Tragic Details About Barbara Pierce Bush

There are many things presidents' children can't do when they're in the White House, but for Barbara Pierce Bush and her twin sister Jenna Hager Bush, things looked a little different when their father, George W. Bush, moved into the White House in 2001. At 20 years old, the two were enjoying their student lives at university (at times a little too much), so they didn't exactly move into the White House. Still, their father's presidency had a big impact on the twins' lives, and it subsequently led to Barbara becoming an activist, spending some time in Africa volunteering at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Barbara was anything but thrilled when Donald Trump bested Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. In a memoir the twins co-wrote titled, "Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life," they recall the day after Trump's victory was announced. "[We were] filled with gratitude that we had each other for comfort," they wrote, explaining that the election and all the discord that accompanied it had been draining for both of them. Barbara dubbed the political climate and messaging at the time as "belittling and demeaning" during an interview with People, reminiscing about the days when politics weren't so controversial and divisive. "With our grandfather and our dad, there was a softer side and I do hope it goes back to that," Jenna chimed in.

Thanks to her father once being the commander-in-chief, Barbara's life has been anything but normal, and like many presidents' children who made big mistakes, she's had her fair share of blunders and tragic moments that made headlines over the years.

When Barbara Pierce Bush's father first told her and her twin sister, Jenna Hager Bush, that he was planning on running for president, the twins burst into tears. Jenna first told the story on "Today With Hoda & Jenna," recalling how she and Barbara thought their lives were over for good when their dad revealed he was making a bid for the White House. "When I was 16, my father sat my sister and I down and said, 'We really want your support. I'd like to run for president,'" Jenna explained. "As only twins can do, we cried in unison." Jenna and Barbara told George W. Bush that his grand plan to become president would fail and that, if he did win, it would "ruin our lives."

During an interview with Newsweek, Barbara and Jenna's mother, Laura Bush, recalled her husband's response to Jenna begging him to drop his presidential aspirations. "You know, Jenna, your mother and I are living our lives. And that's what we raised you and Barbara to do: live yours," he told the girls. Though they weren't exactly happy with their father's decision, Barbara and Jenna eventually came around, the former first lady said, even joining their father on the campaign trail at times. When he won the presidency, he assured Barbara and Jenna that he would do everything in his power to help make their lives easier. "He was like, 'Don't worry. You can be normal," Jenna recalled during an episode of Hoda Kotb's podcast "Making Space" (via Today). Of course, that's not exactly how things panned out for the twins.

Barbara Pierce Bush is one of those presidential children who grew up to be gorgeous, but she had anything but an ordinary childhood. Before George W. Bush made his bid for president, he served as the governor of Texas for six years, with his first term starting in 1994. This already put Barbara in the spotlight, and when her father became president, the heat of that glaring light only intensified. It even started to affect her grades at university — and not because she was slacking.

Speaking to theSkimm, Barbara recalled how she was failing a humanities class and couldn't figure out why. She was doing all the work required, and still her grades remained abysmally low. So, she did what any good student does and made an appointment to see her professor. "I wanted to know what I could do better," Barbara recalled, "And [the professor] said, 'I'll give you an A if your dad doesn't go to war in Iraq.' And I was totally shocked. I remember being speechless." The entire ordeal was humiliating for Barbara, and she said the encounter left her feeling "ashamed."

Additionally, like any university student, Barbara also tried her luck with getting her hands on some alcohol before she was of legal drinking age. She and Jenna made headlines in 2001 when they found themselves in a legal pickle after they got caught trying to buy alcohol. Jenna attempted the buying (with the help of an ID that wasn't hers) but got caught. Cue the disparaging headlines. The two were set to get a stern talking-to from their family at Camp David that weekend. It's one thing to get caught drinking and get a scolding from your parents, but it's another pickle entirely when the entire world knows about it.

Britain's Princess Anne was once banned from driving because she has an affinity for putting the pedal to the metal, and it's surprising the same hasn't happened to Barbara Pierce Bush and her sister, Jenna Hager Bush, given their road safety track record. While Barbara hasn't really spoken publicly about her driving skills, Jenna revealed on "Today With Hoda & Jenna" that she and Barbara had been in as many as 13 car accidents, though most of them had been minor, some so much so that the car didn't sustain any noticeable damage. "I'm not a great driver," Jenna confessed (via New York Post). It's not clear who was behind the wheel for the majority of the 13 accidents.

When Barbara and her sister had to learn how to drive, their father was the governor of Texas, which meant he wasn't allowed to drive himself, let alone teach his kids. Instead, the Department of Public Safety was responsible for the twins' driving lessons. Ironically, this premium training doesn't seem to have had any effect on their driving skills. Former President George W. Bush admittedly might not be the best driver either, thanks to the rule that former presidents aren't allowed to drive themselves on the open road. In fact, while making an appearance on CNBC's "Jay Leno's Garage" segment in 2017, the former president admitted he'd last taken the wheel on a public road about 25 years ago. One would be remiss not to suggest that, perhaps, this rule should apply to Barbara and her sister as well, given their affinity for fender benders.

Before Barbara Pierce Bush welcomed her first baby, she was constantly questioned about when she was planning on becoming a mother. Even though she has never publicly addressed this, her sister, Jenna Bush Hager, revealed on the "Today" show that Barbara had to weather all these questions while, in reality, she did want to have kids, but things just hadn't worked out that way just yet. "It always kind of irritated me. Like, ask her about her work, there's other things. But I know that it was something she had in her heart," Jenna said (via Daily Mail).

When Barbara finally got pregnant, her firstborn made an unexpected (and very early) appearance while Barbara was visiting Maine. She had planned to give birth in New York, but Cora Georgia had other plans and was born six weeks early, which meant she had to stay in the NICU for a couple of weeks. "She was premature and very healthy," Barbara assured People in 2021. "She just needed some help figuring out the basics like breathing and getting stronger to be able to do those things on her own." But of course, the former first daughter's birthing plan went out the window the second Cora decided to be born in Maine instead of New York. Jenna recalled having to go on diaper runs and going shopping for baby essentials to help her twin sister out.

Barbara spent most of the following weeks with her daughter holed up in the hospital's NICU, which, fittingly, happened to be named after her grandmother, Barbara Bush. When Barbara and her husband rushed to the hospital when she started going into labor, neither knew the children's hospital was named after her grandmother. "In many ways, it felt divine that she was born in Maine," the new mom told People.

Barbara Pierce Bush might be the daughter of former Republican President George W. Bush, but she doesn't always agree with her father's world views. In fact, as the 2024 presidential election loomed, Barbara made her political stance public — and she wasn't rooting for the Republicans. "It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend," the former first daughter exclusively shared with People in October 2024. "I'm hopeful they'll move our country forward and protect women's rights." In 2017, Barbara was also publicly backing Planned Parenthood, an organization most Republicans have largely tried to dismantle. "This work could not matter more," Barbara said during a speech at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser (via The Texas Tribune).

Speaking to theSkimm in 2017, Barbara recalled the first time she ever told her father face-to-face that she didn't agree with some of the Republicans' views. She was only 16 years old, and LGBTQ+ rights were practically non-existent at the time. She decided to bring this issue to her dad while they were having dinner one night. "I came in hot like a 16-year-old, very defiant, wanting to make my point, and my dad just listened to me talk, and he would respond, but slowly listening to me," Barbara said. She remembers how the former president helped her "[refine] my thoughts with him." While the two didn't come to blows over their opposing worldviews, seeing things differently from your parents can often put strain on a relationship. So far, it seems that Barbara and her father's relationship has survived their differences.