Joan Bennett Kennedy, the former wife of the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, has died at the age of 89.

She passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Boston on Wednesday, according to Steve Kerrigan, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, speaking on the family's behalf.

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Kennedy was married to Ted Kennedy for 24 years, and was the mother to his three children -- Kara, Ted Jr. and Patrick. She was a classical pianist, music teacher and an advocate for mental health and addiction services.

She became one of the first prominent women in America to publicly acknowledge her struggles with alcoholism and depression, helping to tackle the taboo of addiction in the 1970s.

Joan Kennedy circa 1981 in New York.

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