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Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis personified celebrity for more than 30 years and yet, few people really knew her. She projected a confident, glamorous and graceful image to the public but, in private, Jackie was a different person entirely.
Natalie Morales of NBC News’ TODAY hosts this two-hour special on the life and death of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. It presents you with her life before John F. Kennedy, that takes a good hour and it’s tragic to see such a beautiful young woman heading for a destiny that would be harrowing for any woman.
Her background has been well laid out for all to see, but when you see it all put together, the real story takes your breath away. You realize that Jackie fell in love with a man who, like her father, was a womanizer, a father she adored and a husband she hoped she could change. There are some lovely old photos and news reels that bring the written words to life, including her wedding – all through her life, powerful men overtook her and even with her wedding dress, you can feel the crushing pressure she was under as Jack’s father, Joe, wanted a full dress and that’s what she wore.
The documentary takes you through the events of Dallas in 1963, her miscarriages, and then losing Bobby in 1968. She was being pursued by Aristotle Onassis, another powerful man who wanted to have her beside him and I understood a little better why she married him; she needed security and protection for her two children who, quite understandably, after the death of her husband and brother-in-law, was terrified they were next.
Eventually, Jackie returned to New York and for what time she had left, lived her life as best she could. There were no secrets revealed in this documentary, Jackie kept her own secrets and dignity even though she was dealt a hand few would have survived. She was the epitome of what the First Lady should be: a devoted wife, a mother dedicated to her children and a woman who endured much with grace and panache.
Premieres Saturday, November 7th at 9/8c on Reelz Channel
Jackie Kennedy: Behind Closed Doors | Movie Trailer | Review
