Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, are parents to two daughters: Barbara and Jenna. George W. Barbara and Jenna have lived much of their lives in the spotlight. They were only 7 years old when their grandfather, George H. Bush , was inaugurated as the 41st president. When the twins were 20, in , George W. As he later told Newsweek , his daughters weren't entirely thrilled with his decision to run for the highest office.
George recalled Jenna telling him, "Oh, I just wish you wouldn't run. It's going to change our life," to which he replied, "You know, Jenna, your mother and I are living our lives.
And that's what we raised you and Barbara to do: live yours. The former president has been open about how much his daughters mean to him. In , when he received a "Father of the Year" award, he revealed that becoming a dad made him want to get sober after struggling with alcohol use.
Was I always successful? I don't know. They can be the witnesses. Despite his high-profile job, Jenna has said that her father did everything he could to give the girls a normal life. You can be normal,' " she recalled during one Today show episode. But I think he really believed that. Like other teenagers, " we had curfews ," Jenna described during another episode of Today. While their parents "weren't that strict," the twins did get into trouble from time to time.
Jenna recalled one occasion when she and Barbara snuck out to a party during their senior year of high school, only to have their parents show up. After George and Laura took the girls home, the pair were officially grounded. Both Jenna and Barbara have since gone on to foster high-profile careers of their own. Barbara is an activist involved in several nonprofit initiatives, while Jenna is a television presenter and current Today show co-anchor. In addition to their separate endeavors, the sisters have teamed up on several projects, authoring two books together and co-founding a nonprofit organization.
