Jean Kennedy Smith is the former United States Ambassador to Ireland and founder of VSA, an international organization that provides arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increases access to the arts for all. In recognition of her work for peace, she was named an honorary citizen of Ireland by Irish President Mary McAleese – and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama.

The eighth of nine children born to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Ambassador Smith is a mother of four and widow of the late Stephen Smith. She lives in New York.