Barbara Bush (born 1981)

Barbara Bush
Bush in 2016
Born
Barbara Pierce Bush

(1981-11-25) November 25, 1981 (age 42)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma materYale University (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)
OccupationHealth care activist
Years active2000–present
Political partyIndependent
Board member ofGlobal Health Corps
Spouse
Craig Coyne
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2
Parents
FamilyBush family

Barbara Pierce Bush (born November 25, 1981) is an American activist. She co-founded and is the chair of the board of the nonprofit organization Global Health Corps.[1] She and her fraternal twin sister, Jenna, are the daughters of the forty-third U.S. president, George W. Bush, and former first lady, Laura Bush. She is also a granddaughter of former president George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, after whom she is named.

Early life and education

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Barbara (right) with her parents, George W. Bush and Laura Bush and her sister, Jenna, in 1990

Barbara Pierce Bush was born on November 25, 1981 at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.[2] When the family lived in the Preston Hollow section of Dallas, she and her twin sister, Jenna, attended Preston Hollow Elementary School; Laura Bush served on Preston Hollow's Parent-Teacher Association at that time.[3] 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.[4] Barbara graduated from Yale University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta,[5] with a bachelor of arts degree in Humanities and earned a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School as a fellow with the Center for Public Leadership.[6]

Smithsonian and activism in Africa

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She worked for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11][12] 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).[13]

Global Health Corps

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Barbara is the co-founder and president of a public health-focused nonprofit, Global Health Corps.[14] Global Health Corps provides opportunities for young professionals from diverse backgrounds to work on the front lines of the fight for global health equity.[15] 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.[16][17] 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.[18]

Political activity

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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.[19][20] "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.'"[20] Bush joined other children of prominent Republican politicians—including Meghan McCain and Mary Cheney—in endorsing gay marriage.[20]

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.[21] She and Jenna took turns traveling to swing states with their father and also gave a seven-page interview and photo shoot in Vogue.[22][23] 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).[24] Bush joined her mother on diplomatic trips to Liberia in January 2006 to attend the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf[25] 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."[26][27][28]

In October 2024, Bush endorsed and campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[29]

Personal life

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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.[30][31] They held an additional wedding reception six months later in April 2019 with 100 guests.[32] Their daughter, Cora Georgia, was born on September 27, 2021.[33][34] Their son, Edward Finn, was born on August 4, 2024.[35]

Works

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  • 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.

References

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  1. ^ "Board of Directors". Global Health Corps official website. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  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). 17 (3): 251–254. doi:10.1080/08998280.2004.11927976. PMC 1200659. PMID 16200107.
  3. ^ Pulle, Matt (January 11, 2007). "Split Decision". Dallas Observer. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Bush used private school option". Associated Press. April 4, 2000. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2006.
  5. ^ Grigoriadis, Vanessa (August 30, 2004), Party Girls, New York Magazine, retrieved January 5, 2008
  6. ^ "Barbara Pierce Bush". Washington Speakers Bureau. Omnicom Group. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (July 3, 2006). "First Twin Jenna Bush may leave D.C. social scene". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  8. ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (March 6, 2007). "Jenna Bush embarks on book 'Journey'". USA Today. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Dana Milbank (May 24, 2004). "Telephoto Finish: The Bush Twins Graduate From College, and Private Life". The Washington Post. p. C01.
  10. ^ Jennifer Loven (July 14, 2005). "Bush twins not deterred by shutterbugs". Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. "IOL". Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
  11. ^ John Donnelly (July 6, 2005). "Bush daughter is said to volunteer in S. Africa". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "Bush's Daughter to Intern for Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatric AIDS Initiative Clinics in Africa". Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report. May 25, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  13. ^ "Who Are George W. Bush's 2 Daughters? All About Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager". People magazine. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  14. ^ "In The Know". The Hill. November 27, 2013. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  15. ^ "Mission & Vision". Global Health Corps. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  16. ^ "www.draperrichards.org". Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  17. ^ "Barbara Bush". Echoing Green. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  18. ^ 7 TEDxTalks from women making change to get you ready for TEDxWomen TED blog, November 30, 2012, Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  19. ^ Barbara Bush for HRC's NYers for Marriage Equality, HRCMedia on YouTube
  20. ^ a b c Barbaro, Michael (January 31, 2011). "Bush's Daughter, in a Break, Endorses Gay Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  21. ^ "Remarks by Barbara and Jenna Bush to the 2004 Republican National Convention". The Washington Post. August 31, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  22. ^ Julia Reed (August 2004). "Jenna and Barbara Bush: Sister Act". Vogue. Archived from the original on December 20, 2005.
  23. ^ "The Bush Twins' Coming Out Party". CBS News. July 16, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jenna describes friendship with John Kerry’s daughters during 2004 campaign", today.com, 5 Nov 2020, accessed 19 Sept 2021
  25. ^ Sandra Baker (December 9, 2011). "Three companies honored as top workplaces for women in Fort Worth". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  26. ^ Sobieraj Westfall, Sandra (May 17, 2010). "The Bush Twins On Their Own". People Magazine. Vol. 73, no. 19.
  27. ^ Campbell, Colin (September 4, 2014). "George W. Bush's Daughters Are Not Republicans". Business Insider. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  28. ^ Chumley, Cheryl K. (September 5, 2014). "Bush daughters decline Republican label: 'We're both very independent'". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  29. ^ Kuchar, Savannah (October 29, 2024). "'Hopeful they'll move our country forward': George W. Bush's daughter campaigns for Harris". USA Today. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  30. ^ "Former first daughter Barbara Bush marries Craig Coyne". ABC13 Houston. October 8, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  31. ^ "Barbara Bush shares why her wedding was 'everything we wanted'". Today. October 24, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  32. ^ Hallemann, Caroline (April 15, 2019). "George W. Bush's Daughter Barbara Had a Second Wedding at Her Family's Ranch This Weekend". Town & Country. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  33. ^ Kurtz, Judy (September 28, 2021). "George W. Bush welcomes fourth grandchild". The Hill. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  34. ^ "Surprise! Barbara Pierce Bush had a second child". TODAY.com. August 6, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  35. ^ "Surprise! Barbara Pierce Bush welcomes second child".
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