Michelle Obama Weighs In on Malia Dropping 'Obama'

'She's trying to make her way,' former first lady says of oldest daughter's name change for work
Posted Jun 5, 2025 7:01 AM CDT
Michelle Obama Weighs In on Malia Dropping 'Obama'
Former first lady Michelle Obama is seen during a taping of her new podcast at the Austin Convention Center during South by Southwest on March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas.   (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)

When Malia Obama wrote and directed a short film that appeared at Sundance last year, her name in the credits appeared simply as "Malia Ann." Dad Barack Obama seemed OK with that, and now, Michelle Obama is offering her thoughts on her oldest daughter's choice to ditch the "Obama" for professional projects. "We were like, they're still gonna know it's you, Malia," Michelle Obama said on the Monday episode of Kate and Oliver Hudson's Sibling Revelry podcast, per ABC News. "But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way."

The former first lady said of Malia, 26, and younger sister Sasha, 23, that it's "very important" for both young women "to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world," noting, "They're very sensitive to that—they want to be their own people." Michelle Obama also told the podcast hosts, whose mom is Goldie Hawn and "stepdad" is her longtime partner Kurt Russell: "You guys know this as the children of parents who are known," per USA Today.

Michelle Obama also revealed that her girls "didn't want to be little princesses" during their eight-year stay in the White House. "They wanted to push the envelope; they needed some rope," she said. "They wanted to try some things, they wanted to be out in the world, and I knew that under the circumstances, they needed to have more rope than I probably would've given them if I were my mother." Listen to the podcast in full here, which also includes Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson. (More Michelle Obama stories.)

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