Former first daughter Malia Obama has been a household name alongside her younger sister, Sasha, since entering America's most iconic abode in 2009. Throughout the years, she's settled into a life filled with fame, family, and filmmaking.
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00:00Former first daughter Malia Obama has been a household name alongside her younger sister
00:05Sasha since entering America's most iconic abode in 2009. Throughout the years,
00:10she's settled into a life filled with fame, family, and filmmaking.
00:14Before she moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Malia Obama spent her childhood in the Windy City,
00:20where her prestigious parents, Michelle and Barack Obama, met and married. Born in 1998,
00:25Malia grew up in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, where she excelled in sports
00:29like soccer and swimming and in the arts as a flute player. Her younger sister Sasha was born
00:33in 2001, and their parents continued to serve Chicago — Barack as an Illinois state senator
00:38and Michelle as the associate dean of student services for the University of Chicago.
00:42But as her father's political aspirations ramped up in the mid-2000s,
00:46the prospect of leaving home became more of a reality. Barack shared with People magazine in
00:512008,
00:51They have a wonderful life in Chicago. They have lifelong friends in Chicago,
00:55and the prospects of having to make new friends, that's never something that kids are looking
00:59forward to. So I'm sure that there's a part of them that says we won't be heartbroken
01:02if things don't work out."
01:04When Barack Obama won his first term as president in 2008, Malia joined her family to live in the
01:09White House beginning in January 2009. She would reside there until 2016, through both of her
01:15father's terms as president. But despite being one of the most famous kids in the country,
01:19Malia was subject to the same standard expectations of her peers, at least at home.
01:23She was given an allowance as long as she got her chores done, had set bedtimes,
01:27and walked the family dogs daily. Michelle Obama once told ABC News,
01:31That was the first thing I said to some of the staff when I did my visit.
01:34Don't make their beds. Make mine. Skip the kids. They have to learn these things."
01:38There was also room for fun, of course, which included attending fundraisers and
01:41events with their parents. The sisters even had a sleepover with friends
01:45on their final night in the White House.
01:47Throughout her life, Malia has been a steadfast student. She grew up attending
01:51prestigious schools in both Chicago and Washington, D.C., before eventually
01:55attending Harvard University. While studying at Harvard, she was even awarded the Thomas
01:59Temple Hoops Prize, which honors excellent undergraduate work and excellence in the art
02:03of teaching. Her fast ascent to her Ivy League education was decidedly more emotional for
02:08Malia's famous folks. With Barack Obama once joking,
02:11I dropped off Malia at college. It was a little bit like open-heart surgery,
02:14and I was proud that I did not cry in front of her."
02:16Education has always been something that the Obamas valued highly. Michelle Obama
02:20has even campaigned globally for women's education, telling Teen Vogue,
02:24I want every girl to have the same opportunities that I did growing up.
02:27So much of my life has been determined by my ability to get an education.
02:31It's hard to overstate that.
02:33Before she headed off to Harvard University in the fall of 2017, Malia Obama decided to
02:38take a gap year in between graduating high school and starting her higher education studies.
02:42During that year, she traveled internationally both with family and friends and by herself.
02:47On her solo trip, she trekked to Bolivia and Peru and even stayed with the host family
02:51as she learned about the area's social, political, and geographical history.
02:55Malia also spent time interning for The Weinstein Company as she expressed
02:59her interest in the film industry. She had previously interned for several notable
03:03productions before, including the HBO series Girls and the CBS drama Extant.
03:07The former first daughter's decision to spend a year learning in other ways was a hot topic in
03:11the news, and it inspired many conversations about the merit behind the sometimes controversial
03:16decision. Holly Bull, president of the Center for Interim Programs, told Newsweek,
03:20"[A student I counseled was right on the fence about it,
03:23and when she heard Malia was going to take a gap year, she said,
03:26OK, I'm going to take one too."
03:28Both in and outside of the White House, Malia and Sasha Obama have remained a tight-knit pair.
03:33After they moved out of Washington, D.C., the sisters studied at separate schools,
03:36Malia at Harvard and Sasha at the University of Southern California,
03:40before settling together in Los Angeles, California.
03:43They are sharing an apartment and, you know, it's just fun when you see your kids adulting
03:48in the world."
03:49The two even reportedly lived together in the City of Angels while Malia pursues a
03:53career in film and Sasha begins her own career. Michelle Obama once told Melinda French-Gates'
03:58podcast, Moments That Make Us,
04:00"[Those girls had to be smart and confident and independent straight away."
04:04"...but I was raising them thinking, you're not gonna live here and with me forever."
04:09The girls have also attended swanky Hollywood parties and spent time with
04:12other entertainment figures as they've begun to shape their own lives. They are good,
04:16decent, normal young women who are trying to be impactful in the world,
04:20and they are the best of friends — couldn't ask for anything else.
04:23Malia Obama has made a new name for herself, apart from her famous family. She's grown into
04:28her own as a filmmaker under the name Malia Ann, and she even premiered her first short film,
04:32The Heart, at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. In a video introduction for the Sundance Institute,
04:38she explained,
04:39"[The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret,
04:42but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things."
04:47"'We hope that you enjoy the film and that it makes you feel a bit less lonely or
04:53at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.'"
04:57Before she was making headlines as a writer-director,
04:59Malia was working behind the scenes in the industry for a number of Hollywood heavyweights.
05:03After interning on several series, she made her way into the writers' room on Donald Glover's
05:08series Swarm, where she impressed the creatives with her craft. In 2023, co-creator of the show,
05:13Janine Nabors, told Vanity Fair,
05:15"[She's an incredible writer and artist. We really wanted to give her the opportunity
05:18to get her feet wet in TV and see if this is something she wants to continue doing."
05:23Malia is a steadfast advocate for what she believes is right and has spent time publicly
05:27supporting several major causes. In 2017, she attended a Dakota Access Pipeline protest while
05:33participating in the Sundance Film Festival. While this was one of her first major appearances
05:37outside of her famous family, other celebrities were inspired by her choice to make her voice
05:42heard on her own.
05:43"'No, like, you should probably go say hi.' And I was like,
05:45no, I'll talk to you later. They're like, it's Malia Obama!"
05:49Actor Shailene Woodley, who also attended the protest, told Democracy Now!,
05:53she recognizes, regardless of her last name, that if she doesn't participate in democracy,
05:57there will be no world for her future children. Malia has also spoken up for the Black Lives
06:01Matter movement by acting as both organizer and participant alongside her younger sister.
06:06In 2020, former President Obama told People,
06:09"[Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism
06:13that you saw with young people this summer, on their own initiative. I could not have been
06:16prouder of them."
06:18Even though she is living life on her own, Malia has made sure to stay close with her
06:22immediate family. She and sister Sasha were even involved in their mother's 2020 documentary,
06:26Becoming, and sat down for a rare on-camera interview after a sold-out book tour appearance.
06:32But this has demonstrated in a way, it's just like, damn, those eight years weren't for nothing."
06:37She added,
06:38"'You see that huge crowd out there, and that last kind of speech you gave?
06:41People are here because people really believe in love and hope in other people.'"
06:44During downtime when there's nothing to promote, the eldest Obama daughter still
06:48likes to spend time with her family, who she even quarantined with,
06:51at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. Former President Barack Obama told the Bill Simmons
06:55podcast,
06:56"'It's a blessing because all the teenage stuff is kind of gone now. They're just back,
07:00and they love you again, and they want to spend time with you again.'"
07:03Malia Obama has been determined to be a fashion icon by both her peers and industry trend
07:07monitors. Calling her the reigning queen of Gen Z style, Vogue's Hannah Jackson wrote in 2024,
07:13"'Eschewing the idea that children of powerful figures are just mini-politicians themselves,
07:17she's leaned into a slouchy, bohemian sensibility, a far cry from the pantsuits of Capitol Hill.
07:22She's been known in her adulthood for her laid-back style, and GQ even gave her another
07:26fashion title — new menswear icon. But she has also shown off her glamorous side,
07:30from state events during her father's presidency to red carpet appearances to promote her film,
07:35The Heart. But even as she has been praised for her cool looks and snazzy style,
07:39Malia herself doesn't find herself to be as much of a fashion maven as the public thinks.
07:43In 2024, she attended the Deauville American Film Festival in a Vivienne Westwood gown.
07:48At the event, she spoke with Paris Match.
07:51Vivienne Westwood, queen. It's cool. I don't know as much about fashion,
07:56but I'm happy to be wearing it.