Janet Norton Bouvier

Janet Norton Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris (December 3, 1907 - July 22, 1989) was an American socialite. She was the mother of former United States First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill. She often stood in for her daughter Jacqueline as hostess for official White House functions.

She was born as Janet Norton Lee, the daughter of James Thomas Lee (October 2, 1877 — January 3, 1968) and Margaret A. Merritt (1878 — February 26, 1943). Lee studied at Sweet Briar College and later at Vassar College, but did not graduate from either institution. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. James Lee, was a superintendent of the New York City public school system, although Janet Bouvier preferred to tell people that he was a Maryland-born veteran of the United States Civil War. She had two sisters: Winifred Norton Lee (Mrs. Franklin d'Olier) and Marion Norton Lee (Mrs. John J. Ryan Jr.) [1].

She married three times. Her first husband was John Vernou Bouvier III, also known as "Black Jack", allegedly for his swarthy coloring. They were married on July 7, 1928 and had two daughters: Jacqueline Lee (1929-1994) and Caroline Lee (b. March 3, 1933). "Black Jack" Bouvier's womanizing and drinking led to a separation in 1936, a brief reconciliation for a few months in 1937, and then a divorce in 1940.

Janet's second husband was Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr., an attorney and Standard Oil heir; she was his third wife. They were married on June 21, 1942 and had two children: Janet Jennings Auchincloss Rutherfurd, who briefly dated John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate, while she was a student at Miss Porter's; and James Lee Auchincloss, born in 1947.

Her third marriage, after Auchincloss' death, was to Bingham "Booch" Morris on October 25, 1979. Though they separated in 1981, the marriage lasted until her death eight years later, aged 81, from complications arising from Alzheimer's disease, in Newport, Rhode Island. [2]

Janet was born in Manhattan, New York City, the middle daughter of James Thomas Aloysius Lee (1877 –1968), a lawyer and real estate developer, and Margaret A. Merritt (1878-1943). Her parents were both of Irish descent. Her first husband was John Vernou Bouvier III. They had two daughters: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Lee Radziwill. Bouvier's womanizing and drinking led to a separation in 1936, a brief reconciliation for a few months in 1937, and then a divorce in 1940.

She was the mother-in-law of United States President John F. Kennedy.

Her second husband in 1942 was Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Jr., an attorney and Standard Oil heir; she was his third wife. They had two children: Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd, and James Lee Auchincloss (born 1947).

Her third marriage, after Auchincloss's death, was to childhood friend Bingham Morris in 1979.

She died of complications arising from Alzheimer's disease in 1989.