Mary Richardson Kennedy

Mary Kathleen Richardson Kennedy was an American interior designer, political fundraiser, and philanthropist. A proponent of green building and co-founder of the Food Allergy Initiative, the largest fund for food allergy research in the United States, Richardson was regarded as an effective and resourceful fundraiser. She worked on Democratic campaigns, including Ted Kennedy's 1980 presidential bid and Joe Kennedy's congressional campaign in 1986. Educated at Brown University and later the Rhode Island School of Design, she also briefly worked at Andy Warhol's Factory in New York. Richardson was married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and their legal separation in 2010 was highly publicized. Her 2012 suicide also received significant national attention.