17 Sweet & Vintage Photos Pulled from the Bush Family Album
TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager once shared that her late grandfather's inauguration in 1989 is her “earliest memory.”
With two U.S. presidents in the family, Jenna Bush Hager has been photographed just about her entire life. As the TODAY host and her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, showed up to support their grandfather and then their father at rallies, election nights, and inaugurations, cameras were there to capture those big public moments.
Of course, more intimate milestones, family vacations, holidays, and more have also been documented in photos through the years. From President George W. Bush holding his newborn twins in 1981 to the former first daughters celebrating Christmas with their cousins, the Bush family photo albums are full of sweet memories.
Read on to revisit some of these precious moments, and look through old family photos that feel like you’re just flipping through an album sitting on a coffee table at their oceanfront compound in Maine.
Jenna and her twin sister Barbara were born on November 25, 1981 in Dallas, Texas. At the time, George H.W. Bush, who the girls called “Gampy,” was serving as the Vice President of the United States under President Ronald Reagan, while their father was working in the oil and gas industry in Texas. Not long before the Bush daughters were born, their mother, Laura Bush, worked as a teacher and public school librarian.
Jenna and her sister were often present with their parents and grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, at their grandfather’s political events. In 1984, for instance, the young girls sat on their parents’ laps at a Reagan/Bush campaign rally in Midland, Texas. And in 1989, when George H.W. Bush was elected president, the girls got all dressed up in matching velvet dresses for their grandfather's inaugural gala in Washington, D.C.
The TODAY anchor shared on Maria Shriver's The Sunday Paper that her grandfather's inauguration in 1989 is her “earliest memory.”
“My sister and I were little — we were in first grade — and we didn't quite understand the significance of it,” she said. “We just saw somebody that we loved being sworn into office. We loved balloons and the parade. And we're from Texas so even just to be in Washington when it was cold and beautiful and wintery — it was almost like living a dream."
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Years before their father became president in 2001, Jenna and her sister spent plenty of time at the White House, and they had to follow a strict rule. During a 2020 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Jenna revealed that her late grandmother made it clear that they “were never allowed” to order whatever they wanted from the White House kitchen.
“My sister and I tried to order a peanut butter and jelly when my grandpa was president,” she recalled. “And my grandmother came down to the bowling alley and was like, ‘This is not a hotel, you are not allowed to order, we eat meals at this time.’ And we never did it again."
The Bush family also spent plenty of time together outside of the White House, often vacationing at Walker's Point Estate, the Bush family’s residence in Kennebunkport, Maine. The TODAY anchor, who now travels there with her her children and husband Henry Hager, has said that the coastal home is “magical.”
“It’s fun. To be in a place where you’ve been your whole life, with these people you’ve loved your whole life, it’s pretty remarkable,” Jenna told her former co-host Hoda Kotb in 2018 on TODAY.
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Beyond the gorgeous ocean views and stunning architecture of the home, Jenna’s grandparents made sure the grandchildren had a space just for them. Barbara Bush told Down East magazine in 1989 that the top floor of the home was converted into a “children’s dormitory” with lots of “hodgepodge” decor.
“In August we try to have all our children visit at the same time. It’s a tight fit, but we can do it,” she said. “Three houses of furniture put in one, no antiques, 15-year-old slipcovers — a house grandchildren are more than welcome in.”
By the ‘90s, George W. Bush’s political career was in full force. From 1995 to 2000, he served as the Governor of Texas and began his presidential campaign. And after George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States in 2001, Jenna revealed that she was given a very cute Secret Service code name.
“My code name was Twinkle,” she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2020. “I take that as a compliment.”
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During an appearance on Hoda Kotb’s podcast, Making Space, Jenna shared that her father wanted to make sure that she and her sister had a “normal childhood” during his presidential campaign.
“When we were little, we might have done a thing or two for my grandfather, but once my dad ran for president, we didn't go to one thing," Jenna said. "I mean, [we went to] election night, you know, but during the campaign trail, we didn't want to be any part of it, and that was OK with him.”
During her father’s presidency, Jenna tied the knot with her husband, Henry Hager. The two met while Henry was working on her father’s reelection campaign and, after a few years of dating, they got married the Bush family's Crawford, Texas ranch on May 10, 2008.
"I think my dad picked me up in a pickup truck — in his pickup truck,” Jenna shared on TODAY while reflecting on her wedding day. “He said, 'You look beautiful, baby,' and then we both just wept up and down.”
Today, Jenna regularly shares photos of her own family as her children — Mila, Poppy, and Hal — grow up right before our eyes and resemble their mom more and more each day.
