Michelle Obama Reacts To Malia Dropping Her Last Name

Obama no more. In early 2024, Malia Obama surprised everyone by dropping her famous last name, and now her mother Michelle is opening up about how she feels about the decision.

The former First Lady addressed her daughter’s name change during her June 3 appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast. “Malia, who started in film, I mean her first project she took off her last name,” Michelle said. “And we’re like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia.’ But we respect that she’s trying to make her way.”

Michelle is referring to how Malia was credited at the premiere of her film The Heart in February 2024. She made the project under the name Malia Ann, suggesting that she would not be using the Obama name in her professional endeavors. In addition to The Heart, Malia also wrote for the 2023 Prime Video series Swarm, also under the name Malia Ann.

Michelle highlighted how “important” it is for her children to “distinguish” themselves as individuals, and not feel they’ve been “handed things” because of their name. “Our daughters are 26 and 23. They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teens years where it was the push away,” Michelle said. “They’re still doing that. You’re trying to distinguish yourself. It’s 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 they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally handed things. They’re very sensitive to that.”

Michelle added that even when Sasha and Malia were the First Daughters, they always had a desire to make their own marks on the world. “Our daughters, they definitely didn’t want to be little princesses in the White House,” Michelle said. “They wanted to push the envelope. They needed some rope. They wanted to try some things. They wanted to be out in the world. And I knew under the circumstances, they probably needed more rope than I could have given them if I was my mother.”