Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was an American fashion publicist. Born in White Plains, New York, she grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and graduated from the School of Education at Boston University in January 1988. She joined Calvin Klein's store in Newton, Massachusetts, and was brought to New York, where over seven years she moved from sales to celebrity sales, public relations and show production. By the spring of 1996 she was the company's director of show production. Her restrained, minimalist style, tied to 1990s fashion, earned a nomination for Best Female Personal Style at the 1997 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, and designers and fashion writers have kept citing it. She married John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996. She died on July 16, 1999.
A family member's half hour, split down the middle
Astro-Databank's Source Notes read: Frances McEvoy quotes a family member, "8:30 to 9:00 AM." Its data source is "From memory", the grade is A, and the clock is set at the midpoint, 8:45 a.m.
The table tests both ends of the range. The Moon stays in Cancer in every row and the ascendant stays in Aquarius, from 5°45′ at 8:30 a.m. to 15°57′ at 9:00 a.m. Only the midheaven changes sign.
| Birth time | Where it came from | Rising sign | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:45 a.m. | Astro-Databank, the middle of the range; rated A | ♒︎ Aquarius 10°44′ | Cancer |
| 8:30 a.m. | start of the family member's range | ♒︎ Aquarius 5°45′ | Cancer |
| 9:00 a.m. | end of the family member's range | ♒︎ Aquarius 15°57′ | Cancer |
| Point | Sign at birth | In that sign | Before and after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising sign | ♒︎ Aquarius | 8:12 a.m. to 9:37 a.m. | Capricorn before, Pisces after |
| Midheaven | ♐︎ Sagittarius | 8:40 a.m. to 10:48 a.m. | Scorpio before, Capricorn after |
| Moon | ♋︎ Cancer | midnight to 9:49 p.m. | Leo after |
Rising sign, midheaven and Moon calculated by us for each time, White Plains, New York, Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5).
Mars, then Venus, just inside the ascendant
Mars at 12°04′ and retrograde Venus at 13°45′ share the rising sign and the 1st house, whichever house system is used. Mars lies 1°20′ past the ascendant at 10°44′ Aquarius, Venus 3°02′ past it.
Planets hugging the eastern horizon color how a person first appears. Mars adds drive and Venus adds taste, so energy and style arrive together, in the sign of the unconventional. Retrograde Venus tends toward a more inward handling of its themes.
Our pages: Venus in Aquarius · Mars in Aquarius · Aquarius rising · 1st house · rising sign calculator.
A Cancer Moon with Scorpio water behind it
Cancer took the Moon at 9:41 p.m. on January 5, 35.1 hours before the recorded minute, and keeps it through 9:49 p.m. that night, when Leo takes over. At 21°46′ it stands in its own sign and in the 6th house, which covers routine and craft.
Neptune at 21°36′ of Scorpio trines the Moon within 0°11′, closer than any other pair here. A water trine like this suggests feeling that slips easily into imagery. The Moon also sextiles Uranus within 2°13′.
Our pages: Moon in Cancer · Neptune in Scorpio · Uranus in Virgo · 6th house · moon sign calculator.
The Sun in the 12th house, with Saturn as its ruler
The Sun at 16°49′ of Capricorn sits in the 12th house, the house of work done out of view, and it opposes the Moon within 4°57′. That sets the 12th house against the 6th.
Saturn rules Capricorn and, in the older scheme, Aquarius. It stands in Pisces at 12°58′ and sextiles the Sun within 3°51′, which makes it the planet linking the Sun with the rising sign.
Our pages: Capricorn · Saturn in Pisces · 12th house · Sun, Moon and rising together.
Sagittarius took the midheaven at 8:40 a.m.
Aquarius held the White Plains horizon from 8:12 a.m. to 9:37 a.m., so the recorded minute falls 33 minutes in, with 52 to go.
The midheaven is the angle that moves. Sagittarius claimed it 5 minutes before the recorded time, and 8:30 a.m. would leave a Scorpio midheaven. Mercury, the only planet in Sagittarius, stands on its last degree at 29°43′, in the 11th house.
Our pages: Midheaven in Sagittarius · Mercury in Sagittarius · 11th house · 10th house.
Uranus and Pluto in Virgo, both trine the Sun
Retrograde Uranus at 19°33′ and Pluto at 18°23′ are 1°10′ apart. Placidus puts both in the 7th house, partnership, and Whole Sign in the 8th. Pluto trines the Sun within 1°34′ and Uranus within 2°44′, an earth link from Capricorn to Virgo.
Everyone born in those years shares this pair, which is why astrologers weigh the Sun, Moon and rising sign first.
Our pages: Uranus in Virgo · Pluto in Virgo · 7th house · 8th house.
All major aspects between the planets in Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's chart
- Moon trine Neptune orb 0°11′
- Uranus conjunction Pluto orb 1°10′
- Sun trine Pluto orb 1°34′
- Venus conjunction Mars orb 1°42′
- Uranus sextile Neptune orb 2°03′
- Moon sextile Uranus orb 2°13′
- Sun trine Uranus orb 2°44′
- Neptune sextile Pluto orb 3°12′
- Moon sextile Pluto orb 3°23′
- Sun sextile Saturn orb 3°51′
- Jupiter square Uranus orb 4°05′
- Sun sextile Neptune orb 4°46′
- Sun opposition Moon orb 4°57′
- Jupiter square Pluto orb 5°15′
- Saturn opposition Pluto orb 5°25′
- Mercury opposition Jupiter orb 6°05′
- Saturn opposition Uranus orb 6°35′
- Venus square Neptune orb 7°50′
- Moon trine Saturn orb 8°48′
Orbs: 8° for conjunction, opposition, square and trine, 6° for sextile, 2° more when the Sun or Moon is involved; Node, Lilith, Ascendant and Midheaven not counted. Same rules as our birth chart calculator.
Questions about Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's chart
Which sign rises for her?
Aquarius, at 10°44′ Aquarius, and Aquarius also rises at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m.
Is her Sun in Capricorn?
The Sun stood at 16°49′ of Capricorn, in the 12th house.
What sign holds her Moon?
Cancer, at 21°46′, from 9:41 p.m. on January 5 through 9:49 p.m. on January 7.
What time is on record?
Astro-Databank uses 8:45 a.m., the midpoint of a family member's "8:30 to 9:00 AM."
Would 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. change her big three?
No. Aquarius rises at 5°45′ or 15°57′ and the Moon stays in Cancer; only the midheaven moves at 8:30.
What is the closest aspect?
Moon trine Neptune, 0°11′ off.
Sources
- Astronomy Engine: the open-source ephemeris library behind our planet positions, dates and statistics
- Astro-Databank (Astrodienst): published birth charts we test the calculation against
- How we create our readings: our own calculation of sign dates, positions and the 1930 to 2025 statistics
More celebrity birth charts
Charts closest to this one, sharing the Sun sign, the rising sign or the Moon: Mac Miller · David Bowie · Dolly Parton · Zendaya · Timothée Chalamet · Jim Carrey · Finn Wolfhard · Elvis Presley · LeBron James · David Lynch. All 143 charts with their sources and Rodden ratings: celebrity birth charts.
Astrology is a symbolic tradition, not a science. This page explains what the tradition says about the placements in a published chart; it makes no claims about Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's character, health or private life. Birth data: Astro-Databank (Astrodienst), checked October 20, 2026. Positions: our calculation with the astronomy-engine ephemeris; it matches the Sun, Moon and ascendant degrees Astro-Databank publishes for this chart to within one arc minute.