Jenna Bush Hager
Hager in 2017
Born	Jenna Welch Bush (1981-11-25)November 25, 1981 (age 43) Dallas,Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Occupations	Author television presenter
Years active	2000–present
Television	Today correspondent (2009–present) Today with Hoda & Jenna co-anchor (2019–2025) Today with Jenna & Friends (2025–present)
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Henry Hager ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	3
Parents	George W. Bush Laura Bush
Family	Bush family

Jenna Welch Bush Hager (néeBush; born November 25, 1981)^[1] is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the host ofToday with Jenna & Friends, the fourth hour ofNBC's morning news program,Today. Hager and herfraternal twin sister,Barbara, are the daughters of the 43rd U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush and formerFirst LadyLaura Bush. Hager is also a granddaughter of the 41st U.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and former First LadyBarbara Bush, great-granddaughter of former U.S. SenatorPrescott Bush, niece of former Florida GovernorJeb Bush, and first cousin of former Land Commissioner of TexasGeorge P. Bush.

After her father's presidency ended, Hager became an author, an editor-at-large forSouthern Living magazine, and a television personality onNBC, being featured, most prominently, as a member ofThe Today Show as a correspondent, contributor and co-host.^[2]

Jenna Welch Bush was born on November 25, 1981, atBaylor University Medical Center inDallas, Texas, after her older twin sisterBarbara.^[1][3] She was named after her maternal grandmother, Jenna Hawkins Welch.^[4] While living in Dallas, she and Barbara attended firstPreston Hollow Elementary School and thenThe Hockaday School. In 1994, after her father was electedGovernor of Texas and the family moved toAustin, Texas, Bush was a student atSt. Andrew's Episcopal School and attendedAustin High School from 1996 until her graduation in 2000. She was aSenate page.^{[better source needed][5]}

As her father becamePresident in 2001, she attended theUniversity of Texas at Austin and took summer classes atNew York University. She was a legacy member ofKappa Alpha Theta, her mother'ssorority.^[6][7][8][9] Jenna Bush graduated from theUniversity of Texas at Austin with a degree inEnglish, in 2004.

Jenna and Barbara asked their father not to run for President of the United States in2000: "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.^[10] In the winter of 2003, she and Barbara opted to become involved in the2004 campaign.^[10] 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 theRepublican Convention on August 31, 2004.^[11] She made headlines when she was found sticking her tongue out to media photographers at a campaign stop inSt. Louis.^[12] Jenna and Barbara took turns traveling toswing states with their father, and they also gave a seven page interview and photo shoot inVogue.^[4] Jenna later confirmed that Barbara and Jenna also developed a friendship withJohn Kerry's daughters,Alexandra andVanessa, who campaigned on behalf of their father.^[13]

Before leavingWashington, D.C. in summer 2006, Hager worked atElsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School for a year and a half as a teacher's aide.^[14] She took a leave of absence from the charter school position to work at a shelter as part of an internship forUNICEF's Educational Policy Department inLatin America, specificallyPanama.^[15][16] After her internship for UNICEF, Hager returned to her position at the charter school in Washington, D.C.^[17] She has done work as a part-timereading coordinator at the SEED Public Charter School inBaltimore,Maryland, and she has contributed a monthly news story about education for theToday show.^[18]

In 2007, Hager began marketing a book proposal with the assistance of Robert B. Barnett, a Washington attorney.^[15] The title of the book isAna's Story: A Journey of Hope, and it chronicles her experiences working withUNICEF sponsored charities inLatin America, including visits to drought-strickenParaguay in 2006, while working as an intern forUnited Nations Children's Fund.^[15][19][20]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.^[21] 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.^[22] During the book tour, Hager appeared onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the interview, Hager telephoned her parents.^[23] Hager wrote a second book, in conjunction with her mother, designed to encourage children to read.^[24] The book, entitledRead All About It!, was published on April 22, 2008, also by HarperCollins.^[24]

On November 26, 2012, Hager was named editor-at-large ofSouthern Living magazine.^[25]

Since 2009, Jenna Bush has worked atNBC News as a correspondent and atToday as both a contributor and an anchor. In August 2009,NBC hired Hager as a correspondent and contributor forThe Today Show.

As time progressed, Hager's profile increased onToday, including filling in as the orange room anchor during the 7AM-9AM hours and substituting forKathie Lee Gifford orHoda Kotb during the fourth hour.^[26]

In 2018, she interviewedMichelle Obama in a discussion about her life in theWhite House, the challenges of raising her daughters in the spotlight, and her book,Becoming.^[27] 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".^[28]

In March 2019, Hager started Read with Jenna, a monthly book club onToday Show.^[29] In April 2019, Hager began co-anchoring the fourth hour ofToday withHoda Kotb followingKathie Lee Gifford's departure.^[30]

In 2019, Hager was able to participate withWillie Geist in a special episode ofHow Low Will You Go, which aired on theToday Show.^[31]

In 2021, Hager reacted emotionally to thestorming of the United States Capitol, stating live on air:

I have had the privilege of standing on those steps for several inaugurations, not just for family members but for the first black president of the United States of America. I kissed my grandfather goodbye in that rotunda. I have felt the majesty of our country in those walls, and nobody can take that from any of us.^[32]

In February 2022, Hager signed a first-look deal withUniversal Studio Group.^[33]

On a November 2022 episode ofToday with Hoda and Jenna, Hager confessed that she "never wears underwear".^[34][35][36] Later that month, she appeared onWatch What Happens Live and told hostAndy Cohen that she did not wear underwear during a dinner she had withKing Charles, then Prince Charles, the night beforeQueen Elizabeth II died.^[37]

In February 2023, she announced her third book,Love ComesFirst, and sources reported "Jenna's Top Picks"^[38] and other endorsement deals.

In February 2021,The Washington Post reported thatChelsea Clinton, Hager,Dominique Dawes, andBriana Scurry were part of an investment group, investing in theWashington Spirit professional soccer club in theNational Women's Soccer League.^[39][40]

In March 2019 on the Today Show, Hager introduced her book club Read with Jenna.^[41]

In 2022, Hager expanded her book list to children's reading, called Read with Jenna Jr.^[43]

In September 2023, Hager introduced the podcast she hosts, "Open Book with Jenna," wherein she interviews authors.^[44]

Bush met Henry Chase Hager during the 2004 presidential campaign. They became engaged in August 2007. Before proposing, Hager asked President Bush for permission to marry his daughter.^[45] Their relationship became public when the two appeared together at aWhite House dinner for thePrince of Wales and his new wife theDuchess of Cornwall (now King Charles III and Queen Camilla) in November 2005. Henry Hager attendedSt. Christopher's School, inRichmond, Virginia, and he holds an MBA from theDarden Graduate School of Business Administration at theUniversity of Virginia. He worked as aU.S. Department of Commerce aide, forCarlos Gutierrez, and as a White House aide, forKarl Rove.^[46] He is the son of formerVirginia Republican Party ChairmanJohn H. Hager, who previously served asLieutenant Governor of Virginia and as theU.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary, underGeorge W. Bush.^[47] The wedding took place during a private ceremony, on May 10, 2008, at her parents'Prairie Chapel Ranch, nearCrawford, Texas. Henry and Jenna Hager have three children.^{[48][49][50][51]}

Unlike most of her relatives (but like her twin sister, Barbara), Hager is not a member of theRepublican Party. While registering to vote in New York, she mistakenly registered with theIndependence Party of New York while meaning to declare herself anonpartisan.^[52] In 2010, Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush toldPeople that they preferred not to identify with any political party, stating, "We're both very independent thinkers."^[53][54][55]

Hager serves on the board of theGreenwich International Film Festival.^[56][57]

• Bush, Jenna (2007).Ana's Story : A Journey of Hope. HarperCollins.ISBN 978-0-06-137908-6.
• Bush, Laura; Bush, Jenna (2008).Read All About It!. HarperCollins.ISBN 9780061560774.
• Bush, Laura; Bush, Jenna (2016).Our Great Big Backyard. HarperCollins.ISBN 9780062468369.
• Bush, Barbara Pierce; Bush Hager, Jenna (2017).Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life. New York: Grand Central Publishing.ISBN 9781538711415.OCLC 972386724.
• Bush, Jenna (2020).Everything Beautiful in Its Time: Seasons of Love and Loss. HarperCollins.ISBN 978-0062960627.

• New Yorkers in journalism
• Today (American TV program)#Fourth hour

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