What happened to Kitty Dukakis? Health struggles explored as author and activist dies at 88

The former First Lady of Massachusetts, Kitty Dukakis, passed away on Friday.

The well-known activist and author died because of complications from dementia, her son, John, confirmed to The Washington Post. He also told WBUR that Katharine “Kitty” Dukakis was surrounded by her family when she died peacefully at her Brookline home.

The Dukakis family said that Kitty Dukakis lived “a full life fighting,” focusing on making the “world a better place.” It further highlighted her sharing “her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs.” The family also said,

“She was loving, feisty and fun, and had a keen sensitivity to people from all walks of life. She and our dad, Michael Dukakis, shared an enviable partnership for over 60 years and loved each other deeply.”

Kitty Dukakis also struggled with mental health issues and addiction. She was public about her struggles and initiated a public dialog around depression and alcoholism with her activism. Besides her long-standing battles with mental health and alcohol addiction, Katharine also underwent surgery in June 1988.

Michael Dukakis was the Democratic presidential candidate when he reportedly suspended his campaign to spend a night with his wife at a California hospital. Kitty Dukakis had undergone a procedure named “cervical laminectomy and fusion,” which took her weeks to recover.

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Former Massachusetts First Lady Kitty Dukakis struggled with depression and alcoholism

Katharine Dukakis’ battle with mental health issues was public for years. On different occasions, Kitty talked about suffering from depression, while she also confessed about overcoming her addiction to diet pills. After her husband’s loss to George H. W. Bush, her struggles with alcoholism became a much-talked-about topic of discussion.

In February 1989, Dukakis entered an alcohol treatment program. At the time, it was being reported that her husband’s loss aggravated or triggered her addiction. Dukakis addressed the speculations and described her spouse’s defeat as a “crisis” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. She proclaimed during the conversation,

“I was an alcoholic before Michael lost… One event does not make one an alcoholic.”

She also addressed her previous addiction and said,

“I was chemically dependent at the age of 19… And the lesson I did not learn was that, once you are dependent on one chemical, you are dependent on others.”

Kitty relapsed in November of the same year on the first anniversary of Michael’s defeat and was hospitalized after she consumed rubbing alcohol. Recounting the experience of losing the presidential race, Katharine said in a 2017 interview with NPR,

“It [losing the presidential race] was pretty devastating, a loss like that after such intensive involvement for both Michael and myself and for our children, for John, Andrea and Kara. It was difficult and affected me psychologically a lot.”

Kitty Dukakis also penned down her struggles with alcoholism in her memoir Now You Know. In later years, the former First Lady of Massachusetts also emerged as a supporter of controversial electroconvulsive therapy. She underwent the treatment in 2001 and even published a book on it. CBS’ 60 Minutes also filmed one of her ECT sessions.

On the personal front, Kitty mothered three kids from her two marriages. Her first marriage with John Chaffetz lasted four years before she met Michael Dukakis and tied the knot with him in 1963. Their relationship lasted more than 61 years and ended with her death in March 2025.

Michael fathered two daughters—Andrea and Kara—from his marriage to Kitty and later adopted her son John Jr. Katharine was also related to Olympia Dukakis through her second marriage to Michael.