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Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy
An illuminating new biography of the young Jackie Bouvier Kennedy that covers her formative adventures abroad in Paris; her life as a writer and photographer at a Washington, DC, newspaper; and her romance with a dashing, charismatic Massachusetts congressman who shared her intellectual passion.
Camera Girl brings to cinematic life Jackie’s years as a young, single woman trying to figure out who she wanted to become. Chafing at the expectations of her family and the societal limitations placed on women in that era, Jackie pursued her dream career as a writer. Set primarily during the years of 1949 to 1953, when Jackie was in her early twenties, the book recounts in heretofore unrevealed detail the story of her late college years and her early adulthood as a working woman.
Before she met Jack Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier was the Washington Times-Herald’s “Inquiring Camera Girl,” posing compelling questions to members of the public on the streets of DC and snapping their photos with her unwieldy Graflex camera. She then fashioned the results into a daily column, of which six hundred were published.
Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a historian and leading expert on First Ladies, draws on these columns and previously unseen archives of Jackie’s writings from this time, along with insights gleaned from interviews he conducted with the former First Lady’s friends, colleagues, and family members. Camera Girl offers a fresh perspective on the woman later known as Jacqueline Kennedy and Jackie O, introducing us to the headstrong, self-assured young woman who went on to be one of the world’s most famous people. It’s a glamorous and surprisingly hard-charging story of a person determined to define herself, told with admiration, empathy, and journalistic rigor.
Camera Girl brings to cinematic life Jackie’s years as a young, single woman trying to figure out who she wanted to become. Chafing at the expectations of her family and the societal limitations placed on women in that era, Jackie pursued her dream career as a writer. Set primarily during the years of 1949 to 1953, when Jackie was in her early twenties, the book recounts in heretofore unrevealed detail the story of her late college years and her early adulthood as a working woman.
Before she met Jack Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier was the Washington Times-Herald’s “Inquiring Camera Girl,” posing compelling questions to members of the public on the streets of DC and snapping their photos with her unwieldy Graflex camera. She then fashioned the results into a daily column, of which six hundred were published.
Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a historian and leading expert on First Ladies, draws on these columns and previously unseen archives of Jackie’s writings from this time, along with insights gleaned from interviews he conducted with the former First Lady’s friends, colleagues, and family members. Camera Girl offers a fresh perspective on the woman later known as Jacqueline Kennedy and Jackie O, introducing us to the headstrong, self-assured young woman who went on to be one of the world’s most famous people. It’s a glamorous and surprisingly hard-charging story of a person determined to define herself, told with admiration, empathy, and journalistic rigor.
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First published May 2, 2023
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October 10, 2023
Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy was a delightful biography/memoir by Carl Sferrazza Anthony. I will admit that from a very young age I was enchanted with the young Senator John Kennedy and his beautiful wife, Jacqueline. And then I was enthralled with the Camelot myth that surrounded them.
But this book by historian Anthony is a fresh perspective of the young woman trying to determine where she fits in the world while maintaining her independence of her parents. This is primarily her coming of age story from 1949 to 1953 when Jackie Bouvier was in her early twenties. All through the book, it is apparent that this was a young woman with a superior intellect, loving books from early childhood.
She had a love of photography from a young age. The author writes that as the June 1949 wedding season approached that it seemed all of her Social Register debutantes wanted a husband and all that Jacqueline Bouvier wanted was a "terrific camera." She wanted her beloved Leica camera before her anticipated trip to Europe with her step-brother, Yusha. And on that trip Jackie regaled him with the machinations she had to perform with her parents to get the Leica. On that trip to Ireland, they were befriended by Father Joseph Leonard who instantly bonded with Jackie over their mutual passion for litereature, the gap of fifty-two years irrelevant to his respect for her intellect.
Using her love of photography, she managed to be the Washington Times-Herald's "Inquiring Camera Girl," posing compelling questions to members of the public on the streets of Washington, D.C. and snapping photos with her Graflex camera. This is a compelling narrative as it draws from previously unseen archives of Jackie's writings from this time along with interviews Carl Sferrazza Anthony conducted with Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis's friends, colleagues and family members. It was a beautiful introduction to the young and very self-assured young woman who went on to become known as one of the world's most famous people.
But this book by historian Anthony is a fresh perspective of the young woman trying to determine where she fits in the world while maintaining her independence of her parents. This is primarily her coming of age story from 1949 to 1953 when Jackie Bouvier was in her early twenties. All through the book, it is apparent that this was a young woman with a superior intellect, loving books from early childhood.
"Her most cherished furnishings were the bookcases she was given at Christmas in 1936, the repository of the little library she began with ballet books, continuing to collect them through college. She gave credit to Mummy for letting her order as many books as she wanted and Grandmother Bouvier for giving her books as Christmas presents."
She had a love of photography from a young age. The author writes that as the June 1949 wedding season approached that it seemed all of her Social Register debutantes wanted a husband and all that Jacqueline Bouvier wanted was a "terrific camera." She wanted her beloved Leica camera before her anticipated trip to Europe with her step-brother, Yusha. And on that trip Jackie regaled him with the machinations she had to perform with her parents to get the Leica. On that trip to Ireland, they were befriended by Father Joseph Leonard who instantly bonded with Jackie over their mutual passion for litereature, the gap of fifty-two years irrelevant to his respect for her intellect.
"Leonard indulged her curiosity about the lives of Ireland's most acclaimed and politically subversive writers by stopping to see places associated with James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde. One evening, he took them to the Abbey Theatre performance of George Bernard Shaw's play 'The Doctor's Dilemma.' There was lunch at Restaurant Jammet, mentioned in Joyce's 'Ulysses,' and a pub night downing Guiness."
Using her love of photography, she managed to be the Washington Times-Herald's "Inquiring Camera Girl," posing compelling questions to members of the public on the streets of Washington, D.C. and snapping photos with her Graflex camera. This is a compelling narrative as it draws from previously unseen archives of Jackie's writings from this time along with interviews Carl Sferrazza Anthony conducted with Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis's friends, colleagues and family members. It was a beautiful introduction to the young and very self-assured young woman who went on to become known as one of the world's most famous people.
"In the formative four years that preceded her marriage, she was influenced and inspired but never led by others. She set her own course. She took her own advice to 'figure it out as soon as you can.' During this period, she had been defined by people in myriad ways, from Deb of the Year to Inquiring Camera Girl, but never compromised her most meaningful identity: individual. She had, in her own words, 'become distinct.' Jacqueline Bouvier was determined not to merely witness history. She would make it."
July 24, 2024
“People often forget that I was Jacqueline Bouvier, before being Mrs. Kennedy or Mrs. Onassis. Throughout my life I have tried to remain true to myself.”
- Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, in a 1972 interview, used as epithet
Growing up in a home where we nightly discussed politics at the supper table and only listened to the oldies station in the car, I thought I had a better grasp on the 1960s than most kids I grew up with. By the time the events that framed this turbulent decade had grown fifty years or longer, I realized that I did not “know” the 1960s at all as the events that shaped these years were a laundry list of dates that shaped my parents’ lives. Even in a 1990s advanced American history course, we glossed over the ‘60s at the end of the year, so my working knowledge of this powder keg remained lacking. In the last few years, I have worked to rectify that as I’ve read biographies about key figures as well as other micro-histories about the decade. One subject remained untouchable until now, and that is Camelot. The Kennedy family is like royalty to generations of Americans. At home, the 1960 election is the first one where my parents as adolescents had awareness of the political events shaping society. As I’ve read these micro histories, I discovered knowledge beyond my parents’ oral histories, formulating my own opinion of these events, albeit as a GenXer reading from a 21st century lens. One of the books on my library’s lucky day shelf is Camera Girl about Jackie Kennedy in the years leading up to her marriage. I had previously read Carl Sferrazza Anthony’s other biographies about First Ladies, so I knew that this book would provide me background into the fabled Camelot, even from a perspective usually missing in most accounts of the subject.
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929, three months before the stock market crash. Her parents framed a narrative that they came from the upper crust of society, a fact that Jackie would later refute during her study abroad year in college. Jackie’s maternal family came from Ireland and settled in the lower east side tenements. Jackie’s mother Janet was ashamed of this upbringing and gave the narrative that her family was upper class English, going the lengths to not allow her own grandmother- a washerwoman- in her apartment so that visitors would not realize the links in the family heritage. Janet was an early domineering woman, and in a future generation she might have been a strong businesswoman or office manager; in the time that she lived, Janet was relegated to ordering around her growing children, distancing them from her. Jackie’s father Jack Vernou Bouvier III had more wealth than the Lees, but the family lost stocks in the 1929 crash, eventually leading the family to sell their Hamptons home, a mark of wealth in society. When Jackie turned seven, Janet had grown tired of her carousing, womanizing husband. Being catholic with divorce being illegal in New York, Janet flew to Reno to obtain a divorce, remarrying the wealthy Hugh Auschinschloss who was indeed a member of society’s uber riche. For the rest of her childhood until marriage, Jack and Janet would use reverse psychology to get the better of Jackie. This behavior pattern would scar Jackie and her sister Lee, although as the elder sibling, both parents emotionally abused Jackie more. A stronger person might not have been able to come out of this upbringing unscathed. Yes, she had her baggage, but Jacqueline Bouvier knew exactly what she wanted from life.
After two years at Vassar College, in 1950 Jackie headed to study in France for a year. Her father footed the bill and paid for a Leica camera because Jackie wanted to photograph everything. She was not your usual woman who headed to Europe to party. Jackie was a voracious reader and was determined to become fluent in French. Anthony delves into Jackie’s forays into Europe and her companionship with her stepbrother Yusha Auschinschloss, but what I gleaned from this section is that when engaged, Jackie was a top student. At a lecture at a Sorbonne history course, Jackie was first exposed to the French involvement in Indochina, a country like many of that era struggling to gain independence from its European colonizers. American involvement in Vietnam would not occur for nearly ten years, but Jackie took interest in the nation’s desire to be independent, showing empathy because as a young woman, she strove to distance herself from her parents. As generous as they were with money, both of Jackie’s parents came from an era where a girl should be married before graduating from college. Jackie Bouvier never wanted an Mrs degree even when many of her friends were forgoing college in favor of marriage. Upon returning from France, sparked by the doings of the Indochinese, Jackie enrolled at George Washington University and graduated with a degree in French literature with a knowledge of history. She was well-read, an above average painter and photographer, and could hold her own in any conversation with men. Jackie did eventually want to marry but not to be a housewife, although she knew this would come with the territory. What she desired was a man who was her intellectual equal where she would continue to grow professionally as a writer and artist.
In the 1950s the societal expectation is that women might work for a year or so after finishing college, but after getting married, their job was to be a wife and mother. The Feminine Mystique was another twelve years away, so one could say that Jackie was ahead of her time. I noted that Janet would have made a quality business manager in a different generation; Jackie might have been a top journalist or writer or college professor if she was born a generation and a half later. An equestrian, she might have even competed in the Olympics. This was not to be as one born at a time where the women’s rights movement was still decades away. Upon graduation, Jackie won a contest to become a writer for Vogue magazine; Janet talked her out of it because she wanted her daughter in Washington, not New York or Paris, Janet hoping to use her connections to get her daughter married. The connections that allowed Jackie to be a working woman at the Washington Times-Herald belonged to her stepfather, and, after proving herself, Jackie became the Inquisitive Camera Girl. Her column came to dominate the paper, and she even got her own byline. Even her boss realized that Jackie’s column carried his struggling newspaper, but he was reluctant to give her feature stories, having in the back of his mind that she would get married and leave her job. Jackie desired to be married to the right person and keep working even when society would have told her no. That right person was on the near horizon, and, for this specific person, she would have to quit her job, although I found the sections as Jackie as a working woman to be captivating, because that part of her life was unknown to me prior. She noted that if she had remained single, she might have had a career trajectory like that of her friend Gloria Emerson. Of that we shall never know.
Friends Charlie and Martha Bartlett happened to invite Jackie Bouvier and Jack Kennedy to the same dinner. We all know what happens next. I laud Anthony for not delving too deeply into their romance when countless accounts have done just that. I love a meaty celebrity romance as much as the next person and laughed when Jackie told a friend that she would marry Joe DiMaggio if he was available. A young, single senator and a good looking, intelligent young lady. This would blow any other celebrity romance out of the water, and, it comes as little surprise to me that their romance and lives were discussed from so many angles that even I thought I knew more about them than key dates. The romancing is present as well as a friend explaining to Jackie that Jack would never stop womanizing. She would have to accept it, and she did, because another mutual friend noted that he would not have become President if he did not marry her. What Anthony does go in depth on is how in 1952 Kennedy already set to establish himself as a foreign affairs expert in the senate. He took a developing interest in Indochina and had Jackie translate books from French in preparation for his maiden speech about the region on the senate floor. Even before their engagement, she would come to the Senate gallery and astutely listen to the proceedings, sending notes with a page to Jack if she noted something of the upmost importance. Although Jack had told close friends that he would never marry, content as a carousing Irish bachelor, he knew to become president he would need a wife; intellectually, he came into marriage with similar desires as Jackie. Anthony notes that theirs was a meeting of minds, later orchestrated by Joe Kennedy into a power marriage, because all involved had eyes on the White House as early as 1952. At age thirty five, Senator Kennedy was not yet eligible for the presidency, but those who knew Jack and Jackie knew that it was only a matter of time, scripted magazine photos and paparazzi aside. For this man, Jackie Bouvier would marry, giving up her life as a working woman, because she knew that instead of watching history, she would shape it.
Jack and Jackie wed on September 12, 1953. My parents were five years old so suffice it to say I did not know as much about this power couple as I thought I did. My mother is not into pop culture or glamor as much as I am, and if I asked her, she would probably answer that Kennedy delivered a quality speech off the cuff, which would not sate my obsession with celebrity romance. The world knows that this couple only endured for ten years, two months, and ten days, but what a time period it was for the rapidly changing world. I would like to read more about both of these powerful historical figures because Camera Girl has whetted my appetite for more on the Kennedys, not the mystique but the political wheeling and dealing. Prior to being a First Lady, Jackie Bouvier desired to be an up and coming working woman at a time when society told women no with a capital N. Jackie Bouvier would not accept no from her parents, from the male old boys network, or her bosses. I maintain that she would have become a powerful member of society had she been born a few decades later. Who knows, with her eyes on the end goal, maybe she would have become President. For that we will never know but she remains a mystical historical figure, a strong intellectual woman, and at one point an inquisitive camera girl.
4 stars
- Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, in a 1972 interview, used as epithet
Growing up in a home where we nightly discussed politics at the supper table and only listened to the oldies station in the car, I thought I had a better grasp on the 1960s than most kids I grew up with. By the time the events that framed this turbulent decade had grown fifty years or longer, I realized that I did not “know” the 1960s at all as the events that shaped these years were a laundry list of dates that shaped my parents’ lives. Even in a 1990s advanced American history course, we glossed over the ‘60s at the end of the year, so my working knowledge of this powder keg remained lacking. In the last few years, I have worked to rectify that as I’ve read biographies about key figures as well as other micro-histories about the decade. One subject remained untouchable until now, and that is Camelot. The Kennedy family is like royalty to generations of Americans. At home, the 1960 election is the first one where my parents as adolescents had awareness of the political events shaping society. As I’ve read these micro histories, I discovered knowledge beyond my parents’ oral histories, formulating my own opinion of these events, albeit as a GenXer reading from a 21st century lens. One of the books on my library’s lucky day shelf is Camera Girl about Jackie Kennedy in the years leading up to her marriage. I had previously read Carl Sferrazza Anthony’s other biographies about First Ladies, so I knew that this book would provide me background into the fabled Camelot, even from a perspective usually missing in most accounts of the subject.
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929, three months before the stock market crash. Her parents framed a narrative that they came from the upper crust of society, a fact that Jackie would later refute during her study abroad year in college. Jackie’s maternal family came from Ireland and settled in the lower east side tenements. Jackie’s mother Janet was ashamed of this upbringing and gave the narrative that her family was upper class English, going the lengths to not allow her own grandmother- a washerwoman- in her apartment so that visitors would not realize the links in the family heritage. Janet was an early domineering woman, and in a future generation she might have been a strong businesswoman or office manager; in the time that she lived, Janet was relegated to ordering around her growing children, distancing them from her. Jackie’s father Jack Vernou Bouvier III had more wealth than the Lees, but the family lost stocks in the 1929 crash, eventually leading the family to sell their Hamptons home, a mark of wealth in society. When Jackie turned seven, Janet had grown tired of her carousing, womanizing husband. Being catholic with divorce being illegal in New York, Janet flew to Reno to obtain a divorce, remarrying the wealthy Hugh Auschinschloss who was indeed a member of society’s uber riche. For the rest of her childhood until marriage, Jack and Janet would use reverse psychology to get the better of Jackie. This behavior pattern would scar Jackie and her sister Lee, although as the elder sibling, both parents emotionally abused Jackie more. A stronger person might not have been able to come out of this upbringing unscathed. Yes, she had her baggage, but Jacqueline Bouvier knew exactly what she wanted from life.
After two years at Vassar College, in 1950 Jackie headed to study in France for a year. Her father footed the bill and paid for a Leica camera because Jackie wanted to photograph everything. She was not your usual woman who headed to Europe to party. Jackie was a voracious reader and was determined to become fluent in French. Anthony delves into Jackie’s forays into Europe and her companionship with her stepbrother Yusha Auschinschloss, but what I gleaned from this section is that when engaged, Jackie was a top student. At a lecture at a Sorbonne history course, Jackie was first exposed to the French involvement in Indochina, a country like many of that era struggling to gain independence from its European colonizers. American involvement in Vietnam would not occur for nearly ten years, but Jackie took interest in the nation’s desire to be independent, showing empathy because as a young woman, she strove to distance herself from her parents. As generous as they were with money, both of Jackie’s parents came from an era where a girl should be married before graduating from college. Jackie Bouvier never wanted an Mrs degree even when many of her friends were forgoing college in favor of marriage. Upon returning from France, sparked by the doings of the Indochinese, Jackie enrolled at George Washington University and graduated with a degree in French literature with a knowledge of history. She was well-read, an above average painter and photographer, and could hold her own in any conversation with men. Jackie did eventually want to marry but not to be a housewife, although she knew this would come with the territory. What she desired was a man who was her intellectual equal where she would continue to grow professionally as a writer and artist.
In the 1950s the societal expectation is that women might work for a year or so after finishing college, but after getting married, their job was to be a wife and mother. The Feminine Mystique was another twelve years away, so one could say that Jackie was ahead of her time. I noted that Janet would have made a quality business manager in a different generation; Jackie might have been a top journalist or writer or college professor if she was born a generation and a half later. An equestrian, she might have even competed in the Olympics. This was not to be as one born at a time where the women’s rights movement was still decades away. Upon graduation, Jackie won a contest to become a writer for Vogue magazine; Janet talked her out of it because she wanted her daughter in Washington, not New York or Paris, Janet hoping to use her connections to get her daughter married. The connections that allowed Jackie to be a working woman at the Washington Times-Herald belonged to her stepfather, and, after proving herself, Jackie became the Inquisitive Camera Girl. Her column came to dominate the paper, and she even got her own byline. Even her boss realized that Jackie’s column carried his struggling newspaper, but he was reluctant to give her feature stories, having in the back of his mind that she would get married and leave her job. Jackie desired to be married to the right person and keep working even when society would have told her no. That right person was on the near horizon, and, for this specific person, she would have to quit her job, although I found the sections as Jackie as a working woman to be captivating, because that part of her life was unknown to me prior. She noted that if she had remained single, she might have had a career trajectory like that of her friend Gloria Emerson. Of that we shall never know.
Friends Charlie and Martha Bartlett happened to invite Jackie Bouvier and Jack Kennedy to the same dinner. We all know what happens next. I laud Anthony for not delving too deeply into their romance when countless accounts have done just that. I love a meaty celebrity romance as much as the next person and laughed when Jackie told a friend that she would marry Joe DiMaggio if he was available. A young, single senator and a good looking, intelligent young lady. This would blow any other celebrity romance out of the water, and, it comes as little surprise to me that their romance and lives were discussed from so many angles that even I thought I knew more about them than key dates. The romancing is present as well as a friend explaining to Jackie that Jack would never stop womanizing. She would have to accept it, and she did, because another mutual friend noted that he would not have become President if he did not marry her. What Anthony does go in depth on is how in 1952 Kennedy already set to establish himself as a foreign affairs expert in the senate. He took a developing interest in Indochina and had Jackie translate books from French in preparation for his maiden speech about the region on the senate floor. Even before their engagement, she would come to the Senate gallery and astutely listen to the proceedings, sending notes with a page to Jack if she noted something of the upmost importance. Although Jack had told close friends that he would never marry, content as a carousing Irish bachelor, he knew to become president he would need a wife; intellectually, he came into marriage with similar desires as Jackie. Anthony notes that theirs was a meeting of minds, later orchestrated by Joe Kennedy into a power marriage, because all involved had eyes on the White House as early as 1952. At age thirty five, Senator Kennedy was not yet eligible for the presidency, but those who knew Jack and Jackie knew that it was only a matter of time, scripted magazine photos and paparazzi aside. For this man, Jackie Bouvier would marry, giving up her life as a working woman, because she knew that instead of watching history, she would shape it.
Jack and Jackie wed on September 12, 1953. My parents were five years old so suffice it to say I did not know as much about this power couple as I thought I did. My mother is not into pop culture or glamor as much as I am, and if I asked her, she would probably answer that Kennedy delivered a quality speech off the cuff, which would not sate my obsession with celebrity romance. The world knows that this couple only endured for ten years, two months, and ten days, but what a time period it was for the rapidly changing world. I would like to read more about both of these powerful historical figures because Camera Girl has whetted my appetite for more on the Kennedys, not the mystique but the political wheeling and dealing. Prior to being a First Lady, Jackie Bouvier desired to be an up and coming working woman at a time when society told women no with a capital N. Jackie Bouvier would not accept no from her parents, from the male old boys network, or her bosses. I maintain that she would have become a powerful member of society had she been born a few decades later. Who knows, with her eyes on the end goal, maybe she would have become President. For that we will never know but she remains a mystical historical figure, a strong intellectual woman, and at one point an inquisitive camera girl.
4 stars
June 10, 2023
People have been fascinated by Jackie Kennedy for nearly 70 years and you'd think that every possible angle of her life had been examined....and yet authors keep coming up with new things to say.
Camera Girl covers Jackie's early years ending with her marriage to John Kennedy. Obviously most biographies about Jackie cover her White House and Onassis years but her earlier years have always been of real interest to me. Her parents marriage really needs its own book. I've also wanted to know more about her newspaper career. In other biographies, it's often dismissed as some silly little column that she did while waiting to find a husband but Camera Girl actually shows that her man on the street column was a serious endeavor for her. She also had the chance to write for Vogue magazine. Even John Kennedy admitted to friends that if he hadn't married Jackie she probably would have become a full time writer. As we know later in life she became an editor, so we know that the written word was important to her.
I still think this book didn't dig deep enough into her pre Kennedy years. I still don't feel like I learned anything about her first fiance John Husted and her relationship with her friends was nonexistent in this book.
Overall I did enjoy this book and I'm happy that I was able to learn more about her newspaper career and moreover her desire to be taken seriously as a professional.
A must read in the Kennedy cannon.
Camera Girl covers Jackie's early years ending with her marriage to John Kennedy. Obviously most biographies about Jackie cover her White House and Onassis years but her earlier years have always been of real interest to me. Her parents marriage really needs its own book. I've also wanted to know more about her newspaper career. In other biographies, it's often dismissed as some silly little column that she did while waiting to find a husband but Camera Girl actually shows that her man on the street column was a serious endeavor for her. She also had the chance to write for Vogue magazine. Even John Kennedy admitted to friends that if he hadn't married Jackie she probably would have become a full time writer. As we know later in life she became an editor, so we know that the written word was important to her.
I still think this book didn't dig deep enough into her pre Kennedy years. I still don't feel like I learned anything about her first fiance John Husted and her relationship with her friends was nonexistent in this book.
Overall I did enjoy this book and I'm happy that I was able to learn more about her newspaper career and moreover her desire to be taken seriously as a professional.
A must read in the Kennedy cannon.
June 20, 2023
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
With RFK Jr running for President, this book is more relevant than it has any right to be.
Like so many books on the Kennedys, this is an effort to furnish some truth about them, but we always have to wrangle with the now almost century old PR campaign. There's real pressure to convey Jackie a certain way, but the facts don't always agree. I'm sorry, but scheming to get money from your parents to buy a camera is not in any way "independent."
It really makes for an awkward book. I suggest reading it with a large amount of skeptism.
With RFK Jr running for President, this book is more relevant than it has any right to be.
Like so many books on the Kennedys, this is an effort to furnish some truth about them, but we always have to wrangle with the now almost century old PR campaign. There's real pressure to convey Jackie a certain way, but the facts don't always agree. I'm sorry, but scheming to get money from your parents to buy a camera is not in any way "independent."
It really makes for an awkward book. I suggest reading it with a large amount of skeptism.
May 21, 2023
For those who have some knowledge of Jacqueline Kennedy this is an informative and interesting biography of her life (up to and including her marriage to then Senator John Kennedy- which is where the book ends). Her early childhood, relationship with her father (good) and mother (not good) are documented at length. I found the details of the Bouvier family fascinating; as well as her childhood, education, travels, employment and relationship to her step-family interesting and enlightening. She was a woman with clear goals and the discipline to attain those goals. This book pulls aside the curtain and gives additional insight to Mrs Kennedy without being mean-spirited or salacious.
4 stars
4 stars
April 22, 2023
This is an autobiography about Jacqueline Bouvier and eventually Kennedy’s beginning years as a young adult. From the end of her sophomore year at Vassar to her engagement to the second and final John, John Kennedy. Most of the book it’s about her wanting to be a reporter or something she did initially as a junior reporter for vogue and eventually with the help of her stepfather and a Mr. Waldrop she would achieve. It also covers her strained relationship with her mother Janet Leigh and her possible codependency with her father blackjack her relationship with her stepfather Aussie and so much more from her love horses have European holidays time at the Hamptons a trip to Florida and so much more from eyewitness accounts to family friends to newspaper articles and even personal statements from historians this book is chock-full of personal tidbits that build a great story about Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy‘s young adulthood there’s even the love affair with the first John that didn’t have much to do about Love from her point of you at all. It all makes for a great and interesting book by someone who is definitely an expert when it comes to first ladies in the Kennedys mister Anthony has covered many first ladies and has written many great autobiographies on people who we all know his household names as his name should be. He is a great writer of nonfiction including this five star read Camera Girl about Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and her insecurities loves friendships family relations and so much more. This is truly an extraordinary book I have read a few books about Mrs. Kennedy and I must say this book would fit in with the rest that describe her personality I can’t say how much I love this book it was a fabulous book and a confusing time for most Mr. Anthony definitely portrays Jackie’s insecurities and dreams in the culmination of most of them in this book. I received this book from NetGalley and gallery books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
Read
November 1, 2023I’m obsessed with reading all things Jackie Kennedy. I learned some new things I didn’t realize listening to this book. I enjoyed it a lot.
December 31, 2023
This was really interesting! I read quite a lot of Kennedy stuff back in high school (which was more years ago than I want to recall), but reading this I realized how little I knew about Jackie as an individual.
December 16, 2023
This book was an interesting read. I had grown up after Ms. Bouvier Kennedy was First Lady. I had prior impressions of her from pictures I had seen and stories I had heard. This book presented a different side of her to me. It helped me understand her in a different way than I had previously thru the accounts of her childhood, college years and early career. The descriptions of her father and his behaviors gave me a new understanding of her later reactions to reports of her spouse’s infidelity. Her relationship with her mother was very complex. I gained a respect for not just her poise and beauty but for her intelligence and drive. The settings of the book were interesting. Her travels in Europe are fascinating to learn about. Her occupation as a reporter paint a very different picture than that of the refined wife and mother I was familiar with. One highlight of the book given we just experienced the coronation of King Charles is the description of her time in Europe for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This was not a quick read for me but really broadened my understanding of the future First Lady. I would recommend it for history lovers and those interested in the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis or President Kennedy before he was president.
dnf
August 29, 2023dnf, I don't know why I picked this up tbh bc I'm not especially interested in Jackie Kennedy, good if you want a ton of info on her though
(marking as 2022 so it doesn't appear on this year's books)
(marking as 2022 so it doesn't appear on this year's books)
January 25, 2023
Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony is a wonderful nonfiction and biographical account of the young adulthood of one of my favorite women in history.
I have read so many biographies of Mrs. Kennedy, as well as the Kennedy family in general, and while I knew quite a bit about her adolescence and young adult years, I was hoping to learn more. I definitely did.
The author has done a stunning amount of research and has presented this biography in such a beautiful way, that I felt as if I was part of the conversation between friends…as if I knew her personally.
I loved learning about her college and Paris years…I loved all the extra facets that were highlighted that I didn’t quite see all of before.
I am so glad I was able to read this gem and highly recommend it.
5/5 stars
Thank you NG and Gallery Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/2/23.
I have read so many biographies of Mrs. Kennedy, as well as the Kennedy family in general, and while I knew quite a bit about her adolescence and young adult years, I was hoping to learn more. I definitely did.
The author has done a stunning amount of research and has presented this biography in such a beautiful way, that I felt as if I was part of the conversation between friends…as if I knew her personally.
I loved learning about her college and Paris years…I loved all the extra facets that were highlighted that I didn’t quite see all of before.
I am so glad I was able to read this gem and highly recommend it.
5/5 stars
Thank you NG and Gallery Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/2/23.
October 1, 2023
I have read many biographies about the Kennedys. I have always admired Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. However,most biographies focus on either her iconic status or her profound misery as the Camelot widow. The beauty of this biography is that it does neither.
I loved this biography. I was actually saddened when it ended because I knew what was in store for Jackie BKO.
Rather than portray her as some sort of mythical creature, the book reveals her ambitious energy, her high intelligence, her joie de vivre and details her personal relationships with family members and friends. I LOVED reading about Jacqueline Bouvier, prior to her marriage to JFK. She was so untainted, un-jaded, unsullied. As I read this book, I kept saying to myself, “Don’t do it. Don’t marry him!” She was a brilliant, beautiful, fun-loving person. She had warmth and gaiety, despite some early familial challenges.
What this book does well is convey another side to a high profile icon whose story has been told umpteen times. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. Five glorious stars! *****
I loved this biography. I was actually saddened when it ended because I knew what was in store for Jackie BKO.
Rather than portray her as some sort of mythical creature, the book reveals her ambitious energy, her high intelligence, her joie de vivre and details her personal relationships with family members and friends. I LOVED reading about Jacqueline Bouvier, prior to her marriage to JFK. She was so untainted, un-jaded, unsullied. As I read this book, I kept saying to myself, “Don’t do it. Don’t marry him!” She was a brilliant, beautiful, fun-loving person. She had warmth and gaiety, despite some early familial challenges.
What this book does well is convey another side to a high profile icon whose story has been told umpteen times. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. Five glorious stars! *****
November 16, 2023
Disappointing
September 29, 2024
"𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧."
-𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
Like many others, I've always had a fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Camera Girl was so obviously well researched and was an in-depth look at Jackie's young adult life. It was nice to learn new things from this time of her life, as most of the texts I've read about her were during her time while Kennedy was president. I do feel like the pacing was off a bit, as some sections felt rushed and others felt too long. So I found myself bored at times. But overall I liked it and will continue to read books about this fascinating woman.
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
-𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
Like many others, I've always had a fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Camera Girl was so obviously well researched and was an in-depth look at Jackie's young adult life. It was nice to learn new things from this time of her life, as most of the texts I've read about her were during her time while Kennedy was president. I do feel like the pacing was off a bit, as some sections felt rushed and others felt too long. So I found myself bored at times. But overall I liked it and will continue to read books about this fascinating woman.
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
May 5, 2023
I read anything about Jackie O.
She lived most of her life in front of the cameras while she preferred to be behind them.
Anthony focuses on Jackie’s life in the 1940s and early 50s, a time that had been often glossed over.
I didn’t find any new startling facts but I enjoyed the photos included, some which have just surfaced recently.
Although she died 29 years ago, her impact and fame have not been diluted.
Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the early read.
She lived most of her life in front of the cameras while she preferred to be behind them.
Anthony focuses on Jackie’s life in the 1940s and early 50s, a time that had been often glossed over.
I didn’t find any new startling facts but I enjoyed the photos included, some which have just surfaced recently.
Although she died 29 years ago, her impact and fame have not been diluted.
Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the early read.
June 17, 2023
Camera girl was a very good and very detailed read about the early days of Jacqueline bouvier. Upon reading this book. I was surprised at how much information that I didn’t know existed until now about the former First Lady.
April 17, 2024
Not my favorite -- it felt like the author was trying to make the reader feel sympathetic for her trials in life (expectations from family, being in the press etc) but I just could not get past her INCREDIBLY privileged life to feel sympathetic?? That sounds harsh :/ but it was hard to root for her the way I wanted to. Didn't captivate me.
** Wanted to note this book ended at her engagement to JFK.
** Wanted to note this book ended at her engagement to JFK.
January 5, 2024
I just finished listening to this book on Libby and loved it! Oh that wonderful Camelot time !!
March 7, 2024
I built this up in my mind as I waited to read it, and I was slightly disappointed. A lot of names, and while she did carry a camera around early on in her European travels, it didn’t get to her Inquiring Camera Girl newspaper column until halfway through. Still, it covered the time in mostly brief chapters and helped give me a different understanding in the Kennedy-Bouvier relationship.
October 14, 2023
I love all things about the Kennedy family. Like other first families, they’re the closest thing we have to royalty in the United States, but the Kennedys are elevated a bit.
The Kennedys served in the White House long before I was born, and if you want the history of John F., there are dozens of sources. I liked this book because it focused on Jackie-her youth, adolescence, and her career. Yes-career. She was a newspaper columnist, and a very good one. The book kept me interested, but if you have an interest in this family the audiobook Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy was better. It was an oral history and Jackie tells the story. However, this book focuses on HER, and I liked that about it. I learned so much.
The Kennedys served in the White House long before I was born, and if you want the history of John F., there are dozens of sources. I liked this book because it focused on Jackie-her youth, adolescence, and her career. Yes-career. She was a newspaper columnist, and a very good one. The book kept me interested, but if you have an interest in this family the audiobook Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy was better. It was an oral history and Jackie tells the story. However, this book focuses on HER, and I liked that about it. I learned so much.
March 5, 2024
DNF- just could not get into this book.
April 21, 2024
Probably 3.5 stars, well written but a tad repetitive and it appears some stories weren't complete, so were skimmed over quickly. But overall an interesting portrait of a woman ahead of her times in some ways.
May 10, 2023
Carl Sferrazza Anthony has written a very intriguing biography of Jackie Bouvier during her school years and working life up until her marriage to Jack Kennedy. For some reason I wasn't expecting to be interested, but I was in fact totally rapt. I applaud her commitment to being her own person and not falling in line with the other women of her age and stature and quickly marrying. She wanted to be, as she often put it, distinct. Learning French, traveling abroad, her interest in photography and illustration, her passion for writing, and ultimately becoming the "Inquiring Camera Girl" for the Washington Times-Herald, no doubt set her apart from her peers. However, not everything in her life was smooth sailing. Her parents were divorced and frequently battling over control of their daughter and, hence, influence her behavior. It's hard to feel sorry for someone living a privileged life but the way her parents treated her was quite sad, especially her mother who would actually slap her and who constantly criticized her. Entirely understandable that she would want to move to Europe and get away from such turmoil. But she stayed put, continued writing her column (though she longed to be allowed to write more featured pieces for the newspaper), got engaged, called it off, and eventually fell in love with a senator from Massachusetts. In the end she found a kindred spirit in JFK, one who shared her feelings on the situation in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, and also saw a means to have an impact on the world through her husband and his presidency. Anthony tells this highly readable story impeccably well, bringing to life this charismatic individual through her own writings and also through interviews from those close to her at the time. Jackie Bouvier, distinct? Indeed.
**I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.**
**I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.**
June 15, 2023
This book primarily focuses on Jackie's young adult life which was very interesting. Her courtship and eventual marriage to JFK were covered but not the bulk of this story. I really enjoyed learning new things but I felt that some previously strongly held beliefs were quickly, even weakly, challenged. I wish there had been more evidence to back them up or more depth to those claims. I also felt as if some parts of Jackie's life were rushed through while other parts were unnecessarily drawn out. The book, overall, was a little dry throughout the majority.
July 2, 2023
This is an interesting read for those fascinated by Jackie. Most other books gloss over her early life prior to JFK so yes I learned a few more things about her. I didn’t realize quite how headstrong & tenacious she was. I enjoyed most of it, some parts were dull.
I laughed out loud to learn of a vindictive prank. Her mother was notoriously mean & nasty to her. What did she do? She mailed her a nasty surprise packed in a hatbox - a dead snake!
I laughed out loud to learn of a vindictive prank. Her mother was notoriously mean & nasty to her. What did she do? She mailed her a nasty surprise packed in a hatbox - a dead snake!
not-for-me
September 27, 2024I got about halfway through and had to stop. The breezy, gossipy narrative, dense with unimportant details just didn't hold my interest. It's obvious that the author admired Jackie and wanted to present her in a very specific way, but her character and motivations (as presented) seemed inconsistent to me. I would prefer to have the facts and draw my own conclusions.
Read
July 10, 2023Carl Sferrazza Anthony shows us why Jackie Bouvier Kennedy was both likely and unlikely to become one of the world’s most admired and respected women in the bittersweet CAMERA GIRL, THE COMING OF AGE OF JACKIE BOUVIER KENNEDY.
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
January 26, 2025
Before reading this book (won in a giveaway by Goodreads), my knowledge of Jackie Kennedy was general: she was JFK’s wife, a style icon, First Lady of the people, and was in the car when JFK was shot. I was also aware of her second marriage to Aristotle Onassis.
I knew nothing of her early life.
Initially drawn to this book due to its title (a camera girl myself), I was not prepared for the story. Jackie was fiercely independent, learned to play her ridiculously possessive estranged parents, generally shirked society’s rules around women’s behavior, and was dedicated to being a writer with influence by any means necessary.
Reading this through the lens of a woman’s life in 2025, Jackie’s aspirations are commonplace today: preferring to travel, spending time making a name for herself in media, and being (initially) uninterested in marrying. I admired her drive to make her own choices and to live a life that fulfilled her ambitions for notoriety on her own terms.
*SPOILERS*
The only part of this story I had trouble with was reading about her mother’s insane treatment of Jackie. Janet was abusive, possessive, actively tried to keep Jackie away from her father, threw tantrums when Jackie’s aspirations didn’t mesh with societal norms or when Jackie wanted to live abroad in Paris. The most infuriating, however, was when, after over a year of hard work, Jackie won Vogue’s Prix de Paris contest, Janet forced Jackie to relinquish her prized role at the magazine, referring to her daughter’s acceptance of the job like “poor people accepting charity.” Insane.
Overall, I rate this 4/5. I’m typically not one for biographies, but Carl Sferrazza Anthony did a great job of piecing together a story of pre-famous Jackie’s life.
I knew nothing of her early life.
Initially drawn to this book due to its title (a camera girl myself), I was not prepared for the story. Jackie was fiercely independent, learned to play her ridiculously possessive estranged parents, generally shirked society’s rules around women’s behavior, and was dedicated to being a writer with influence by any means necessary.
Reading this through the lens of a woman’s life in 2025, Jackie’s aspirations are commonplace today: preferring to travel, spending time making a name for herself in media, and being (initially) uninterested in marrying. I admired her drive to make her own choices and to live a life that fulfilled her ambitions for notoriety on her own terms.
*SPOILERS*
The only part of this story I had trouble with was reading about her mother’s insane treatment of Jackie. Janet was abusive, possessive, actively tried to keep Jackie away from her father, threw tantrums when Jackie’s aspirations didn’t mesh with societal norms or when Jackie wanted to live abroad in Paris. The most infuriating, however, was when, after over a year of hard work, Jackie won Vogue’s Prix de Paris contest, Janet forced Jackie to relinquish her prized role at the magazine, referring to her daughter’s acceptance of the job like “poor people accepting charity.” Insane.
Overall, I rate this 4/5. I’m typically not one for biographies, but Carl Sferrazza Anthony did a great job of piecing together a story of pre-famous Jackie’s life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2023
An interesting read, I really enjoyed learning of Jackie’s early years. I especially enjoyed reading of her love of photography and her time in France. That said, I thought overall the writing was a bit uneven. Having seen her determination and commitment later in life (saving Grand Central Terminal and the Temple of Dendur), it was interesting to see how those traits exhibited themselves early in her career as a journalist and photographer. Audio narration was just okay.
July 13, 2025
I especially enjoyed discovering more about Jackie's experiences in France while a college student - in particular how she was exposed to Pierre Renouvin and his insights of Vietnam's struggle for freedom. Then, the author expertly shows how her world view gave Jackie the perfect skill set for helping JFK after he won a seat in the Senate by developing a thorough background report on Vietnam.
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