Jenna Bush Hager was born into one of America’s best-known political families, but her career has gradually taken her well beyond the role of a former first daughter. Over the years, she has worked as a teacher, journalist, television host, author, book-club founder, and publishing entrepreneur, building a public identity that is increasingly separate from her famous surname.
As the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, Jenna experienced national attention from a relatively young age. Her paternal grandfather, George H. W. Bush, was also president, giving her an unusual perspective on American public life. Yet rather than pursuing elected office herself, she turned toward education, literature, journalism, and storytelling.
Her long association with NBC’s Today has made her particularly familiar to American television audiences. At the same time, Read with Jenna has strengthened her presence in the literary world, while her more recent publishing ventures have expanded her work behind the scenes.
Away from television, Jenna is married to Henry Chase Hager and is the mother of three children. She frequently speaks about family life, motherhood, reading, grief, relationships, and the everyday experiences that connect with viewers.
This Jenna Bush Hager biography takes a closer look at her age, childhood, parents, twin sister, education, husband, children, books, television career, publishing work, and latest developments in 2026.
Jenna Bush Hager Quick Bio Information
| Personal Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jenna Welch Bush Hager |
| Birth Name | Jenna Welch Bush |
| Date of Birth | November 25, 1981 |
| Age in 2026 | 44, turning 45 on November 25 |
| Birthplace | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Journalist, Television Host, Author |
| Height | 5 Feet 8 Inches (1.73 m) |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Education | University of Texas at Austin |
| Graduation Year | 2004 |
| Father | George W. Bush |
| Mother | Laura Bush |
| Twin Sister | Barbara Pierce Bush |
| Husband | Henry Chase Hager |
| Wedding Date | May 10, 2008 |
| Children | Mila, Poppy, and Hal |
| Paternal Grandfather | George H. W. Bush |
| Known For | NBC’s Today |
| Literary Project | Read with Jenna |
| Publishing Venture | Thousand Voices |
Who Is Jenna Bush Hager?
Jenna Bush Hager is an American television host, journalist, author, and former elementary school teacher. She is widely recognized for her work with NBC’s Today, though many Americans first came to know her as the daughter of President George W. Bush.
That family connection put Jenna in the public eye long before she had a professional career of her own. Over time, however, she established herself through work that reflected her personal interests, particularly education, literature, family stories, and human-interest journalism.
Before television became her primary career, Jenna worked in a classroom and participated in humanitarian work connected with UNICEF. Those experiences influenced her early writing and gave her material for stories focused on children and communities facing difficult circumstances.
She joined NBC’s Today as a contributing correspondent in 2009. A decade later, she became a regular co-host of the program’s fourth hour, marking a major turning point in her broadcasting career.
Her work has since expanded beyond television. Through Read with Jenna and her publishing activities, she has become closely associated with books and contemporary authors as well.
Jenna Bush Hager Age and Birthday
Jenna Bush Hager was born on November 25, 1981, in Dallas, Texas. As of November 14, 2026, she is 44 years old and is approaching her 45th birthday on November 25.
She shares that birthday with her fraternal twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush. Barbara was born shortly before Jenna, making Jenna the younger of the two sisters.
Jenna’s age often appears among the most common searches about her, partly because viewers have watched different stages of her life unfold publicly. She was a college student during the early years of her father’s presidency, later became a teacher and author, married Henry Hager in 2008, and eventually became a mother of three while developing a national television career.
Those milestones have given audiences an unusually long view of her personal and professional evolution.
Jenna Bush Hager Early Life and Childhood
Jenna spent much of her childhood in Texas, growing up in Dallas and Austin with Barbara. Although the Bush name was already prominent in American politics, her immediate family’s visibility increased considerably as her father moved deeper into public life.
George W. Bush became governor of Texas in January 1995, when Jenna was 13. Several years later, his successful 2000 presidential campaign moved the family into an entirely different level of national attention.
For Jenna and Barbara, that meant experiencing adolescence and early adulthood while journalists and photographers were increasingly interested in their lives. Their college years, in particular, received a degree of scrutiny that most young adults never encounter.
Jenna has subsequently drawn on those experiences when discussing family, identity, growing up, and the sometimes complicated reality of living in a political household. They also became part of the stories she later shared with Barbara in their writing.
Jenna Bush Hager Parents and Presidential Family
Jenna’s parents are George W. Bush and Laura Bush. Her father served as governor of Texas before becoming the 43rd president of the United States, holding the presidency from 2001 until 2009.
Laura Bush brought a different professional background to the family. Before entering the White House, she worked as a teacher and librarian, and literacy and education became important themes of her public work as first lady.
That connection to books and learning is particularly relevant to Jenna’s own career. Jenna eventually became a teacher herself and later collaborated with her mother on children’s books.
The family’s presidential history stretches back another generation. Jenna’s paternal grandfather, George H. W. Bush, served as the 41st president of the United States, while her paternal grandmother, Barbara Bush, served as first lady and became closely associated with literacy causes.
Her extended family also includes Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida.
Despite being surrounded by politics, Jenna didn’t pursue elected office. Instead, education, television, literature, and storytelling became the defining areas of her professional life.
Jenna Bush Hager Twin Sister Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush has remained one of the central figures in Jenna’s personal life. The fraternal twins grew up together, experienced their family’s rise in American politics at the same time, and faced many of the pressures that came with being presidential daughters.
As adults, however, they followed distinctly different professional paths.
Barbara became involved in nonprofit leadership and global health, while Jenna moved into education, journalism, television, and publishing. Their careers may differ, but the sisters have continued to speak publicly about their close relationship.
That bond became the subject of Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life, their 2017 memoir.
Rather than simply recounting life inside a political dynasty, the book offered a more personal look at sisterhood, childhood, family expectations, and the experiences that shaped both women.
For Jenna, her relationship with Barbara also provides an important link between her private family history and the stories she now shares with audiences.
Jenna Bush Hager Education and College Life
Jenna attended Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas, graduating in 2000. That same year, her father’s presidential campaign placed the Bush family at the center of national politics.
She went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied English and became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Her college years weren’t entirely free of controversy. In 2001, Jenna faced two alcohol-related misdemeanor incidents involving underage drinking and an attempt to purchase alcohol using another person’s identification. She pleaded no contest to both charges.
The incidents attracted widespread attention largely because her father was president at the time. They remain part of the public record, but they represent only a small portion of a much longer personal and professional story.
Jenna completed her studies in 2004, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
That academic background proved particularly relevant later. Her career would eventually involve classroom education, published books, interviewing, television storytelling, and literary projects—all fields in which communication and language play an important role.
Jenna Bush Hager Teaching Career and UNICEF Work
Before Jenna Bush Hager became a television personality, she spent time working directly with children.
She taught at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., where she worked as an elementary school teacher for approximately a year and a half.
The experience was more than a brief stop before television. Education remained a recurring theme in her later work, particularly in her children’s books and literacy projects.
Jenna subsequently became involved with UNICEF-related humanitarian work in Latin America and the Caribbean. There, she encountered young people dealing with poverty, health problems, and difficult social circumstances.
One of those experiences became the foundation for her first book, Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope, published in 2007.
The book tells the story of a young woman living with HIV and addresses subjects including poverty, stigma, resilience, and hope. It represented Jenna’s first major step into publishing and demonstrated her interest in using individual stories to explain larger social issues.
Looking back at her career, this period provides useful context. Long before she was interviewing guests on morning television, she was developing an interest in education and personal storytelling that would remain visible throughout her later work.
Jenna Bush Hager Today Show Career and Success
Jenna’s television career began taking shape in 2009, when she joined NBC’s Today as a contributing correspondent.
Her assignments frequently focused on human-interest stories, education, family issues, and interviews. As viewers became more familiar with her, she began appearing more regularly alongside the show’s established anchors.
Over the following decade, her role expanded significantly.
A major change came in 2019, when Jenna was selected to replace Kathie Lee Gifford as Hoda Kotb’s co-host during the fourth hour of Today. The resulting program, Today with Hoda & Jenna, gave Jenna a much larger daily platform.
The partnership became known for a conversational format that mixed celebrity interviews and entertainment with emotional discussions, personal stories, family experiences, and humor.
Jenna’s television style is noticeably informal. Rather than keeping her personal life entirely separate from her professional role, she often uses experiences involving her marriage, children, parents, or childhood to connect with broader discussions.
Her role changed again following Hoda Kotb’s departure in January 2025. Jenna began hosting Today with Jenna & Friends, working alongside a rotating group of guest hosts.
Another major transition followed in January 2026, when Sheinelle Jones became her permanent co-host. The fourth-hour program was subsequently renamed Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.
The change opened another chapter in Jenna’s long relationship with NBC and demonstrated how far her role had evolved since joining Today as a correspondent in 2009.
Jenna Bush Hager Husband Henry Hager
Jenna Bush Hager’s husband, Henry Chase Hager, has been part of her life since the years surrounding her father’s presidency.
The two met during George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential re-election campaign. Henry had experience in politics and previously worked in the White House. He is also the son of John H. Hager, who served as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
Their relationship developed away from Jenna’s eventual television career, and the couple became engaged in August 2007.
They married on May 10, 2008, at the Bush family’s ranch near Crawford, Texas. The wedding was attended by approximately 200 guests, with Jenna’s twin sister Barbara serving as maid of honor.
Jenna took the Hager surname after their marriage and became professionally known as Jenna Bush Hager.
As of November 2026, Jenna and Henry have been married for more than 18 years. Although Jenna occasionally discusses their relationship on television, much of Henry’s life remains outside the daily entertainment spotlight.
Jenna Bush Hager Children and Motherhood
Jenna and Henry are parents to three children: two daughters and a son.
Their eldest daughter, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, was born on April 13, 2013. Their second daughter, Poppy Louise Hager, arrived on August 13, 2015. Their youngest child, Henry Harold “Hal” Hager, was born on August 2, 2019.
Family history plays an important role in the children’s names. Mila’s name reflects connections to family grandmothers, while Poppy’s name pays tribute to George H. W. Bush, whose family nickname was “Poppy.”
Motherhood has become one of the subjects Jenna discusses most naturally on television. She regularly talks about the funny, complicated, and occasionally emotional realities of raising children while maintaining a demanding career.
A November 2026 conversation offered a particularly lighthearted example. Jenna explained that Hal began asking about her former boyfriends after the two watched a romantic comedy together while Henry was away.
She answered his questions without going deeply into old relationships and later joked about having to revisit a “roster” from roughly 25 years earlier.
Jenna has also discussed her children’s belief that Hal might be her favorite. Her explanation was more nuanced: each of her children relates to her differently, and Hal, as the youngest, is often especially eager to spend time with her.
These stories have become part of Jenna’s television identity because they turn ordinary parenting situations into conversations many viewers can recognize.
Jenna Bush Hager Books and Writing Career
Jenna’s connection with books began well before Read with Jenna became a recognizable television brand.
Her first major publication, Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope, appeared in 2007 and was inspired by her experiences connected with UNICEF.
In 2008, Jenna and Laura Bush collaborated on Read All About It!, a children’s book that reflected their shared interest in literacy.
The mother-daughter writing partnership continued with Our Great Big Backyard in 2016, a children’s book centered on appreciating America’s national parks and outdoor spaces.
Jenna then worked with Barbara on Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life in 2017. The memoir gave readers a more personal view of their upbringing, relationship, and experiences as members of the Bush family.
In 2020, Jenna published Everything Beautiful in Its Time: Seasons of Love and Loss. The book took a reflective approach to family, memory, grief, and the lasting influence of loved ones.
Taken together, her books show a consistent pattern. Whether she’s writing about children, sisterhood, humanitarian experiences, or loss, Jenna tends to approach larger subjects through personal stories.
Jenna Bush Hager Read With Jenna Book Club
Jenna’s interest in literature eventually became one of the most recognizable parts of her television career.
She launched Read with Jenna in March 2019 through Today, creating a regular platform for recommending books and introducing audiences to contemporary writers.
The project draws on several strands of her background. She studied English in college, worked as a teacher, became an author herself, and grew up with a mother whose career and public work emphasized literacy.
Through Read with Jenna, she has highlighted books dealing with family, identity, relationships, personal struggle, culture, and social change.
The project has continued to evolve rather than remaining simply a television segment. By 2026, it was closely connected with Jenna’s broader ambitions in publishing and entertainment.
In November 2026, Read with Jenna selected Kit de Waal’s Sweet Pea, demonstrating that the book club remained active as Jenna’s other literary ventures expanded.
Jenna Bush Hager Thousand Voices Publishing Company
One of the most significant developments in Jenna Bush Hager’s recent career is also one that older biographies may overlook.
Jenna founded Thousand Voices, a media company designed to develop stories across publishing, television, film, and other formats.
Its publishing imprint, Thousand Voices Books, works with Random House Publishing Group. The venture gives Jenna a role that goes beyond recommending books: she is increasingly involved in helping bring new writers and stories to readers.
Thousand Voices also reflects the changing nature of Jenna’s career. Television remains central to her public profile, but publishing and entertainment development have given her opportunities to work behind the scenes as well.
A notable moment arrived in June 2026 when Sophie Chen Keller’s novel Little Wonder, published through the Thousand Voices imprint, was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s book club.
The recognition represented an important milestone for the relatively new publishing venture.
It also underscored Jenna’s gradual transition from book-club host and author to a broader role within the publishing business.
Jenna Bush Hager Height, Net Worth, and Personal Interests
Jenna Bush Hager’s reported height is 5 feet 8 inches, or approximately 1.73 meters.
Questions about Jenna Bush Hager’s net worth are also common, but this is an area where careful wording matters. Her exact personal wealth hasn’t been established through comprehensive public financial disclosures.
Her known professional activities include television hosting, journalism, book publishing, literary projects, and media production. Thousand Voices adds another business dimension to that portfolio.
Various entertainment websites publish estimates of celebrity wealth, but such figures shouldn’t automatically be treated as verified financial information. Without reliable documentation, it is more accurate to describe her known sources of professional income than to present a speculative number as fact.
Beyond work, Jenna’s public interests remain strongly connected to books, reading, education, family traditions, and storytelling. Those themes aren’t separate from her career; in many ways, they explain its direction.
Jenna Bush Hager Latest News and Career Updates in 2026
Jenna’s professional life continued to evolve throughout 2026.
Her partnership with Sheinelle Jones became a central part of her television career after the launch of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle in January. At the same time, Read with Jenna and Thousand Voices continued expanding her presence in publishing.
November also brought a familiar face back to the fourth hour. On November 9, Hoda Kotb returned to Today as a guest host alongside Jenna while Sheinelle was away.
The reunion highlighted the friendship Jenna and Hoda developed during their years as co-hosts.
A day later, Jenna shared the story about Hal questioning her romantic history after they watched a romantic comedy together. The conversation became another example of the personal, family-centered stories that frequently appear in her television work.
Taken together, these developments show that Jenna’s career in 2026 isn’t limited to a single role. She remains a daytime television host while simultaneously developing literary projects, supporting authors, and building a media business.
Interesting Facts About Jenna Bush Hager
There are several unusual elements to Jenna Bush Hager’s biography that help explain the public’s continued interest in her.
She is both the daughter and granddaughter of former U.S. presidents, yet she chose not to build a political career of her own. Instead, her professional life moved from teaching and humanitarian work into journalism, publishing, and television.
She is also a fraternal twin and has collaborated professionally with both her sister and mother.
Before becoming a national television host, Jenna worked in an elementary school classroom. Her later career in children’s literature, literacy promotion, and book publishing makes that early experience particularly relevant in hindsight.
Family history is visible throughout her personal life as well. Her children’s names honor relatives, while many of her books explore family memories and relationships.
Perhaps the most important recent development is her move into publishing through Thousand Voices. It suggests that Jenna’s long-term career may increasingly combine television with literary development and media production.
Final Thoughts
Jenna Bush Hager’s biography could easily be told entirely through the history of the Bush family. She is the daughter of one president, the granddaughter of another, and grew up during an era when her family occupied some of the most visible positions in American public life.
But that only explains where her story began.
Her adult career has followed a noticeably different path. She started in education, gained experience through humanitarian work, became an author, moved into journalism, and eventually established herself as a major presence on daytime television.
Books have provided another thread connecting those different stages. Her English education, classroom experience, published writing, Read with Jenna book club, and Thousand Voices venture all point toward a long-standing interest in literature and storytelling rather than a collection of unrelated projects.
Her family life has remained equally important to her public identity. Jenna’s marriage to Henry Hager and her experiences raising Mila, Poppy, and Hal frequently appear in the stories she tells on television, giving audiences a more personal view of someone who initially became famous because of politics.
By 2026, Jenna Bush Hager’s professional identity is broader than that of a television host or former first daughter. She is also an author, literary advocate, publisher, and media entrepreneur.
As she approaches her 45th birthday, the most interesting part of her career may be how those different roles continue to come together. Television gave Jenna a national audience, but her growing work in books and publishing suggests that storytelling—in several different forms—will remain at the center of what she does next.
FAQs About Jenna Bush Hager
How Old Is Jenna Bush Hager?
Jenna Bush Hager is 44 years old as of November 14, 2026. She was born on November 25, 1981, in Dallas, Texas. She will celebrate her 45th birthday on November 25, 2026.
Who Is Jenna Bush Hager’s Husband?
Jenna Bush Hager is married to Henry Chase Hager, a businessman and former political aide. The couple met during George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential re-election campaign and married on May 10, 2008, at the Bush family ranch in Texas.
How Many Children Does Jenna Bush Hager Have?
Jenna and Henry Hager have three children. Their eldest daughter, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, was born in 2013, followed by Poppy Louise Hager in 2015 and Henry Harold “Hal” Hager in 2019.
Who Are Jenna Bush Hager’s Parents?
Jenna’s parents are George W. Bush and Laura Bush. Her father served as the 43rd president of the United States, while her mother is a former teacher and librarian who served as first lady from 2001 to 2009.
Does Jenna Bush Hager Have a Twin Sister?
Yes. Jenna has a fraternal twin sister named Barbara Pierce Bush. Barbara works in nonprofit leadership and global health. The sisters also co-authored Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life.
What Is Jenna Bush Hager’s Net Worth?
Jenna earns money through television hosting, publishing, writing, and other media activities. However, her exact personal net worth hasn’t been independently verified through comprehensive public financial disclosures. Online estimates should therefore be treated as estimates rather than confirmed figures.
Is Jenna Bush Hager Still on the Today Show?
Yes. As of November 2026, Jenna remains part of NBC’s Today franchise and co-hosts Today with Jenna & Sheinelle with Sheinelle Jones. Their partnership began in January 2026 following Jenna’s period hosting Today with Jenna & Friends.
What Is Jenna Bush Hager’s Publishing Company?
Jenna founded Thousand Voices, a media and storytelling company with interests in publishing and screen development. Its publishing imprint, Thousand Voices Books, works with Random House Publishing Group and is designed to introduce and develop new literary voices.
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