Tatiana Schlossberg, environmental journalist and JFK granddaughter, dies at 35
Tatiana Schlossberg, a 35-year-old environmental journalist and granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, died after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia first diagnosed in May 2024 when elevated white blood cell counts were detected following the birth of her second child; she underwent rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants and clinical trials. A former New York Times climate and environment reporter whose 2019 book Inconspicuous Consumption won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, she wrote a November 2025 New Yorker essay criticizing policies pushed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reflected on fearing her young children would not remember her and the new tragedy added to her family’s history, and her mother Caroline Kennedy urged senators to reject his confirmation.
📌 Key Facts
- Tatiana Schlossberg, an environmental journalist and granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, has died at 35.
- She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May 2024 at age 34 after her doctor detected elevated white blood cell counts following the birth of her second child.
- Schlossberg underwent rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants and experimental clinical trials; during the most recent trial her doctor told her he could likely keep her alive for about a year.
- In a November 2025 New Yorker essay she criticized policies pushed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including cuts of nearly $500 million to mRNA vaccine research that could help cancer patients; her mother Caroline Schlossberg urged senators to reject his confirmation.
- She worked as a New York Times climate and environment reporter and authored the 2019 book Inconspicuous Consumption, which won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award in 2020.
- In personal reflections published in her essay she wrote that she feared her young children would not remember her and that her illness added “a new tragedy” to the Kennedy family’s history, contextualized against previous family losses.
📊 Relevant Data
The age-adjusted incidence rate for acute myeloid leukemia was highest among non-Hispanic Whites at 4.33 per 100,000 in 2021, compared to lower rates in non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian populations (3.2-3.4 per 100,000).
Exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace, such as benzene, increases the risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia.
Risk Factors for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) — American Cancer Society
In pediatric acute myeloid leukemia, the t(8;21) cytogenetic lesion is more prevalent among Black patients (21.3%) and Hispanic patients (17.5%) compared to White non-Hispanic patients (10.9%).
Association of race and ethnicity with clinical phenotype, genetics, and survival in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia — Blood Advances
Genetic profiles in acute myeloid leukemia differ by race, with transcription factors such as TP53, RNF2, and EZH2 uniquely enriched in European (White) patients, while SMAD4, EWS-FLI1, and CEBPB are unique to African (Black) patients.
📰 Sources (3)
- Confirms diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia in May 2024 at age 34, detected after her doctor noticed elevated white blood cell counts following the birth of her second child.
- Details that she underwent rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants, and clinical trials, with her doctor telling her during the most recent trial that he could likely keep her alive for about a year.
- Notes that in her November 2025 New Yorker essay she criticized policies pushed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including cutting nearly half a billion dollars for mRNA vaccine research that could help cancer patients, and that her mother Caroline urged senators to reject his confirmation.
- Specifies her work as a New York Times climate and environment reporter and that her 2019 book 'Inconspicuous Consumption' won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award in 2020.
- Includes personal reflections from her essay about fearing her young children will not remember her and feeling she added 'a new tragedy' to her family’s history, along with contextual background on previous Kennedy family losses.