Laura Bush

A lifelong champion of women's and children's causes, Laura Bush dedicated much of her career to improving lives through awareness campaigns and foundations operating on state, national and global levels. She was born Laura Lane Welch in Midland, Texas, on Nov. 4, 1946, as the only child of a couple that owned and operated a real estate business. She was inspired to pursue a career in education by her mother, who read to her often growing up, and her second grade teacher. She enrolled in Southern Methodist University in Dallas and joined the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, she taught elementary school for four years in the Dallas and Houston school districts. She continued her own education, securing a Master of Science degree in library science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973. She became a librarian at the Houston Public Library, then at the Dawson Elementary School library in Austin. In 1977 she met George W. Bush at a friend's backyard barbecue. They married only five months later, and a short while after that, her new husband announced his run for Congress. While at first reluctant to involve herself in such a public light, Bush ultimately campaigned in support of her husband. Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, in 1981. She became first lady of Texas when her husband won election as governor, and although she preferred a more private lifestyle than previous first ladies, she began to realize the possibilities and responsibilities of her new position. She executed a number of initiatives aimed at improving literacy, parenting and child safety. Her husband then campaigned for and won the office of President of the United States in 2001. As first lady of the U.S., Bush took on greater health and humanitarian causes, including international campaigns focused on AIDS relief and raising awareness of heart disease and breast cancer. In 2001, Bush spoke about the Taliban's cruelty toward women in an installment of the president's weekly radio address, marking the first time a first lady delivered the address. She broke further ground in 2008 when she held her own press conference from the White House press briefing room to address a humanitarian crisis in Burma and directly petition the ruling government to accept foreign aid. The conclusion of her husband's presidency wasn't the end of Bush's efforts to help those in need. The Bushes founded the George W. Bush Institute, an organization focused on promoting the causes of economic growth, education reform and health initiatives. As chair of the Institute's Woman's Initiative, Bush acted to improve the quality of life and expand opportunities for women and girls across the world. In 2016, Bush published a book containing accounts of oppressed women in Afghanistan titled "We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope," and wrote a children's book, "Our Great Big Backyard," with her daughter Jenna.