Barbara Bush (born 1981)

Early life and education

Barbara Pierce Bush was born on November 25, 1981, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, before her twin sister Jenna. When the family lived in the Preston Hollow section of Dallas, she and Jenna attended Preston Hollow Elementary School; Laura Bush served on Preston Hollow's Parent-Teacher Association at that time. Later, Barbara and Jenna attended The Hockaday School in Dallas. When her father became Governor of Texas in 1994, Barbara attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. She began Austin High School in 1996, graduating with the class of 2000. Barbara then graduated from Yale University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, with a Bachelor of Arts in humanities and earned a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School as a fellow with the Center for Public Leadership.

Smithsonian and activism in Africa

She worked for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution. Previously, she had been working with AIDS patients in Africa: Tanzania, South Africa, and Botswana, among other places, through a program sponsored by the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative. Her interest in the issue began when she went to Africa with her parents to launch President Bush's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Global Health Corps

Barbara is the co-founder and president of a public health-focused nonprofit, Global Health Corps. Global Health Corps provides opportunities for young professionals from diverse backgrounds to work on the front lines of the fight for global health equity. In 2009, Global Health Corps won a Draper Richards Foundation Fellowship, and Bush was made a 2009 Echoing Green fellow for her work with Global Health Corps. Bush was also chosen as one of the 14 speakers selected from an applicant pool of 1,500 to speak at the TEDx Brooklyn event in December 2010, where she spoke about Global Health Corps.

Political activity

In 2011, Bush released a video with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, calling on New York State to legalize same-sex marriage. "I am Barbara Bush, and I am a New Yorker for marriage equality," she said in the brief message, sponsored by an advocacy group. "New York is about fairness and equality. And everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love.'" Bush joined other children of prominent Republican politicians—including Meghan McCain and Mary Cheney—in endorsing gay marriage.

Bush's graduation from Yale in May 2004 was given heavy media coverage. She and Jenna made several media appearances that summer prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, including giving a speech to the Republican Convention on August 31. She and Jenna took turns traveling to swing states with their father and also gave a seven-page interview and photo shoot in Vogue. Jenna later confirmed that she and Barbara both had developed a friendship with John Kerry's daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa, who had similarly campaigned on behalf of their own father (who was the Democratic nominee for president). Bush joined her mother on diplomatic trips to Liberia in January 2006 to attend the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and to Vatican City to meet with Pope Benedict XVI in February 2006.

Unlike most of her relatives (but like her twin sister Jenna), Bush is not a member of the Republican Party. In 2010, Bush and her sister told People that they preferred not to identify with any political party, stating, "We're both very independent thinkers."

In October 2024, Bush endorsed and campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Personal life

Bush and her sister authored the memoir Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life, published in 2017.

On October 7, 2018, Bush married screenwriter Craig Louis Coyne in a private ceremony at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, with only 20 people attending. It was held then in part so that Bush's grandfather, George H. W. Bush, whose health was on the decline at the time (and would die a month later), could attend. They held an additional wedding reception six months later in April 2019 with 100 guests. Their daughter was born on September 27, 2021. Their son was born on August 4, 2024.

Works

References

References

1. "Board of Directors".
2. Whitfield, Jonathan M.. (July 17, 2004). "Neonatal care at Baylor University Medical Center: You've come a long way, baby!". Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center).
3. (Jun 7, 2024). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW: First kids of the United States". Business Insider.
4. Pulle, Matt. (January 11, 2007). "Split Decision". [[Dallas Observer]].
5. (April 4, 2000). "Bush used private school option".
6. Grigoriadis, Vanessa. (August 30, 2004). "Party Girls". New York Magazine.
7. . ["Barbara Pierce Bush"](https://www.wsb.com/speakers/barbara-pierce-bush/). *[[Omnicom Group]]*.
8. (July 3, 2006). "First Twin Jenna Bush may leave D.C. social scene". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
9. Minzesheimer, Bob. (March 6, 2007). "Jenna Bush embarks on book 'Journey'". [[USA Today]].
10. Dana Milbank. (May 24, 2004). "Telephoto Finish: The Bush Twins Graduate From College, and Private Life". The Washington Post.
11. Jennifer Loven. (July 14, 2005). "Bush twins not deterred by shutterbugs". Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. "IOL".
12. John Donnelly. (July 6, 2005). "Bush daughter is said to volunteer in S. Africa". [[The Boston Globe]].
13. (May 25, 2004). "Bush's Daughter to Intern for Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatric AIDS Initiative Clinics in Africa". Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report.
14. "Who Are George W. Bush's 2 Daughters? All About Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager".
15. (November 27, 2013). "In The Know". The Hill.
16. "Mission & Vision". [[Global Health Corps]].
17. "www.draperrichards.org". Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.
18. "Barbara Bush".
19. [https://blog.ted.com/7-tedxtalks-from-women-making-change-to-get-you-ready-for-tedxwomen/ 7 TEDxTalks from women making change to get you ready for TEDxWomen] {{Webarchive. link. (May 5, 2017 [[TED (conference)). TED]] blog, November 30, 2012, Retrieved April 21, 2018.
20. [//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iKqr230U9M Barbara Bush for HRC's NYers for Marriage Equality], HRCMedia on [[YouTube]]
21. Barbaro, Michael. (January 31, 2011). "Bush's Daughter, in a Break, Endorses Gay Marriage". [[The New York Times]].
22. (August 31, 2004). "Remarks by Barbara and Jenna Bush to the 2004 Republican National Convention". The Washington Post.
23. Julia Reed. (August 2004). "Jenna and Barbara Bush: Sister Act". [[Vogue (magazine).
24. (July 16, 2004). "The Bush Twins' Coming Out Party". [[CBS News]].
25. [https://www.today.com/video/jenna-describes-friendship-with-john-kerry-s-daughters-during-2004-campaign-95378501690 "Jenna describes friendship with John Kerry’s daughters during 2004 campaign"] {{Webarchive. link. (September 20, 2021 , today.com, 5 Nov 2020, accessed 19 Sept 2021)
26. Sandra Baker. (December 9, 2011). "Three companies honored as top workplaces for women in Fort Worth". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
27. Sobieraj Westfall, Sandra. (May 17, 2010). "The Bush Twins On Their Own".
28. Campbell, Colin. (September 4, 2014). "George W. Bush's Daughters Are Not Republicans". Business Insider.
29. Chumley, Cheryl K.. (September 5, 2014). "Bush daughters decline Republican label: 'We're both very independent'". The Washington Times.
30. (October 29, 2024). "'Hopeful they'll move our country forward': George W. Bush's daughter campaigns for Harris". USA Today.
31. (October 8, 2018). "Former first daughter Barbara Bush marries Craig Coyne".
32. (October 24, 2018). "Barbara Bush shares why her wedding was 'everything we wanted'".
33. Hallemann, Caroline. (April 15, 2019). "George W. Bush's Daughter Barbara Had a Second Wedding at Her Family's Ranch This Weekend". [[Town & Country (magazine).
34. Kurtz, Judy. (September 28, 2021). "George W. Bush welcomes fourth grandchild". The Hill.
35. (2024-08-06). "Surprise! Barbara Pierce Bush had a second child".
36. (August 6, 2024). "Surprise! Barbara Pierce Bush welcomes second child".