Jackie Stories: Eight Friends of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

What was it like to meet and talk to people who knew Jackie Kennedy Onassis well? Each of these eight people gave me a surprising look into what it was like to live and work in Jackie’s world. 1 Nancy Tuckerman was Jackie’s friend from boarding school and also her lifelong assistant.

2 Jackie was wary around Nan Talese, one of the most important people in publishing. Jackie was also envious of Nan.

3 Distantly related to her by marriage, Louis Auchincloss gave Jackie a hard time when she wanted to slip out of the spotlight.

4 Sarah Giles was an editor at Vanity Fair. She worked with Jackie in her apartment at 1040 Fifth Avenue on a book that got them both into trouble.

5 Ruth Ansel knew Jackie via man about town and major photographer Peter Beard. When Jackie had a rare chance to acquire an authorized biography of Audrey Hepburn, Jackie confessed to Ruth why she couldn’t do it.

6 Rosamond Bernier gave sold-out lectures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was married to The New York Times’s art critic. Their wedding was at Philip Johnson’s famous glass house in Connecticut. Nevertheless, Philip Johnson later proved treacherous both to Rosamond Bernier and to Jackie.

7 Francis Mason advised Jackie when she wanted to switch jobs. The story of how she ignored his advice and managed to remain friends with him is testimony to a high-spirited talent that the two of them shared.

8 Edith Welch and her husband went to India with Jackie. Jackie didn’t always behave well on these trips, nor did Edith’s husband.