The sister of former president John F. Kennedy and wife of English actor Peter Lawford died yesterday at the age of 82.
Patricia Kennedy Lawford supported the political campaigns of her brothers and was a lifelong lover of the arts who devoted much of her time to charity work,
She died surrounded by family at her home in New York from complications from pneumonia.
"Everyone who knew Pat adored her," her brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, said in a statement issued by the family. "She was admired for her great style, for her love and support of the arts, her wit and generosity - and for the singular sense of wonder and joy she brought to our lives. We grieve her loss."
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1924, the sixth child and fourth daughter of daughter of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, Lawford was educated partly in London where her father was US ambassador to Britain.
She married Peter Lawford, whom she had met through her brother John in 1954, and the couple had four children. They lived in Santa Monica, California, but divorced in 1965.
Apart from her work in show business, Ms Lawford campaigned for her brothers, holding tea parties with her mother and sisters during John Kennedy's race for Congress in 1946. She was also active in the Senate and presidential campaigns of her brothers and Robert and Edward.