# Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (1925–2018) was the **matriarch of the modern [[Bush Family]]** — wife of the 41st president [[George H.W. Bush]] and mother of the 43rd president [[George W. Bush]] and Florida governor [[Jeb Bush]], one of only two women in American history to be both wife and mother of a U.S. president. As First Lady (1989–1993) she championed family literacy. Known within the family for a sharp, formidable presence, she was a central enforcer of dynastic discipline and famously expressed reservations about a third Bush (Jeb) seeking the presidency. > Stub — expand with literacy advocacy, her role in family politics, and the Pierce lineage (a distant relation to President Franklin Pierce). ## See Also - [[Bush Family]] - [[George H.W. Bush]] - [[George W. Bush]]