Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, died Thursday afternoon at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. of an apparent overdose, the New York Times has reported. She was 22.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy family also confirmed the death in a statement; however, the statement did not specify a cause of death.
“Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love. She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel, who said, ‘The world is a little less beautiful today.’ She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women’s empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever,” the statement reads.
The Times also confirmed with officials that a death investigation was underway at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, after police and fire officials responded Thursday afternoon to a medical emergency.
Saoirse Kennedy Hill was a senior at Boston College and the daughter of Paul Hill and Courtney Kennedy Hill, who is in turn the daughter of Robert Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy.