One of the most enduring mysteries of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination has to do with possible shots taken by a camera, not those fired from a gun.

Wearing a headscarf similar to scarves worn by elderly Russian women, “The Babushka Lady” is believed to have taken pictures of the Kennedy assassination as it occurred. The photos have never been found and her identity is still unknown.

The Babushka Lady

As President Kennedy’s motorcade neared where she was standing at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the Babushka Lady was seen holding a camera.

The Motorcade Approaches

After several shots had been fired and most of those near the motorcade were running for cover, the Babushka Lady was seen still standing with the camera at her face, seemingly oblivious to the chaos surrounding her.

Still Standing Firm

After the shooting ended, the Babushka Lady was seen crossing Elm Street, the street the motorcade turned onto as the shots were fired, and joining the crowd going up the grassy knoll.

She was last photographed walking east on Elm Street.

Walking From the Scene

In 1970, Beverly Oliver claimed to be the Babushka Lady.

Oliver was a dancer at the Colony Club in Dallas, located next to the Carousel Club owned by Jack Ruby. Two days after President Kennedys’ assassination, Ruby shot presumed killer Lee Harvey Oswald to death.

When questioned, Oliver said Ruby had introduced her to Oswald several weeks earlier at the Carousel Club. She also claimed to have seen David Ferrie and Jack Lawrence at the club, two men frequently mentioned as having involvement in President Kennedy’s assassination.

Oliver claims at the time the shots were fired into Kennedy’s motorcade, she was standing on the south side of Elm Street, making her one of the closest witnesses to the fatal shot. She said she filmed the motorcade with a Super-8 Yashica movie camera but that it was confiscated by an FBI agent on November 25, three days after the assassination, and was never returned to her. The agent she claimed had taken her camera was, coincidentally, named Regis Kennedy. He was, however, in New Orleans at the time.

Oliver said she went into hiding after President Kennedy’s assassination, fearing she would be killed if she stayed in Dallas.

Beverly Oliver

Oliver claimed she is the woman the arrow is pointing to on Elm Street at the time the shots were fired into President Kennedy’s motorcade.

Is This Beverly Oliver in the Zapruder Film?

Beverly Oliver’s claims were the basis for a scene in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK.

A woman named Beverly meets Jim Garrison, the New Orleans District Attorney played by Kevin Costner, in a Dallas nightclub. Beverly, played by Lolita Davidovich, is depicted in the director’s cut as wearing a headscarf at Dealey Plaza when the assassination occurs. She later speaks of giving the film she shot of the assassination to two men claiming to be FBI agents.

Lolita Davidovich in JFK

As most researchers have deemed Oliver Stone’s film as an inaccurate account of the Kennedy assassination, they have also dismissed Beverly Oliver’s claim of being the Babushka Lady.

They say she has not proven she was at Dealey Plaza that day, and, in addition to falsely identifying the FBI agent who confiscated her film, the Yashica Super-8 camera on which she initially claimed to have filmed the assassination was not manufactured until 1969.

Beverly Oliver Is Not the Babushka Lady

The Babushka Lady’s true identity remains unknown.

Who Is the Babushka Lady?

SOURCES:

• Dallas Morning News
• Los Angeles Times
• New York Times
• Spartacus Educational