38 Facts About Christopher Lawford

Christopher Kennedy Lawford was an American author, actor, and activist.

Christopher Lawford was a member of the prominent Kennedy family, and son of English actor Peter Lawford and Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford, who was a sister of President John F Kennedy.

Christopher Lawford graduated from Tufts University in 1977 and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College in 1983.

Christopher Lawford later earned a master's certificate in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University and was a lecturer on drug addiction.

Christopher Lawford wrote several books, based on his own experience, about addiction and recovery.

Christopher Lawford traveled around the US speaking about his experiences with addiction for 20 years, and was a public health campaigner, working with organizations like the World Health Organization and the United Nations, and for the US federal government.

Christopher Lawford was named for Saint Christopher and because his mother liked the name.

Christopher Lawford was the eldest child and only son of actor and "Rat Pack" member Peter Lawford and Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford, who was President John F Kennedy's sister.

Christopher Lawford described himself as a "second-string Kennedy" because he did not get as much attention as his cousins.

Christopher Lawford's parents divorced in 1966; Patricia Lawford moved from California to New York City with her son and daughters.

Christopher Lawford graduated from Tufts University in 1977 and earned a JD degree from Boston College Law School in 1983.

Christopher Lawford later earned a master's certificate in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University, and lectured on drug addiction at Harvard, Columbia University, and other colleges.

In 1969, the year after his uncle Robert F Kennedy was assassinated, when Lawford was 14, he was introduced to LSD by his peers at school.

Christopher Lawford was addicted to alcohol, cocaine, uppers, downers, and "any other drugs he could buy" for the next 17 years.

The charges were later dropped when Christopher Lawford completed his probation.

In 2000, Christopher Lawford was diagnosed with hepatitis C, which he contracted due to his years of drug use.

Christopher Lawford briefly attended Fordham Law School, but dropped out after a few months due to his dependency on heroin.

David's death prompted Christopher Lawford to seek professional help for his issues.

In 1986, at the age of 30, Christopher Lawford entered rehab and got treatment for his drug addiction.

Christopher Lawford remained clean and sober until his death in 2018.

Christopher Lawford chose to become, like his father, an actor in the mid-1980s, after realizing that a law career would not suit him.

Christopher Lawford performed in commercials in Boston for two years, and then he and his wife moved to Southern California in 1988 so that he could pursue an acting career.

Christopher Lawford worked in film and television for over 20 years.

Christopher Lawford's acting credits included the sitcom Frasier and the drama The OC.

Christopher Lawford had small roles in films such as The Russia House, a 1990 spy thriller co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Connery, and the 1991 rock-music film The Doors, which was directed by Oliver Stone.

Christopher Lawford played a Navy officer in the 2000 film Thirteen Days, a drama about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1997, Christopher Lawford had a role in the independent comedy Kiss Me Guido as the gay lover of the main character.

Christopher Lawford had a small role in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, who directed Lawford in a 1990 episode of the HBO anthology series Tales from the Crypt and was married to Lawford's cousin Maria Shriver at the time.

In 2005, Christopher Lawford appeared in the motorcycle racing film The World's Fastest Indian, co-starring Anthony Hopkins.

Christopher Lawford wrote several books "that described his efforts to recover from drug addiction".

Christopher Lawford told interviewer Connie Martinson that although writing Moments of Clarity was "difficult" and he did not want to do it, the book was "meant to happen".

Christopher Lawford wrote a book about dealing with hepatitis C, called Healing Hepatitis C, which he co-wrote with Diana Sylvestre in 2009.

Christopher Lawford traveled around the US speaking about his experiences with addiction for 20 years.

Christopher Lawford was a public health campaigner, and worked with the World Health Organization, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, and was a public advocacy consultant to Caron Treatment Centers, an organization that ran treatment programs.

In 2001, Christopher Lawford founded and was CEO of the Global Recovery Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that "seeks to remove barriers and provide opportunities for people in recovery".

In 2014, Christopher Lawford married yoga instructor Mercedes Miller in Hawaii; they divorced in 2016.

On September 4,2018, after experiencing a medical emergency while at a yoga studio, Christopher Lawford died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Patrick Kennedy told the Associated Press that Christopher Lawford had been doing "hot yoga, which he did often, but the strain of it 'must have been too much for him at that point'".