Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama share two daughters together: Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23. The couple’s eldest daughter is currently pursing a career in Hollywood and has changed her name in the process. Now, the former First Lady has spoken out about her daughter’s name change.
During an interview on the Sibling Revelry podcast, co-hosted by actors and siblings Oliver and Kate Hudson, the Becoming author addressed Malia’s name change. After her father completed his second term in office, his first daughter dropped her surname. On the podcast, Michelle shared, “”Our daughters (Malia and Sasha) are 25 and 23. They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years where it was the push away. … They’re still doing that.” She added, “You guys know this as the children of parents who are known.” The siblings are the children of actress Goldie Hawn and musician Bill Hudson. They also consider their mom’s long-time partner, actor Kurt Russell, a father figure.
The Light We Carry author expressed her desire to let her children be their own people. “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. They’re very sensitive to that – they want to be their own people.”
Malia’s first project, a short film called “The Heart” that she wrote and directed, premiered in 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival. In the credits, her name was listed as Malia Ann. On her choice to use this name, her mother shared, “She took off her last name, and we 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.”
The IMO podcast co-host shared that she wasn’t shocked by her daughter’s choice, and explained how both her daughters are very independent and have been since their father’s first day in office. “Our daughters didn’t want to be little princesses in the White House. 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 that under the circumstances, they needed more rope than I probably would’ve given them if I were my mom.”
Kate Fann (she/her) is the BabyNames.com celebrity blogger, as well as an established content writer, aspiring author, and social media expert. She has been featured in online publications such as Bolde, ManoByte, Medium, The Social Observer, and more. Kate has ghostwritten numerous romance novels and is currently working on publishing her own works in the Young Adult genre.
Kate lives in East Tennessee with her husband Casey and her two sons, Quinn and Noah. When she's not writing or scrolling Instagram, Kate can be found tasting delicious wines, playing with make-up, baking yummy treats, or hiking the beautiful Smoky Mountains.
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