Barbara Bush in 1999

Barbara Pierce Bush (born June 8, 1925) is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. She is one of only two women to be both wife and mother to US presidents, the other being Abigail Adams. She served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, while her husband was President. Previously she had served as Second Lady of the United States for eight years. As wife of the Vice President and then President, and continuing after leaving Washington, she supported the cause of universal literacy.

Barbara was the third child of the former Pauline Robinson (1896–1949) and her husband, Marvin Pierce (1893–1969), who later became president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. Her siblings include Martha Pierce Rafferty (1920-1999); James Pierce (1921-1993) and Scott Pierce (born 1930). Her ancestor Thomas Pierce, an early New England colonist, was also an ancestor of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. She is a direct descendant, great-great-granddaughter, of James Pierce, Jr. who was a fourth cousin of President Pierce.