Judith Exner (January 11, 1934 – September 24, 1999) was an American woman who was a mistress of U.S. Senator, then U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Mafia leaders Sam Giancana and John Roselli. Some aspects of her claim of having known Kennedy have been verified by documents, phone records, and testimony. She was also known as Judith Campbell Exner, and Judith Campbell.
Early life
She was born Judith Eileen Katherine Immoor in Fort Lee, New Jersey; Her parents were Frederick Immoor, an architect of German descent, and Katherine (née Shea), who was of Irish descent. When she was a child, her family moved to southern California, where she grew up in Pacific Palisades. With her father a successful architect, she was raised in the prosperous neighborhood of Pacific Palisades which influenced her future lifestyle and the social circles in which she would find friends and make social contacts. After her mother nearly died in an auto accident, Judith withdrew from school at the age of 14 and was tutored at home. Roselli testified to the committee about Mafia involvement in the CIA attempt on Castro's life. The Committee had sent Exner a subpoena to make her testify. By then, married to Dan Exner, Judith Exner called a press conference that month and denied any knowledge of Mafia involvement with Kennedy. Exner may have changed certain aspects of how she told her story largely in the interest of her own safety and security and that of her family, and to protect the reputation of certain individuals whose reputations were at risk as a result of the intense media and public attention being focused on them, and not because her story was inherently fictitious, dishonest, or fabricated.
Memoir
In 1977, Exner published Judith Exner: My Story. Exner also said that Kennedy brought prostitutes to the White House swimming pool. Exner said that President Kennedy's Special Assistant David Powers helped set up encounters with President Kennedy. Powers later stated that Kennedy never had an affair with Exner.
Later accounts
In a 1988 interview with Kitty Kelley of People magazine, Exner told a very different story about Giancana and Kennedy. She said that she had carried payoffs from California defense contractors to the Kennedys, including Robert F. Kennedy. A witness of Hersh's who appeared to support Exner's story of carrying money to Giancana later dropped his story.
Sherilyn Fenn played the character of "Candy Cane", a stripper in the 1992 film Ruby. The character is a composite of Candy Barr, Marilyn Monroe, and Exner.
Judy Campbell was portrayed in the 1998 HBO movie The Rat Pack by Michelle Grace. In the 2004 episode "In Camelot" of the TV series The Sopranos, the character of Fran Felstein is based on Judith Exner. Campbell was portrayed by Megan Vincent in the 2011 TV series The Kennedys. In 2016, she appeared as a character in the third episode of the first season of the television series Timeless, played by Elena Satine.