Rosemary was the firstborn daughter of Rose and Joe Sr. and the younger sibling of Joe Jr. and JFK. Rosemary experienced developmental problems during her childhood, which did not align with her father's ideal of an impeccable American family. At the age of 23 in 1941, her parents were informed that a lobotomy, which was seen a valid surgical method for treating mental disease at the time but seldom suggested for those with mental impairment, would be beneficial in managing her behavior. Rosemary's brain incurred severe damage as a result of the surgical intervention performed on her frontal lobes. Despite the prominent public lives of Rosemary's parents and siblings, no one provided an explanation for Rosemary's disappearance from the family until after John Kennedy's election in 1960.