From being the First Daughter of the United States to a host of the "Today" show, Jenna
Bush Hager has had an interesting life to say the least - and that's not even all there
is to her. Join us as we dive into Jenna Bush Hager's stunning transformation.
George and Laura Bush had twin girls Jenna and Barbara Bush on November 25, 1981. Named
for her maternal grandmother, Jenna was born one minute after Barbara. In a CNN profile
of Laura, she shared that she and George had even taken some of the steps towards adopting.
After conducting a number of interviews that would've enabled them to adopt children, Laura
found out she was pregnant. Exciting news, but the pregnancy was not an easy one.
Laura shared that while pregnant with Jenna and Barbara, she developed toxemia, a life-threatening
condition. As such, she gave birth via C-section five weeks early in order to ensure her health
and the health of the babies. George shared of the experience -
"I was in the operating room. I'm an emotional person. I got weepy, and then I realized our
life had changed forever, in a positive way."
We're pretty convinced that Jenna Bush's little rebellious streak in elementary school provided
some quality stories for her parents to tell. Jenna attended Preston Hollow Elementary School,
and as noted by the community's local online magazine, she got up to some shady business
as a kid.
The magazine all but ratted Jenna out when they shared that the then-first grader slipped
her Secret Service detail, only to go back onto the playground to play with a friend.
What's more is that Jenna and said friend made up an elaborate story about being kidnapped.
While her security team bought the story, Laura Bush was not convinced.
"Most likely to trip"
High school is already a rough time, but imagine your dad running for president on top of it.
That was the reality for Jenna Bush — she was in her last years of high school when
her dad, George W. Bush, ran for president for the first time.
As noted by The New York Times, Jenna and her sister Barbara attended Austin High School
— nope, they didn't go to some swanky boarding school, and that was intentional. Their parents
thought public high school would help them become part of the community, but really all
it resulted in was Jenna being voted "most likely to trip on prom night." In fact, Jenna
shared that prom was a particularly brutal part of her high school experience, as the
boy she was supposed to go with stood her up. She shared with Hello! Magazine -
"He knows who he is. I had the prom dress and everything and I was ready to go. He dumped
me and then he invited the prettiest girl in school."
The press can be pretty brutal to a president's kids. And given what Bill Clinton's daughter
Chelsea was exposed to, it makes a lot of sense to find out that Jenna and Barbara Bush
were kept out of the spotlight as much as possible during their dad's first bid for
the White House.
As noted by The New York Times, aides to the campaign wouldn't speak about them, their
college decisions, or any information pertaining to their lives, which, given the high-profile
nature of their father's career, is quite an accomplishment. At the time, Jenna and
Barbara were generally unknown to people outside of Texas and The New York Times even described
spotting the girls as akin to seeing the legendary monster Bigfoot.
College can be a slippery time, and although their father was the president, Jenna and
Barbara Bush got up to some scandalous behavior in college.
"Oh the Bush twins, those wild Bush twins."
As noted by the BBC, Jenna was out in Austin, Texas, when she was caught by police drinking
a beer. Because she was 19 and under the legal drinking age, she was ordered to complete
an alcohol awareness course and was sentenced to eight hours of community service. The White
House at the time issued a brief statement, saying that it was a, quote, "private family
matter."
However, just two weeks later, both Jenna and Barbara were stopped by police in Texas
due to underaged drinking. Jenna pleaded not guilty to lying about her age to buy alcohol
and Barbara pleaded no contest to the charge of underage drinking. As it was her second
offense, Jenna was fined $600 and ended up losing her license for a month as a result
of the charge. She also had to fulfill more community service hours and had to take another
alcohol awareness course, as reported by NBC News at the time.
After initially staying out of the spotlight, Jenna Bush joined George W. Bush on the trail
in 2004. George was up for reelection, and given that the then-22-year-old had stayed
out of politics, it made sense that the campaign wanted to use Jenna and Barbara Bush's youth
and relatability. As published in Scripps Howard News, both Jenna and Barbara first
made their way onto the scene in a fashion spread in Vogue.
The girls shared that they loved to steal records from their mom's extensive collection
and that the only reason they wanted to get involved in the campaign was because they
loved their dad. Jenna and Barbara also revealed that sushi was their go-to food, and that
the Mandy Moore film "Chasing Liberty" was not at all authentic to the real-life experience
of a first daughter.
As a recent college graduate, Jenna Bush decided to hold off on making her first career moves
in order to help her dad campaign for a second term as president. But in 2004, it was revealed
to The Washington Post that Jenna had plans to stay in Washington, D.C. and work as an
elementary school teacher. At the time of the announcement, the White House did not
disclose what school Jenna would be teaching at, but The Washington Post learned that she'd
be taking a position at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School.
The school didn't confirm Jenna's employment at the time, given that a "formal agreement"
hadn't been made yet, but the director, Linda Moore, instead told The Post about the school,
providing a glimpse into the type of environment Jenna was teaching in, saying of the students
-
"They learn who's homeless in this country and who's hungry in the world. We emphasize
preparation for citizenship. We emphasize increasing students' knowledge of other cultures.
We are preparing them to be leaders in the community."
While teaching seemed like a great fit for Jenna, she soon turned her attention elsewhere,
and Jenna moved to Latin America and became an intern with UNICEF. In an article she wrote
for Fatherly, Jenna explained that the organization's commitment to protecting and improving the
quality of life for families around the world was inspiring, and that while she was in Latin
America, she met some incredibly motivational women, writing -
"Young mothers who, in the face of terrible adversity, were determined to improve their
situation and give their kids the best possible start in life."
Jenna's work with UNICEF seemed to have an incredible impact on her, as she has maintained
her support of the organization in her time post-internship. She even became the founding
chair of UNICEF Next Generation, and continues to fundraise for the organization. Of her
time in Latin America, Jenna wrote for UNICEF's website -
"My mother and those mothers taught me how to be a mom. Now I appreciate the importance
of giving back and showing compassion even more since I had my own precious daughters."
"Ana's Story"
Jenna Bush's time spent in Latin America inspired her to write a book. "Ana's Story: A Journey
of Hope" is based on the story of a teenage mother who was not only struggling with raising
her child but was also battling HIV. The book became a bestseller on The New York Times'
list and projected Jenna into a new realm as an author. In her first televised interview
with Diane Sawyer on "20/20," Jenna expressed what the book meant to her and shared what
it was like to hear the real Ana's story, saying -
"She stood up in front of everybody and she said, 'I want everybody here to know that
we're living with HIV/AIDS. We're not dying from it.' The more I got to know her, the
more inspired I became."
Walking down the aisle
Perhaps you've noticed, but we've only been referring to Jenna Bush as just that throughout
the telling of her transformation. But now we're up to 2008, the year that Jenna Bush
transformed into Jenna Bush Hager after marrying her fiancé, Henry Hager, who is now on the
Board of Directors for the Bush Center.
The ceremony was held at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas, with Jenna's twin, Barbara,
serving as her maid of honor. On his return to Washington, D.C., George said -
"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy. It's all we could have hoped for.
[…] It was just a special day and a wonderful day, and we're mighty blessed."
In 2009, it was announced that Jenna would be leaving her position as a teacher in Baltimore,
Maryland, for a new gig as a Washington, D.C.-based contributing correspondent for NBC News. As
noted by the Observer at the time, NBC executives made the announcement, crediting her impressive
appearance on NBC's "Today" as contributing factors to her hiring.
Hager, who got her degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin, was set
to "cover a variety of human interest and feature stories." Jim Bell, the executive
producer of NBC's "Today," said of Hager's hiring -
"Jenna is a terrific addition to the 'Today' team. In previous appearances, she displayed
a natural ability to communicate and connect. She has great passion about important subjects,
especially education and literacy, and we look forward to having her bring her unique
perspective to 'Today.'"
"Why are you not sweating?"
"I am sweating."
"It's like you have ice in your blood."
"I do have ice in my blood - veins."
"...And I have hot chocolate."
Shortly after her first book, Jenna and her mother, Laura Bush, teamed up together on
a number of projects, one of which was a children's book. Their first book, "Read All About It!"
focuses on the story of an elementary student who loves everything about school with one
notable exception: reading. The book became a smash hit, and since its release it has
received positive reviews and feedback from readers.
The mother-and-daughter duo must've enjoyed their initial collaboration, because they
teamed up again and released another children's book entitled "Our Great Big Backyard," which
served as an ode to the National Park Service. She went on to write another book with her
sister Barbara called "Sisters First," which went on to become a New York Times bestseller.
The book was later turned into an illustrated children's book, yet again solidifying Hager's
place in literature.
Most of us know Jenna Bush Hager as the co-host of the fourth hour of NBC's "Today," a position
she's held since Kathie Lee Gifford stepped down in 2019. On the show, Hager said of the
move -
"It feels humbling and I can't believe it. My dad just wrote me three words, which made
me weep. He said, 'Very proud dad.' Which I'm like, what is there to be proud about?
I'm just drinking wine in the morning!"
Hager paid her respects to Gifford, who had been on the show for more than a decade, saying
-
"If I can use some of your grace and have a half of what you've done, my life will be
a very happy one."
Laura Bush and George W. Bush love to spoil Jenna Bush Hager's three children, Henry "Hal"
Harold, Poppy Louise, and Margaret "Mila" Laura.
"As George says grandchildren are the - they're the wonderful part about old age."
That's right, Jenna and her husband have welcomed three children, and they celebrated their
first holiday season as a family of five in 2019.
As noted by People, the year marked a significant one for the entire Bush family, as both George
H. W. and Barbara Bush passed away in 2018. Of course, no one could've expected what 2020
brought to the table, and Jenna revealed while on NBC's "Today" that the holiday season of
2020 marked the first time she had seen her parents in more than half a year due to the
restrictions set because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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