“Someday I won’t be here. The United Nations will be, I think, is going to be much stronger,” he said. “The Board of Peace is gonna almost be looking over the United Nations, and making sure it runs properly.”
Trump also announced the U.S. is pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace, but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” Trump said.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are the countries that are making pledges, Trump said.
“But every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region),” said Trump in thanking the donors.
The amount, while significant, represents a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war.
Shouting out all of the various conflicts he says he solved, Trump mentioned that Iran is “a hot spot right now.” He said his envoys have had “very interesting” meetings with Iranian officials.
His positive comments come as the two adversaries have leaned into gunboat diplomacy in recent weeks, with nuclear talks between the nations hanging in the balance, Tehran holding drills with Russia and the Americans bringing another aircraft carrier closer to the Mideast.
“It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.
Trump is fueling the rivalry between the two members of his administration considered the front-runners to replace him as the GOP’s next presidential nominee: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump described Vance as “a fantastic man” and a “fantastic talent” before running through the highlights of the vice president’s education and marriage and noting that Vance “gets a little bit tough on occasion.”
The president then pivoted to Rubio, calling his leadership style “the opposite extreme. ... Marco does it with a velvet glove, but it’s a kill.”
Trump then praised Rubio’s performance at the Munich Security Conference this week, joking that if he did his job any better he’d be fired for outshining him.
Much can change in the two years before voters pick the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee. The Constitution bars Trump from seeking a third term.
A week after Trump blasted him as a RINO, short for Republican In Name Only, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt struck a conciliatory tone toward the White House.
“Politics is tough,” Stitt said Thursday at an event sponsored by Politico at the outset of the National Governors Association’s annual meeting. “Politics has a way of just beating you down over time so I can’t imagine being president of the United States. He’s got a tough job to do.”
Stitt is the president of the NGA this year. The group, made up of governors from both parties, is typically one of the few bipartisan organizations to convene in Washington each year.
But this year’s meeting has been defined by tensions as Trump has refused to invite two Democratic governors to a business meeting at the White House. Trump said Stitt mischaracterized his position.
President Donald Trump, center, with Vice President JD Vance to his left, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to his right, arrives for a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump stands with other World leaders before a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - President Donald Trump's name is seen on the U.S. Institute of Peace building, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
