Jenna Welch Bush Hager (; born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program, Today. Hager and her fraternal twin sister, Barbara, are the daughters of the 43rd U.S. president George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.
After her father's presidency ended, Hager became an author, an editor-at-large for Southern Living magazine, and a television personality on NBC, being featured, most prominently, as a member of The Today Show as a correspondent, contributor and co-host.
As a member of the Bush family, Hager is also a granddaughter of the 41st U.S. president George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, great-granddaughter of former U.S. senator Prescott Bush, niece of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and first cousin of former land commissioner of Texas George P. Bush.
Early life and education
Jenna Welch Bush was born on November 25, 1981, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, after her older twin sister Barbara. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Jenna Hawkins Welch. While living in Dallas, she and Barbara attended first Preston Hollow Elementary School and then The Hockaday School. In 1994, after her father was elected Governor of Texas and the family moved to Austin, Texas, Bush was a student at St. Andrew's Episcopal School and attended Austin High School from 1996 until her graduation in 2000. She was a Senate page.
As her father became President in 2001, she attended the University of Texas at Austin and took summer classes at New York University. She was a legacy member of Kappa Alpha Theta, her mother's sorority. While there, Jenna and her sister Barbara made national headlines when they were both arrested for alcohol-related charges, twice within five weeks. On April 29, 2001, Jenna was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of alcohol under the age of 21 in Austin. On May 29, 2001, Jenna was charged with another misdemeanor—attempting to use a fake ID (with the name "Barbara Pierce," her paternal grandmother's maiden name) to purchase alcohol. She pleaded no contest to both charges. Jenna Bush graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English, in 2004.
2004 U.S. presidential election
Jenna and Barbara asked their father not to run for President of the United States in 2000: "Oh, I just wish you wouldn't run. It's going to change our life." Her father told them that he and her mother needed to live their lives. In the winter of 2003, she and Barbara opted to become involved in the 2004 campaign. In response to this decision, she made media appearances during the summer of 2004, prior to the election. She and her sister made several joint public appearances, including giving a speech to the Republican Convention on August 31, 2004. She made headlines when she was found sticking her tongue out to media photographers at a campaign stop in St. Louis. Jenna and Barbara took turns traveling to swing states with their father, and they also gave a seven-page interview and photo shoot in Vogue. Jenna later confirmed that Barbara and Jenna also developed a friendship with John Kerry's daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa, who campaigned on behalf of their father."Jenna describes friendship with John Kerry's daughters during 2004 campaign", today.com, 5 Nov 2020, accessed 11 October 2021
Career
Teaching Before leaving Washington, D.C. in summer 2006, Hager worked at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School for a year and a half as a teacher's aide. She took a leave of absence from the charter school position to work at a shelter as part of an internship for UNICEF's Educational Policy Department in Latin America, specifically Panama. After her internship for UNICEF, Hager returned to her position at the charter school in Washington, D.C. She has done work as a part-time reading coordinator at the SEED Public Charter School in Baltimore, Maryland, and she has contributed a monthly news story about education for the Today show.
Writing In 2007, Hager began marketing a book proposal with the assistance of Robert B. Barnett, a Washington attorney. The title of the book is Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope, and it chronicles her experiences working with UNICEF sponsored charities in Latin America, including visits to drought-stricken Paraguay in 2006, while working as an intern for United Nations Children's Fund. HarperCollins announced in March 2007 it would publish the book, and it was released September 28, 2007, with an initial printing of 500,000 copies. Her share of the profits will go to UNICEF, while the remainder will go to the woman whose life is the basis of the book, assisting in the young woman's continuing education. During the book tour, Hager appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the interview, Hager telephoned her parents. Hager wrote a second book, in conjunction with her mother, designed to encourage children to read. The book, entitled Read All About It!, was published on April 22, 2008, also by HarperCollins.
On November 26, 2012, Hager was named editor-at-large of Southern Living magazine.
NBC News (2009–present) Since 2009, Jenna Bush has worked at NBC News as a correspondent and at Today as both a contributor and an anchor. In August 2009, NBC hired Hager as a correspondent and contributor for The Today Show.
As time progressed, Hager's profile increased on Today, including filling in as the orange-room anchor during the 7 a.m.-9 a.m. hours and substituting for Kathie Lee Gifford or Hoda Kotb during the fourth hour.
In 2018, she interviewed Michelle Obama in a discussion about her life in the White House, the challenges of raising her daughters in the spotlight, and her book, Becoming. They also discussed the political atmosphere and political bipartisanship, with Obama stating that, despite their political differences, Hager's father, George W. Bush, is a "beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man".
In March 2019, Hager started Read with Jenna, a monthly book club on Today Show. In April 2019, Hager began co-hosting the fourth hour of Today with Hoda Kotb following Kathie Lee Gifford's departure.
In 2019, Hager was able to participate with Willie Geist in a special episode of How Low Will You Go, which aired on the Today Show.
In 2021, Hager reacted emotionally to the storming of the United States Capitol, stating live on air:
In February 2022, Hager signed a first-look deal with Universal Studio Group.
On a November 2022 episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna, Hager confessed that she "never wears underwear". Later that month, she appeared on Watch What Happens Live and told host Andy Cohen that she did not wear underwear during a dinner she had with King Charles, then Prince Charles, the night before Queen Elizabeth II died.
In February 2023, she announced her third book, Love Comes First, and sources reported "Jenna's Top Picks" and other endorsement deals.
Sports investment In February 2021, The Washington Post reported that Chelsea Clinton, Hager, Dominique Dawes, and Briana Scurry were part of an investment group, investing in the Washington Spirit professional soccer club in the National Women's Soccer League.
Book club picks: Read with Jenna In March 2019 on Today, Hager introduced her book club Read with Jenna. Featured MonthBook TitleAuthorOctober 2026PartitaBarbara Kingsolver September 2026The Witches of Cambridge Alice HoffmanAugust 2026Sunlight Finds You Laura Moriarty July 2026The Shampoo Effect Jenny JacksonJune 2026The Children Melissa AlbertMay 2026Caller UnknownGillian McAllister April 2026Upward BoundWoody BrownMarch 2026Wait for MeAmy Jo BurnsFebruary 2026One & Only Maurene GooJanuary 2026Homeschooled Stefan Merrill BlockDecember 2025Pride and PrejudiceJane AustenNovember 2025Cursed DaughtersOyinkan BraithwaiteOctober 2025The Irish GoodbyeHeather Aimee O'NeillSeptember 2025BuckeyePatrick RyanAugust 2025My Other HeartEmma Nanami StrennerJuly 2025Happy WifeMeredith Lavender and Kendall ShoresJune 2025A Family MatterClaire LynchMay 2025The NamesFlorence KnappApril 2025HeartwoodAmity GaigeMarch 2025The Dream HotelLeila LalamiFebruary 2025This is a Love StoryJessica SofferJanuary 2025The Life Cycle of the Common OctopusEmma KnightDecember 2024DevotionsMary OliverNovember 2024This Motherless LandNikki MayOctober 2024The Mighty RedLouise ErdrichSeptember 2024Blue SistersCoco MellorsAugust 2024The Wedding PeopleAlison EspachJuly 2024All the Colors of the DarkChris WhitakerJune 2024Swift RiverEssie ChambersMay 2024Real AmericansRachel KhongApril 2024The HusbandsHolly GramazioMarch 2024The House on Mango StreetSandra CisnerosMarch 2024The Great DivideCristina HenriquezFebruary 2024Good MaterialDolly AldertonJanuary 2024The WatersBonnie Jo CampbellDecember 2023We Must Not Think of OurselvesLauren GrodsteinNovember 2023The Sun Sets in SingaporeKehinde FadipeOctober 2023How to Say BabylonSafiya SinclairSeptember 2023Amazing Grace AdamsFran LittlewoodAugust 2023Summer SistersJudy BlumeJuly 2023Banyan MoonThai ThaoJune 2023The CelebrantsSteven RowleyMay 2023Chain-Gang All-StarsNana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahApril 2023Camp ZeroMichelle Min SterlingMarch 2023Black Candle WomenDiane Marie BrownFebruary 2023MaameJessica GeorgeJanuary 2023SamAllegra GoodmanDecember 2022The Secret HistoryDonna TarttNovember 2022The CloistersKaty HaysOctober 2022The Whalebone TheatreJoanna QuinnSeptember 2022SolitoJavier ZamoraAugust 2022The Many Daughters of AfongJamie FordJuly 2022The MeasureNikki ErlickJune 2022These Impossible ThingsSalma El-WardanyMay 2022Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van PeltApril 2022MemphisTara M. StringfellowMarch 2022GroundskeepingLee ColeFebruary 2022Black CakeCharmaine WilkersonJanuary 2022The School for Good MothersJessamine ChanDecember 2021Bright Burning ThingsLisa HardingNovember 2021The FamilyNaomi KrupitskyOctober 2021The Lincoln HighwayAmor TowlesSeptember 2021Beautiful CountryQian Julie WangAugust 2021The TurnoutMegan AbbottJuly 2021Hell of a BookJason MottJune 2021Malibu RisingTaylor Jenkins ReidMay 2021Great CircleMaggie ShipsteadApril 2021Good CompanyCynthia D'Aprix SweeneyMarch 2021What's Mine and YoursNaima CosterFebruary 2021Send for MeLauren FoxFebruary 2021The Four WindsKristin HannahJanuary 2021Black BuckMateo AskaripourDecember 2020The Bluest EyeToni MorrisonNovember 2020White IvySusie YangOctober 2020Leave the World BehindRumaan AlamSeptember 2020Transcendent KingdomYaa GyasiAugust 2020Here For ItR. Eric ThomasAugust 2020The ComebackElla BermanJuly 2020Friends and StrangersJ. Courtney SullivanJune 2020A BurningMegha MajumdarMay 2020All Adults HereEmma StraubApril 2020ValentineElizabeth WetmoreMarch 2020Writers & LoversLily KingFebruary 2020The Girl With the Louding VoiceAbi DaréJanuary 2020Dear EdwardAnn NapolitanoDecember 2019Late MigrationsMargaret RenklNovember 2019Nothing to See HereKevin WilsonOctober 2019The Dutch HouseAnn PatchettSeptember 2019The Dearly BelovedCara WallAugust 2019PatsyNicole Dennis-BennJuly 2019Evvie Drake Starts OverLinda HolmesJune 2019Searching for Sylvie LeeJean KwokMay 2019A Woman Is No ManEtaf RumApril 2019The Unwinding of the MiracleJulie Yip-WilliamsMarch 2019The Last RomanticsTara Conklin In 2022, Hager expanded her book list to children's reading, called Read with Jenna Jr.
In September 2023, Hager introduced the podcast she hosts, Open Book with Jenna, wherein she interviews authors.
Personal life