Where Is Kelly Klein Now? All About Calvin Klein’s Ex-Wife
Where Is Kelly Klein Now? All About Calvin Klein’s Ex-Wife
Caroline BlairFri, February 27, 2026 at 9:26 PM UTC
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Calvin Klein and Kelly Klein at an event in May 1990 in New York City ; Kelly Rector and Calvin Klein during New York Fashion Week on February 07, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Sonia Moskowitz/Getty ; Jamie McCarthy/Getty -
Kelly Klein and Calvin Klein were married from 1986 to 2006
She started out at the fashion house as an assistant designer but went on to become Calvin's muse
Kelly and Calvin had a close relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette as depicted in FX's Love Story
Kelly Klein was just getting started in the fashion industry when she met her future husband, Calvin Klein.
Kelly — whose maiden name is Rector — had graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York when she started working as a design assistant at Ralph Lauren. She tried to pivot to Calvin Klein but was initially turned down after Calvin didn't hire her.
However, her luck turned around when she ran into him at Studio 54, and he offered her a job as an assistant designer the next morning, according to Vanity Fair. She worked as an assistant beginning in 1981, and they began dating shortly afterwards. They married in Rome in 1986, and she remained her husband's muse for years.
They were technically married for 20 years, but they were separated for half of that time. Their divorce was finalized in 2006, but Kelly and Calvin have maintained a friendship — even posing for pictures during New York Fashion Week in February 2025.
Calvin and Kelly's marriage and their friendships with John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette are coming to light again in the FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. In the show, Kelly is portrayed by Leila George.
Here's everything to know about where Kelly Klein is now.
Who is Kelly Klein?
Kelly Klein at the Calvin Klein Fall 1988 show in New York City.Credit: PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty
Kelly began pursuing fashion when she studied design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York — where Calvin also studied. In 1981, she began working at Calvin Klein as an assistant designer after having a similar role at Ralph Lauren, per Vanity Fair.
Calvin personally offered Kelly the job after initially turning her down but changing his mind upon seeing her again at Studio 54.
Kelly helped create several iconic moments for the brand — including making men's underwear for women which generated $70 million in sales in 1984 alone, per Vanity Fair.
After years in the fashion industry, Kelly pivoted to photography and has had her pictures featured in British Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Interview, among others. She has shot advertising campaigns for various hotels and also published six coffee table photography books.
In addition to her photography career, Klein has expressed interest in interior design and also launched her own ceramics company. When she isn't working, she's spending time with her son, Lukas, or riding horses as an avid equestrian, per her bio.
When was she married to Calvin Klein?
Kelly Klein and Calvin Klein attend Truman Capote's Black & White Ball Recreation, circa 1991 in New York City.Credit: PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty
Kelly and Calvin married in Rome in 1986.
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"My whole life changed with Calvin,” she recalled to Vanity Fair in 2008. "He would walk into the room, and it was just like the lights went on. The movie started every single day. I was so much more special when he came into the room.”
Former Calvin Klein employee John Calcagno also recalled their connection and told the publication, “It was some kind of magic. He fell in love with her and she madly with him. They didn’t care who was around. They showed it, kissing and holding each other and having fun and cuddling.”
After a decade of marriage, Kelly and Calvin separated, but they remained close friends. Their divorce wasn't finalized until another decade later, in April 2006. The following year, she welcomed her son, Lukas, via surrogate.
Two decades after their divorce, Kelly and Calvin have maintained a friendship and are have been photographed attending events together — including New York Fashion Week in February 2025.
What was her relationship to John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette?
Cari Regan, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Kelly Klein attend Indochine 10th Anniversary on November 16, 1994 in New York City.Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty
While working with and being married to Calvin, Kelly became closely associated with his employee Bessette. Around that same time, Bessette started a relationship with JFK Jr., and the four of them started spending more time together.
Elizabeth Beller, who wrote the 2024 book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, recalled how the foursome would often attend events and galas together. She wrote that Bessette and Kelly "had grown close" in the 1990s.
Bessette and JFK Jr.'s relationship has been retold in the FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. In addition to the show focusing on the late couple, it also centers around Calvin and Kelly's marriage and their close friendship with Bessette and JFK Jr.
Kelly, who is portrayed by George, has seemingly approved of her depiction and the show by frequently posting photos of her with Bessette while promoting the show. Ahead of the season premiere, she posted a black and white photo of Bessette and captioned it, "Thinking of you tonight !!!"
Where is Kelly Klein now?
Kelly Klein attends the 2017 Stephan Weiss Apple Awards on June 7, 2017 in New York City.Credit: Gary Gershoff/WireImage
In the years since leaving the fashion industry and divorcing Calvin, Kelly has focused on her ceramic business while splitting her time between her homes in Palm Beach, Fla., and the Hamptons.
Kelly told Architectural Digest in August 2025 that she was prioritizing spending time with her son, Lukas, before he went off to college. When she's not working with ceramics or spending time with her son, she pursues her love of horses, which she has been doing since she was a young girl.
“I will never quite understand what it is that drives young girls to get up at five o’clock in the morning to spend a little time with their horses before school,” she told Equestrian Living. “What is it that makes us throw ourselves into neck-breaking maneuvers in a show-jumping arena? It is like an uncontrollable drive. My love of horses has been the only constant in my life. I love everything about them: their smell, temperament, their large, friendly eyes, their warm breath, their muscles—everything.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
