Getty Lauren Bush Lauren delivers a reading at the funeral for her grandfather, President George H.W. Bush, along with her sister, Ashley Walker Bush.
Lauren Bush Lauren is the granddaughter of President George H.W. Bush and the daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith Bush. She delivered a reading at her grandfather’s funeral along with her sister, Ashley Walker Bush. She and her sister gave the first reading, from Isaiah 60: 1-5, 18-20, at the funeral at the National Cathedral.
The 34-year-old Lauren Bush Lauren, who has also gone by Lauren Pierce Bush, is married to David Lauren, the son of iconic fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
Here’s what you need to know about Lauren Pierce Bush Lauren:
1. Lauren Pierce Bush Was Born in Colorado & Raised in Texas, Where She Attended The Kincaid School in Houston
Lauren Pierce Bush is the daughter of President George H.W. Bush’s son, Neil Bush, and Neil’s first wife, Sharon Smith Bush. She has two siblings, Ashley Walker Bush and Pierce Bush. Lauren, 34, was born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Houston, where she graduated from The Kinkaid School.
When she was a senior in high school, Lauren interned on the TV show “Friends.” She also had a non-speaking cameo alongside actor David Schwimmer, according to The New York Times.
In 2000, she made her debut in Paris at the Le Bal Crillon on des Debutantes along with Amanda Hearst. According to the New York Social Diary, that event launched her social and modeling career.
While growing up as part of one of the most famous families in America, Bush’s mother says she made sure her daughter had perspective. She told The New York Times she took them to volunteer at shelters and soup kitchens and to help the less fortunate. “I didn’t want them to grow up with a sense of privilege, and to be givers and not self-centered. So many kids in private schools almost have too much. It’s a detriment to them in the long run,” Sharon Smith Bush told the newspaper in 2013.
2. She Worked as a Model, Studied at Princeton University & Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design Before Launching Her Own Fashion Line
Lauren Bush Lauren.
Lauren Pierce Bush was a fashion model, starting in her teen years, and was featured on the covers of “Vogue” and “Vanity Fair,” while also modeling for Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch and designers Gai Mattiolo and Isaac Mizrahi, according to The New York Times.
She studied design at BEBE and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design before graduating from Princeton University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a certificate in photography. In 2008, she launched a fashion label under the name Lauren Pierce. Her grandfather, George H.W. Bush, and grandmother, Barbara Bush, were in the front row at the Lauren Pierce Spring 2011 show at the inaugural Houston Fashion Week, according to The Daily Truffle.
Lauren told W Magazine in 2008 that she used the name Lauren Pierce during her fashion career by chance. She said, “Obviously my last name is associated with politics. But Pierce is my grandmother’s maiden name and my younger brother’s name. It’s not about downplaying my last name as much as it is about loving Pierce. And my brother is very flattered.”
She has said she has no plans to get into politics, telling Fox News in 2010 “with a smile,”, “Personally, I leave politics to the other members of my family. It’s much better that way.”
3. Lauren Bush Married David Lauren in 2011 & the Couple Has 2 Sons, James & Max
Lauren Bush Lauren with her husband, David Lauren.
Lauren Pierce Bush married David Lauren, the son of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, in 2011 in Colorado. The couple had dated since 2004.
The couple has two sons, James Richard Lauren, born on November 21, 2015, and Max Walker Lauren, who was born on April 19, 2018, two days after Lauren’s grandmother, Barbara Bush, died.
4. She Founded a Charitable Company, FEED Projects, in 2007 to Help Give Food to Children in Need Around the World
Lauren Bush Lauren.
Lauren Bush Lauren co-founded FEED Projects in 2007. The charitable companies makes and sells bags with a portion of the sales donated to the United Nations World Food Programme to feed children in need around the world. Lauren had previously worked as an honorary spokesperson with the UN World Food Programme. She co-founded the company with Ellen Gustafson, a former UN communications officer, and is currently the CEO.
“On her travels around the world as a World Food Programme (WFP) Honorary Spokesperson, Lauren Bush Lauren witnessed the effects of hunger firsthand. In places like Cambodia, Chad and Guatemala, she saw a program making a dent in child malnutrition: school meals. When a child is given a free, nutritious school lunch, it can break the cycle of poverty she was born into and empower her to change her own life,” FEED Project’s website says. “Lauren founded FEED in 2007 with the simple idea of creating products that would engage people in the fight against hunger in a tangible way. Every one of our products has a number stamped on it that signifies the amount of meals or micronutrient packets provided with its purchase. Ten years later, we’ve built a movement connecting our customers to the cause, one bag at a time.”
The website continues, “FEED is a social business, which means there is an enduring principle at the heart of what we do: people’s choices of what to buy and wear have the power to change the world. As such, all of our products are produced under fair-labor conditions. We are also committed to using environmentally friendly materials, including organic cotton and burlap, whenever possible. We are also proud to work with artisans for a growing number of collections. We work with established cooperatives in Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kenya, El Salvador, and Peru to provide sustainable livelihoods to underserved populations. Through the sale of our artisan-made products, we provide meals in the countries where they were produced, closing the loop on our investment in these communities.”
She was recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Women Entrepreneurs in 2009 and was on Inc’s 30 Under 30 list in 2010. She has also been on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs list and was named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40.
5. Lauren Bush Lauren Has Been a Vegetarian Since She Was 4
Lauren Bush Lauren participates in the “Feeding America’s Celebrity Friends Join City Harvest At GrowNYC’s Union Square Greenmarket For Food Rescue” event in Union Square on June 6, 2018 in New York City.
Lauren Bush Lauren has often promoted healthy eating and has been a vegetarian since she was 4, according to Marie Claire. She has aimed to fight global hunger and obesity at the same time, she told Fox News in 2010.
“Through the FEED USA platform we are developing with DonorsChoose.org, I would like to see teachers empowered to make change happen at the school level to improve school food and food education. Health should start at a young age, and thus what kids are fed and taught in school will effect how they live the rest of their lives,” Bush told Fox News. “We have a small window to teach kids healthy habits, and that is why it is so critical that we address this issue now. What most kids are receiving in school for lunch is not healthy.”
She added, “Our approach to change is ground-up and empowers teachers and schools around the country. We would obviously love for change to happen at the DC top-down as well, and for school food providers to be given larger budgets to provide healthier school meals for kids. Our approach is to make change happen in a small but tangible way school by school, and let policy hopefully follow.”
Lauren Bush continued, ““The average American can first become aware of the food and food education that kids are receiving in their local schools or districts. Then they can ask for change to happen. And once the FEED Foundation’s FEED USA platform is up and running, they can donate to help teachers receive funds for much needed equipment and educational experiences that will help get healthier food and food education to kids who need it most.”
In 2003, PETA named Lauren Pierce Bush the “Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity.” According to PETA, “(the) top Tommy Hilfiger model and the niece of President George W. Bush, has been a vegetarian since the age of 4 and is passionate about animal protection issues. One Thanksgiving, she told friends that she’d contribute a pie to the family meal but would not cook stuffing for the turkey, saying, “I am a vegetarian. I won’t do anything that has to do with the turkey.”
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