“I USED TO THINK ABOUT A CAREER IN POLITICS,” says Lauren Bush, “but not recently.” That’s probably just as well, since—as the niece of two governors and the granddaughter of an ex-president—she’s seen her share of statehouses and swearing-in ceremonies. You might imagine that, coming from a family with a predisposition for success, the offspring of George W.’s brother Neil could do just about anything she set her mind to. And maybe she can, judging by her quick success this year as a fashion model: In April and June she appeared in W, and this fall she’ll be seen in Vogue and George.
“She’s your typical fifteen-year-old,” insists her mother, Sharon Bush, though not many girls her age look so mature in front of the camera. And how many teenagers have the kind of recreational lifestyle—summering in Maine, Colorado, and Italy—usually enjoyed by, well, scions of powerful families and top runway stars? For now, at least, modeling is a lark too. “I like what I’m doing,” Lauren says. “I mean, I’m just having fun.”
Come fall, the jet-setting and the flashbulbs will be put on hold as she settles back into her high school routine in Houston, where, as a sophomore at a prestigious private school—her mother would rather we didn’t say which—life is what you’d expect. “I’ll do some modeling on weekends and holidays,” says Lauren, “but school comes first.” As for the future, she’ll take driver’s ed, get her diploma, and then go to college (think she’ll get into Yale?). After that she’d like to continue modeling, but she is also interested in acting.
Hmmm, posing for cameras and acting? Maybe politics is in her future after all.
