Michelle Obama reveals her reaction to her daughter, Malia, dropping her family’s surname.
In 2024, Malia Obama, now known as Malia Ann, made her directorial debut with the short film The Heart at the Sundance Film Festival.
“I mean, it is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world, and they don’t want people to assume that they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally, just handed things,” Michelle Obama tells actress Kate Hudson on her Siblings Rivalry podcast with her brother, Oliver.
“They’re very sensitive to that — they want to be their own people,” she adds. “We [she and Barak Obama] were like, they’re still going to know it’s you, Malia, But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
Michelle Obama Reveals How Therapy Helped Her In This Stage Of Her Life
In other news, last month, Michelle Obama opened up about the positive experiences she gained with therapy.
Appearing on the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty, along with her brother Craig Robinson and her co-hosts on the IMO podcast, the former First Lady revealed that she needed therapy as a “tune-up” as she moves through the next phase of her life.
“At this phase of my life, I’m in therapy right now because I’m transitioning,” Obama said.
Obama went on to acknowledge that she completed “a really hard thing” by keeping her family “intact,” as President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha have been in the public eye for almost two decades. For the first time in years, she can make decisions just for herself.
“I’m an empty nester, my girls are in…you know, they’ve been launched,” Obama said. “And now, for the first time, as I’ve said before, every choice that I’m making is completely mine.”