Jenna Bush Hager Reflects on ‘Double-Edged Sword’ of Being a ‘Nepo Baby’

Mar. 15, 2025

Jenna Bush Hager, and the Bush Family in 2001.Photo:Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty; Pool Photo/Newsmakers

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty; Pool Photo/Newsmakers

TheToday with Jenna & Friendshost — also the daughter of former PresidentGeorge W. Bush— opened up on her Wednesday, Feb. 19, broadcast about coming from a prominent family and what that meant for forging her own path. Being a child of fame has a lot of layers to it, she said.

Bush Hager and her twin sister,Barbara Pierce Bush, were20 years oldwhen their father was sworn into the highest office in the country, and only 7 years old when their grandfatherGeorge H.W. Bushassumed the same office in 1989. Thus, the sisters have spent the majority of their lives in the public eye.

“Sometimes my children say ‘nepo babies’ and I’m like, ‘I mean, I kind of am one, kids,’ " she admitted on the air.

Barbara, Laura, George W. and Jenna Bush in 2008.Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty

Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty

“But I also think it’s hard. People want [nepo babies] to fail,” she continued. “Barbara and I are serious workaholics and I’ve tried to figure out why, and I think it’s because we want to prove to people that it isn’t always easy.”

“I’m glad I work really hard and I’m glad I have the family that I have. But I also need to, at some point, be like, ‘Okay, I did it. I proved it.’ And I can also be happy with my kids at home,” Bush Hager said, adding, “I think it’s a double-edged sword.”

Barbara, Jenna, George W. and Laura Bush in 2001.Newsmakers/Getty

Newsmakers/Getty

Bush Hager has a list of accomplishments under her belt — in addition to her longstanding position on theToday Show, she’s also worked as a teacher and authored a number of children’s books.

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When she was first offered a job atTodayas a correspondent, Bush Hager wasn’t sure she wanted to take the position. It was her grandparents who convinced her to take the leap, she previously told PEOPLE.

“That’s kind of what our family has given us,” she said. “They have allowed us to take risks and hope that everything works the way we want it to.”

source: people.com