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Where 11 Presidential First Daughters Are Now — Changing The World In Their Own Incredible Ways
Nothing against first sons, but first daughters are not to be messed with. You don't toss criticism — especially sexist criticism — at the president's daughters. Remember when former GOP staffer Elizabeth Lautner thought Malia and Sasha Obama dressed too provocatively at this November's turkey pardoning ceremony? To recap, she told the Obama girls, "Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar." Needless to say, Lautner picked the wrong target. She faced swift backlash and resigned almost immediately.
The first daughters are where you want to be: They have status, smarts, and personal One Direction concerts. They're basically invincible, and they're definitely in charge.
Some of the daughters of America's great presidents have gone out to make names for themselves and became celebrities in their own right. Number 7, Chelsea Clinton, comes to mind. Others have laid low, keeping to themselves and staying out of the limelight.
From Caroline Kennedy to Sasha Obama, here are some of the coolest first daughters in recent history. Some of them are political activists, some of them are journalists, some of them are high school students, and some of them are what I like to call Double Whammys — ladies who were born to one president and then married another president's grandchild (looking at you, Julie Nixon Eisenhower).
Caroline Kennedy
Daughter of President John F. Kennedy
Kennedy is the eldest, and only surviving, child of JFK. As such, she has assumed responsibility for carrying on his legacy. Kennedy is a lawyer and the current U.S. ambassador to Japan, and if that’s not enough, she has also written two books on civil liberties and edited four more. Phew. What a way to start off our slideshow. Can the other first daughters meet the standard?…
Luci Baines Johnson
Daughter of President Lyndon Johnson
…Yes, they can. Luci Johnson is board chair at not one, but two companies: LBJ Asset Management Partners and BusinesSuites. Like so many first daughters before (and after) her, she also gives her time to charitable causes — she’s a fundraiser for the American Heart Association and a member of the advisory board for the Center for Battered Women.
Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Daughter of President Richard Nixon
She’s Richard Nixon’s daughter and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandson’s wife, but Julie Nixon Eisenhower is not one to be defined by the men in her life. Eisenhower has worked as assistant managing editor of The Saturday Evening Post and has written three books: a biography of her mother, a profile of her most admired influences, and a cookbook for children.
Susan Ford
Daughter of President Gerald Ford
Ford is one of the most formidable first daughters the White House has seen so far. As a teenager, she convinced her father to let her host her high school prom at the White House. Post-first daughtership, Ford has written two mystery novels centered around a fictional first daughter. She is also a trained photographer and has worked as a photojournalist for Newsweek, The Associated Press, and more. Ford has also worked as an activist for breast cancer awareness and alcohol and drug abuse — at one point she was the chair of the board at the Betty Ford Center for alcohol and drug abuse, a hospital founded by her mother.
Fun fact: Ford was married to (and divorced) one of her father’s former Secret Service agents.
Patti Davis
Daughter of President Ronald Reagan
Davis isn’t walking in her father’s footsteps. Even though Reagan was notoriously conservative — one could even say he (re)defined conservatism — Davis is an outspoken liberal. She has even claimed that her father would have supported gay marriage. When she’s not discussing politics, she’s self-publishing — Davis has written nine books and counting.
Dorothy Bush Koch
Daughter of President George H.W. Bush
Commonly nicknamed “Doro,” Koch is the daughter of one president and the sister of another — can you guess which ones? After growing up in and around the White House, it’s no surprise that Koch now works as a fundraiser and event organizer at philanthropic organizations, such as the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. You go, Doro.
Chelsea Clinton
Daughter of President Bill Clinton
“I hope that young people will also look to politics as a vehicle to not only have their voices heard, but actually to be the change-makers that they want to see.” Chelsea Clinton has said a lot of empowering stuff, but this one takes the cake. Clinton went from being a teenaged first daughter to empowering other politically inclined teenagers. Bitten with the political bug as a first daughter, Clinton was a special correspondent at NBC from 2011 to 2014 and now works at the Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation.
Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce Bush
Daughters of President George W. Bush
Hager and Bush were the first twin children born to a U.S. president — fraternal counts! — as well as the first people to be named “first granddaughters.” (Does the word “first” even mean anything to you anymore?) Like Chelsea Clinton, Hager is a special correspondent for NBC, as well as a contributor to NBC Nightly News. Fun fact: she once admitted to “hanky-panky” on the roof of the White House.
Bush — often characterized as the lesser-known twin — has worked to legalize gay marriage, along with other children of prominent Republican politicians, such as Meghan McCain and Mary Cheney. She also co-founded a public health nonprofit, Global Health Corps, which pairs up young health professionals from America and African countries in fellowship partnerships. Not bad.
Malia & Sasha Obama
Daughters of President Barack Obama
Even if they’re still teenagers, the Obama sisters are not slacking off. Enrolled at the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., the girls are constantly active. Their parents insist that they play two sports, write extracurricular reports on their lives — with great power comes great responsibility — and always eat healthy. They’re also clearly tight, as sisters should be. More power to them.
