Joan Kennedy

Joan Kennedy appears with her husband, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, in this Nov. 7, 1979, photo during a campaign announcement in Boston. Friends say the scrutiny that came with being a Kennedy didn't suit her shy personality, and has magnified a chronic alcohol problem. On March 28, 2005, Mrs. Kennedy, 68, was found sprawled on a street with a cut on her forehead and suffering from a concussion and broken shoulder.

Following John F. Kennedy's election as president, the Kennedy clan gathered for this group photo at the Hyannisport, Mass. home of Joseph P. Kennedy, their father, on Nov. 9, 1960. Joan Kennedy is seen standing second from right while her husband Ted is seated on the right.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr., whose right leg was amputated Nov. 17, 1973, stands on crutches with his parents, Sen. and Mrs. Edward M. Kennedy outside Georgetown Hospital in Washington Nov. 30, 1973. Sen. Kennedy holds a football given his son by Washington Redskin Coach George Allen.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. walks with the aid of crutches as he leaves Georgetown Hospital in Washington, Nov. 30, 1973, accompanied by his parents. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, right, and mother, Joan, left. The boy was fitted with a temporary artificial limb.

Ted Kennedy Jr. is flanked by his parents Sen. Edward and Mrs. Joan Kennedy, as they walk to a waiting car in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 26, 1973. Man in background is unidentified.

Douglas Kennedy, 7, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, places a rose at his father's grave in nearby Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 20, 1974, the 49th anniversary of Kennedy's birth. Kneeling are Mrs. Ethel Kennedy, left, Robert's widow, and Mrs. Joan Kennedy, wife of Robert's brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Members of the Kennedy family visit the grave of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy at nearby Arlington National Cemetery, June 6, 1975, the anniversary of his assassination. Standing from left are: Mrs. Ethel Kennedy; Joseph, son; Robert, son; Mrs. Joan Kennedy, sister-in-law; Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Kneeling are: Patrick, son of Sen. Edward Kennedy; Christopher, Rory, and Matthew, children of Sen. Robert Kennedy.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., walks with his wife, Joan, and son, Edward Jr., across the Wesleyan University campus, Middletown, Conn., Nov. 12, 1979. Kennedy, who declared his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination the week before, and his wife were making a Parents Day visit to the school where their son is a student.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., accompanied by his wife, Joan, withdraws his bid from the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in New York City, Aug. 11, 1980.

President Carter and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, left, as they shake hands under the watchful eyes of the senator's wife, Joan, center, during a campaign stop in Boston's Italian North End, Oct. 15, 1980.

This is a Nov. 8, 1994, file photo of victorious Democratic Congressional candidate Patrick Kennedy with his mother, Joan Kennedy, in background.

Joe Kennedy is seen with his mother after winning a congressional seat in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 9, 1994.

Teresa Heinz, left, wife of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., stands with Joan Kennedy, right, former wife of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, at the Statehouse in Boston, March 7, 1996. The two were attending a fundraiser for The Women's Inn, which is part of the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter in Boston.

From left; Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., Kennedy's mother, Joan Kennedy, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and Kennedy's father, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., are presented June 22, 1998, at the Statehouse in Providence, R.I., during a rally for Patrick after he announced his re-election intentions. Kennedy, a two-term congressman, was traveling throughout the state to tell of his re-election efforts.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., left, walks down the Rhode Island Statehouse steps with his mother, Joan Kennedy, June 22, 1998, in Providence, R.I.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., with his mother, Joan Kennedy, by his side, thanks his supporters after capturing his fourth term Nov. 7, 2000, in Providence, R.I.