(CNN) -- If the Kennedys are indeed America's "royal family," as they have been described, then John F. Kennedy Jr. was the reluctant crown prince.

Kennedy was a celebrity even before his birth and spent his entire life under public scrutiny.

Born on November 25, 1960, just weeks after his father's presidential election victory, he was the first child born to a U.S. president-elect.

As an infant, Kennedy was known as "John-John" -- a nickname mistakenly given to him by a reporter who misheard a conversation.

Another child, Patrick, was born to President and Mrs. Kennedy on August 7, 1963 -- but died two days later.

John and his older sister Caroline helped to both humanize and glamorize the Kennedy White House. Pictures of the Kennedys playing with their children became an ensuing part of their legacy.

A little boy salutes his father's casket

John Jr.'s place in history was assured when he was only 3 years old. On November 22, 1963, his father was shot and killed by an assassin in Dallas. Two days later, on his third birthday, the nation and the world watched while the little boy saluted his father's passing casket. The image still conjures strong emotions.

After the assassination, Jacqueline Kennedy moved her family to Manhattan, where she attempted to raise John and his sister as normally as possible. "He was as charming as people remember him," says Geoffrey Worrell, a former classmate of Kennedy's at New York's Collegiate School, "but he was one of the people who could raise hell with malice towards none."

In his own words "The worst thing, I think, that can happen (to famous people) is that ... you retreat into your own private world. For what I do and just for how I want to live my life, I think it's really important to connect to normal life." --JFK Jr. in a 1998 interview with USA Today More Kennedy quotes

GALLERY Pictorial Timeline

VIDEO CNN's Larry King talks to John F. Kennedy Jr. in a September 28, 1995 interview Windows Media 28K 80K

The public fascination with the Kennedys and with "John-John" did not diminish. Photographers would wait outside Kennedy's school for the boy to arrive. "The school was very protective of John and his classmates," recalls Worrell. "[It] helped to let John as much as possible lead a normal childhood and have a normal school experience."

Kennedy did, however, attend boarding school for several years before going to college.

Kennedy attended Brown University in Rhode Island, graduating with a history major in 1983. After graduation, he appeared to be without direction -- trying his hand at theater, traveling the world and helping in his mother's urban improvement charity.

'Sexiest man alive'

Compared with his contemporaries in the Kennedy family, whose scandals and brushes with the law became front-page news, John followed the straight and narrow. His good looks and personal charisma, along with the Kennedy family aura, combined to make him one of the most eligible bachelors in America. In 1988, he was named "sexiest man alive" by People magazine -- and known simply as "The Hunk" by one New York tabloid. That same year, John received a standing ovation at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta -- where he made a speech introducing his uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy.

At the time, it appeared Kennedy might be following in his father's political footsteps. Soon after graduating from New York University Law School in 1989, he was hired by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morganthau as a prosecutor. It took Kennedy three attempts to pass the bar exam -- and as was the case with much in his life, his academic endeavors were closely followed by the media.

"God willing ... I'll pass it the next time or I'll pass it when I'm 95," Kennedy quipped to reporters.

As a prosecutor, Kennedy worked in the investigations division -- attaining a 6-0 record in his efforts to prosecute white collar fraud and street crime cases. But he resigned in July 1993, apparently not fulfilled by the job. "John said his heart was never really in it," a co-worker at the district attorney's office was quoted as saying in a 1995 Esquire article. "He was doing it for his mother."

Given his family legacy, Kennedy was constantly considered for public office. When Democrat Ted Weiss, who represented the liberal stronghold of Manhattan's Upper West Side, died in 1992, Kennedy turned down a chance to run for the vacant seat. "I frankly feel there are many opportunities and avenues outside of elective office to become involved in issues," Kennedy said in a 1993 interview with Vogue, "issues that have the same broad scope that government or elected office provides you."

In New York, Kennedy was a fixture for the tabloid gossip columns. Pictures of him exercising and relaxing in Central Park and other public places were a near-regular feature in some papers. He was linked romantically with Madonna, Brooke Shields and several other celebrities. He also had a five-year relationship with actress Daryl Hannah.

Bold move into publishing

In 1995, Kennedy appeared to find his stride -- in the field of publishing. He launched the glossy magazine George. Subtitled "not just politics as usual," George took a slightly askew look at government and at those who govern.

"Politics is really about personalities and ideas," Kennedy said during the launch of George. "It's about triumph and loss."

George also gave John an opportunity to work as a journalist. He interviewed notables such as former Alabama Gov. George Wallace and boxer Mike Tyson. Kennedy visited Cuba in 1997, looking to interview Cuban leader Fidel Castro -- the man who locked horns with Kennedy's father in the 1960s.

An article he wrote for the magazine criticizing two of his cousins as "poster boys for bad behavior" made headlines -- and reportedly caused some hurt feelings within the Kennedy family.

John Jr. and his sister also tried to keep their personal history personal. In 1997, they unsuccessfully protested a sale of Kennedy memorabilia by Guernsey's auction house.

In 1996, Kennedy's reign as one of the world's most eligible bachelors came to an end when he married Carolyn Bessette in a secret ceremony on an island off the coast of Georgia. Bessette, a former publicist for Calvin Klein, met Kennedy in 1994, the year his mother Jacqueline died. Bessette appeared overwhelmed by the media assault she endured after the marriage. For his part, Kennedy asked the photographers who hounded them to back off -- but with little effect.

Kennedy received his pilot's license last year and flew to a family Labor Day celebration at the compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. On July 16, 1999, Kennedy, along with his wife and her sister, were killed when their plane crashed into the waters off the coast of Massachusetts. They were buried at sea with their ashes being scattered at a site not far from where they died.