7-Year-Old Jenna Bush Hager Has the Cutest Hairstyle in This Vintage White House Photo
The TODAY host said she "kind of thought all grandpas got inaugurated" as a first-grader at the White House.
Long before she became a co-anchor on TODAY, Jenna Bush Hager had spent years growing up in the White House. And not just during her father George W. Bush’s two-term presidency. As a little girl, the TODAY with Jenna & Friends host and her fraternal twin sister Barbara explored the first family’s residence when their late grandfather George H. W. Bush was in office.
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See a photo of young Jenna Bush Hager and her sister Barbara at the White House in 1989
Just as their grandfather — who they sweetly called “Gampy” — began his term as the 41st president in January 1989, Bush Hager was photographed walking around the south lawn of the White House with her sister.
In the archival photo taken over 30 years ago, the Bush twins were just 7 years old at the time and wore matching dress coats. Bush Hager’s hair was adorably styled in French braids with bangs and a big bow as she gestured at something in the distance, while Barbara held her grandfather’s hand and a soda can in the other.
Jenna Bush Hager has fond memories of growing up in the White House as a young girl
Over the years, Bush Hager has shared stories about life in the White House during both her father and grandfather’s presidencies. For example, she’s shared how her husband Henry Hager had to sneak out of the White House while they were dating. And, during a 2020 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Bush Hager revealed how her late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, enforced rules with the White House kitchen.
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When Andy Cohen asked what her favorite thing to order from the White House chef was, Bush Hager quickly answered that they “were never allowed to do that.”
“My sister and I tried to order a peanut butter and jelly when my grandpa was president,” she recalled. “And my grandmother came down to the bowling alley and was like, ‘This is not a hotel, you are not allowed to order, we eat meals at this time.’ And we never did it again.”
With that story in mind, it’s no surprise the girls came up with a special nickname for their grandmother. “We’ve always called her ‘The Enforcer.' She just likes her grandchildren to be well-behaved,’” the younger Barbara Bush said in a 2017 interview with Southern Living, as Bush Hager added, “She likes manners. Although she likes humor more than manners.”
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Bush Hager also remembers attending her grandfather’s inauguration when she was in elementary school. “When you’re in first grade, you don’t quite realize the gravity,” she shared with her former TODAY co-host Hoda Kotb in 2020. “Like Barbara and I were just so excited to be with our cousins and to get to go to this magical place — the Capitol. We kind of thought all grandpas got inaugurated. Just because our grandfather was particularly humble, he didn’t act more important than anybody else, and so it was such a fun memory.”
