Cheryl Hines Straddles Dual Roles as Actress and Wife to Presidential Candidate RFK Jr.

Robert F Kennedy Jr., with his wife Cheryl Hines, waves to supporters during a campaign event to launch his 2024 presidential bid, at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston, Mass., on April 19, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

As Robert Kennedy Jr. makes the campaign rounds, his actress wife Cheryl Hines finds herself cast in a role she never dreamed of tackling—that of a wife of a presidential candidate whose views don’t necessarily match those of her husband’s.

That was the main takeaway from a recent New York Times article where the Hollywood actress opened up about everything from handling her husband’s run for the highest office in the land to her dismay at how his comments regarding vaccines or Big Pharma have been misconstrued.

Kennedy, 69, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, is an environmental lawyer, politician, and writer. He’s known for his comments on vaccines and health-related issues, along with his raspy speaking voice. Kennedy suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder specifically affecting the muscles in the voice box. But as a Democrat and part of the long-time prominent Kennedy family known for both its influence and public service, Kennedy has managed to draw support from both sides of the political aisle. Former Trump White House adviser Steven Bannon has voiced public support for him, as have other conservative supporters.

Kennedy hasn’t been afraid to appear on conservative cable shows and podcasts, but he does seem concerned about the pressure throwing his hat in the ring for POTUS has had on his wife.

Approach to Husband’s Candidacy

Hines, the 57-year-old “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress who is “beloved in Hollywood,” said that while she is committed to standing by her husband, she doesn’t feel compelled to be a constant on the campaign trail.

“I support Bobby and I want to be there for him, and I want him to feel loved and supported by me,” Hines told the NY Times. “And at the same time, I don’t feel the need to go to every political event, because I do have my own career.”

Not that political endeavors ever encompassed her life growing up like they surely did in the Kennedy family. While she’s now involved in her share of philanthropic work as a member of United Cerebral Palsy’s National Board of Trustees and an advocate for under-resourced schools, Hines was raised in Tallahassee, Florida, by a father who worked in construction and a mother who was an assistant at the Department of Revenue. Hines said her parents never spoke of politics or current events. What she knew of the Kennedys, she learned in history class.

For an actress whose major success didn’t come until she was in her 30s with “Curb Your Enthusiasm”—an age considered “over the hill” by Hollywood standards—Hines now finds herself in a different spotlight as the wife of a presidential candidate.

“This feels different, because it feels like every word is important,” she said. “Before this, really, my world was just about comedy, so I could make light of things. But now I understand people are listening in a different way, and I know that it’s really important to them.”

Hines said she is continuing to focus on her own work including the third season as host of the “I Can See Your Voice” game show on Fox and the 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. She’s also immersed in her eco-friendly self-care company she has started with her 19-year-old daughter Catherine.

Stance on Vaccines

Hines said she believes in bodily autonomy and the right for people to make decisions with their doctors about what to do with their bodies, and that she can “see both sides of the vaccine situation.”

“There’s one side that feels scared if they don’t get the vaccine, and there’s the side that feels scared if they do get the vaccine, because they’re not sure if the vaccine is safe. And I understand that,” she said.

“So if Bobby is standing up and saying, ‘Well, are we sure that they’re safe and every vaccine has been tested properly?’ That doesn’t seem too much to ask. That seems like the right question to be asking.”

According to a The Economist/YouGov poll (pdf) conducted June 10–13, Kennedy was viewed favorably by 49 percent of respondents, giving him the highest net favorability rating of any current candidate running for president.