Noelle Bush pictured in 2003. (Getty)
It was back in 2002 when her uncle was in the White House that Noelle Bush made national headlines as she was arrested and accused of numerous drug offenses. Now 37, Noelle Bush has all-but disappeared from public life. That’s likely to change as of June 15, 2015 when her father, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, announces his run for the White House in 2016. In a November 2015 interview, Bush said his daughter “went through hell…And so did her mom and so did her dad. And it was in a private setting, but then it became very public when I was Governor. And it wasn’t easy.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Spent Less Than 2 Weeks in Jail as a Result of Her Charges
(Handout)
In 2002, Noelle was arrested after she tried to forge a Xanax prescription in Tallahassee. As a result, a judge sentenced her to rehab. In July 2002, she was jailed for three days for breaking the rules of her program. Then, in October 2002, Noelle was sentenced to ten days in prison after some crack was found in her shoe at the rehab center. In August 2003, she finally completed the program, telling a judge at the time “It’s been quite a challenge.” CNN reported that her facility was located in Florida. She is the middle child of Jeb and Columba Bush, born in 1977 in Texas. Jeb Bush told CNN “My daughter’s not perfect. I love her dearly.” Columba Bush told a reporter in 2002 that her daughter’s addiction were a result of Noelle being born into a political family.
2. Her Mother Sits on the Board of an Anti-Drug Center in New York
Jeb and Columba Bush. (Getty)
The Washington Post reports that Columba Bush is on the board of CASAColumbia, a national anti-drug group based at Columbia University. The founder of the center, Joseph A. Califano, told the Post “God knows, I’ve known a lot of political wives. She is not a traditional political wife.” Califano added that Columba’s personal experiences made her voice authentic at the center’s meetings and fund raisers.
3. Noelle Bush Now Leads ‘a Normal Life’ Working at One of Her Father’s Businesses
Noelle Bush now works as the office manager at Empower Software Soultions, according to her LinkedIn page. Online records show that Jeb Bush sites on the board of Empower. She lists her duties as “Answer phones, office support & management. Research for market base.”
Her page says that she previously worked for the Center for Drug Free Living. Noelle graduated from Tallahassee Community College in 1999 and Florida State University in 2002 with a degree in leisure and recreation.
4. Jeb Bush Wished the Media Would Leave Noelle Alone
(Getty)
In May 2015, Jeb Bush released a bank of emails that showed he wished the media would leave his daughter alone. The messages were released in the interest of transparency in lieu of a run for the White House in 2016. It was in January 2003 when Jeb Bush emailed a Miami Herald reporter saying “It won’t matter in the whole scheme of things but I wish the media would leave my daughter alone. It would make it a whole lot easy [sic] for her to recover.” He later added “The only reason you wrote the piece, or were told to write the piece, is that my struggling daughter is the child of the Governor.”
5. She Isn’t the Only One of Jeb Bush’s Kids to Have Legal Problems
George P. Bush has had a colorful legal history. (Wikipedia)
During George W. Bush’s 2000 Presidential Campaign it was revealed that, George P. Bush, Jeb Bush’s son, had been arrested in 1998. The younger George was accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home when he was 18 and drunk. He faced no charges in the case after the girl’s parents refused to press the issue.