Saoirse Kennedy Hill's aunt Kerry Kennedy shares rare photos of 22-year-old in emotional tribute after her tragic death
Kerry Kennedy paid a touching online tribute to her late niece Saoirse Kennedy Hill following the 22-year-old's death of a suspected drug overdose.
Kerry is one of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s 11 children, and the sister of Saoirse’s mother, Courtney Kennedy Hill. She's also the former wife of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Kerry remembered happier times as she shared four photos of Saoirse on Instagram with a statement from the family about her untimely demise, New York Post reports.
“Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse,” Kerry wrote alongside a photo of the Boston College student. “Her life was filled with hope, promise, and love.”
Saoirse was found dead from an apparent drug overdose at the family's Cape Cod compound on Thursday.
She was considerably outspoken about her battle with depression and was the only daughter of Courtney, 62, and Paul Hill, 65.
In 2016, Saoirse wrote a piece for the Deerfield Scroll, the school newspaper of Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where she was a student.
“My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life,” she wrote. “Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest. These bouts would come and go, but they did not outwardly affect me until I was a new sophomore at Deerfield.”
“Many people are suffering, but because many people feel uncomfortable talking about it, no one is aware of the sufferers,” Saoirse stressed. “This leaves people feeling even more alone.”
She later called “on all members of the Deerfield community to come forward and talk freely about mental health issues” so they wouldn’t suppress their emotions.
“We are all either struggling or know someone who is battling an illness,” she said. “Let’s come together to make our community more inclusive and comfortable.”
The granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy became the latest tragedy in the so-called “Kennedy curse”, dubbed after the family's string of unnatural deaths from accidents, assassinations, and overdoses.