"First Lady Michelle Obama" redirects here. For the painting, see First Lady Michelle Obama (painting).
Michelle Obama
Official portrait, 2013
First Lady of the United States
In role January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
President
Barack Obama
Preceded by
Laura Bush
Succeeded by
Melania Trump
Personal details
Born
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
(1964-01-17) January 17, 1964 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Barack Obama
(m. 1992)
Children
Malia
Sasha
Parents
Fraser Robinson III (father)
Marian Shields (mother)
Relatives
Obama family (by marriage)
Craig Robinson (brother)
Education
Princeton University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature
Michelle Obama's voice
Michelle Obama on the Soweto uprising and female leadership in Africa Recorded June 23, 2011
Michelle LaVaughn Obama[1] (néeRobinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to former president Barack Obama.
Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. In her early legal career, she worked at the law firm Sidley Austin where she met her future husband. She subsequently worked in nonprofits and as the associate dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago. Later she served as vice president for Community and External Affairs of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Michelle married Barack in 1992 and they have two daughters.
Obama campaigned for her husband's presidential bid throughout 2007 and 2008, delivering a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She has subsequently delivered speeches at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 conventions. As first lady, Obama served as a role model for women and worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating. She supported American designers and was considered a fashion icon.[2][3] Obama was the first African-American woman to serve as first lady.
After her husband's presidency, Obama's influence has remained high.[4] In 2020, she topped Gallup's poll of the most admired woman in America for the third year running.[5]
^"First Lady Michelle Obama". whitehouse.gov. December 23, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^Donahue, Wendy (November 12, 2008). "Michelle Obama emerges as an American fashion icon". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
^Bellantoni, Christina (April 10, 2009). "Michelle Obama settling in as a role model". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
^"The most popular Obama wasn't the president". washingtonpost.com. December 12, 2016.
^"Trump, Michelle Obama top Gallup's 2020 most admired lists". WTHI News. December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
Michelle LaVaughn Obama (née Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from...
descent. His immediate family includes his wife MichelleObama and daughters Malia and Sasha. Obama's wider ancestry is made up of people of Kenyan (Luo)...
and MichelleObama bought a home on Martha's Vineyard from Wyc Grousbeck. On October 29, Obama criticized "wokeness" and call-out culture at the Obama Foundation's...
2009, Bush openly praised President Barack Obama and First Lady MichelleObama. She reasoned that President Obama was performing well in the presidency despite...
Migration due to segregation; early residents included former First Lady MichelleObama, and more recent inhabitants have included rappers Chief Keef, King...
supported a conspiracy theory falsely claiming that former FLOTUS, MichelleObama, is secretly transgender, and that her name was originally "Michael"...
sculptures of Barack and MichelleObama, also by Mark Rhodes, were unveiled outside the Plaza by Cody Keenan, a former Obama speechwriter. Wikimedia Commons...
by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady MichelleObama. In May 2018, the Obamas launched Higher Ground Productions by signing...
presidential oath to President Obama on January 21, 2009. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Obama. MichelleObama held the Bible, which...
Marian Lois Robinson (née Shields; born July 29, 1937) is the mother of MichelleObama, former First Lady of the United States, and Craig Robinson, a basketball...
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (1936–1982) (born in Oriang'...
National Convention was found to be plagiarized from a similar speech by MichelleObama. In the month leading up to the election, she was forced to respond...
critics of her MichelleObama portrayal". BBC News. April 25, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Star Michelle Pfeiffer...
#62MillionGirls campaign and the Obama administration's Let Girls Learn initiative, set up by the First Lady of the United States MichelleObama. Michele began recording...
of the threats were extended to members of Obama's family, including former First Lady MichelleObama. Obama and his officials generally declined to discuss...
dresses of MichelleObama on several occasions, including those worn during the first and second inauguration of American President Barack Obama. Jason Wu...
since entering the U.S. Senate in 1973. Obama used a Bible owned by the family of First Lady MichelleObama when he took his oath of office. This was...
presidential campaigns, chronicling the transformation of Barack and MichelleObama into the President and First Lady of the United States. Kantor was a...
his wife, MichelleObama, to Kenya three years later, seeing Malik again while meeting many other relatives for the first time. Malik Obama is Muslim...