Michelle Obama says her daughter was trying to “distinguish” herself by dropping her family surname.
The 60-year-old former US First Lady has daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, with her ex-president husband Barack Obama, and their eldest ditched the Obama surname so it would not appear in the credits of a short film she was working on, as criticism of “nepo babies” continues to rage.
Speaking on the ‘Sibling Revelry’ podcast with hosts Kate Hudson, 45, and her older brother Oliver Hudson, 48, Michelle said:
“Where do we begin? Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women.
“But they definitely went through a period in their teen years… it was the ‘push away’.
“They’re still doing that, and you guys know this of children with parents who are known.
“You’re trying to distinguish yourself. It’s very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world.”
Malia decided to go by ‘Malia Ann’ – her first and middle names – in the credits of her directorial debut, ‘The Heart’, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023.
While Michelle and Barack, 62, were initially surprised by the decision, the former First Lady said they ultimately understood and supported the motivation behind it.
“We were like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia,’” she said.
Michelle added: “But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
She also explained both her daughters “don’t want people to assume that they’re just naturally handed things” and are deeply sensitive to perceptions of nepotism.
“They want to be their own people,” she said.
Barack has echoed similar sentiments in the past.
Speaking on ‘The Pivot Podcast’, he said: “(Malia’s) first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals, and she didn’t use Obama as a director on the credits.”
He also recalled telling Malia: “You do know they’ll know who you are,” to which she replied: “I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.”
Michelle added her children’s decisions to establish distance from their public identity were rooted in a desire for authenticity – and that, as a parent, it was something she had to respect.
She said: “They’re trying to make their mark in a world that sees them a certain way.”
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