Jenna Bush Hager


Jenna Welch Bush Hager 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. 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.
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.

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. 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.

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.
File:The Funeral of President George H.W. Bush.jpg|thumb|left|Jenna Hager reading at her grandfather's funeral service
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 TitleAuthor
December 2025Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen
November 2025Cursed DaughtersOyinkan Braithwaite
October 2025The Irish GoodbyeHeather Aimee O'Neill
September 2025BuckeyePatrick Ryan
August 2025My Other HeartEmma Nanami Strenner
July 2025Happy WifeMeredith Lavender and Kendall Shores
June 2025A Family MatterClaire Lynch
May 2025The NamesFlorence Knapp
April 2025HeartwoodAmity Gaige
March 2025The Dream HotelLeila Lalami
February 2025This is a Love StoryJessica Soffer
January 2025The Life Cycle of the Common OctopusEmma Knight
December 2024DevotionsMary Oliver
November 2024This Motherless LandNikki May
October 2024The Mighty RedLouise Erdrich
September 2024Blue SistersCoco Mellors
August 2024The Wedding PeopleAlison Espach
July 2024All the Colors of the DarkChris Whitaker
June 2024Swift RiverEssie Chambers
May 2024Real AmericansRachel Khong
April 2024The HusbandsHolly Gramazio
March 2024The House on Mango StreetSandra Cisneros
March 2024The Great DivideCristina Henriquez
February 2024Good MaterialDolly Alderton
January 2024The WatersBonnie Jo Campbell
December 2023We Must Not Think of OurselvesLauren Grodstein
November 2023The Sun Sets in SingaporeKehinde Fadipe
October 2023How to Say BabylonSafiya Sinclair
September 2023Amazing Grace AdamsFran Littlewood
August 2023Summer SistersJudy Blume
July 2023Banyan MoonThai Thao
June 2023The CelebrantsSteven Rowley
May 2023Chain-Gang All-StarsNana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
April 2023Camp ZeroMichelle Min Sterling
March 2023Black Candle WomenDiane Marie Brown
February 2023MaameJessica George
January 2023SamAllegra Goodman
December 2022The Secret HistoryDonna Tartt
November 2022The CloistersKaty Hays
October 2022The Whalebone TheatreJoanna Quinn
September 2022SolitoJavier Zamora
August 2022The Many Daughters of AfongJamie Ford
July 2022The MeasureNikki Erlick
June 2022These Impossible ThingsSalma El-Wardany
May 2022Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt
April 2022MemphisTara M. Stringfellow
March 2022GroundskeepingLee Cole
February 2022Black CakeCharmaine Wilkerson
January 2022The School for Good MothersJessamine Chan
December 2021Bright Burning ThingsLisa Harding
November 2021The FamilyNaomi Krupitsky
October 2021The Lincoln HighwayAmor Towles
September 2021Beautiful CountryQian Julie Wang
August 2021The TurnoutMegan Abbott
July 2021Hell of a BookJason Mott
June 2021Malibu RisingTaylor Jenkins Reid
May 2021Great CircleMaggie Shipstead
April 2021Good CompanyCynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
March 2021What's Mine and YoursNaima Coster
February 2021Send for MeLauren Fox
February 2021The Four WindsKristin Hannah
January 2021Black BuckMateo Askaripour
December 2020The Bluest EyeToni Morrison
November 2020White IvySusie Yang
October 2020Leave the World BehindRumaan Alam
September 2020Transcendent KingdomYaa Gyasi
August 2020Here For ItR. Eric Thomas
August 2020The ComebackElla Berman
July 2020Friends and StrangersJ. Courtney Sullivan
June 2020A BurningMegha Majumdar
May 2020All Adults HereEmma Straub
April 2020ValentineElizabeth Wetmore
March 2020Writers & LoversLily King
February 2020The Girl With the Louding VoiceAbi Daré
January 2020Dear EdwardAnn Napolitano
December 2019Late MigrationsMargaret Renkl
November 2019Nothing to See HereKevin Wilson
October 2019The Dutch HouseAnn Patchett
September 2019The Dearly BelovedCara Wall
August 2019PatsyNicole Dennis-Benn
July 2019Evvie Drake Starts OverLinda Holmes
June 2019Searching for Sylvie LeeJean Kwok
May 2019A Woman Is No ManEtaf Rum
April 2019The Unwinding of the MiracleJulie Yip-Williams
March 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.