Michelle Obama claims daughter Malia will ‘never invite’ her and Barack to her film work
WASHINGTON, DC: As Barack Obama’s eldest daughter, Malia, tries to chart her path as an emerging screenwriter and director, she is choosing to keep her famous parents at arm’s length from her professional endeavors.
Michelle Obama recently reflected on her daughter’s determination to stay away from the long shadow of the Obama family, noting that Malia will "never invite us to anything that she does.”
Michelle Obama says Malia 'doesn’t care'
The Former First Lady was talking to Steven Spielberg on her IMO podcast, which she hosts with her brother Craig Robinson, when the director noted how the set of his latest project, seemingly the sci-fi epic 'Disclosure Day', was "the first set Barack ever visited."
"Even though your daughter is a filmmaker, Malia. So I feel bad I scooped Malia,” he noted.
Michelle then revealed that her eldest daughter prefers to maintain a clear separation between her career and her family life. "She doesn't care. She will never invite us to anything that she does. You know, she doesn't want us around her stuff,” she confessed.
The 27-year-old Malia, who started her career as a writer on the Donald Glover series 'Swarm,' dropped her last name for her first film project.
She went on to credit herself as "Malia Ann" when she dropped her first short film, 'The Heart,' in 2024. Ann is Malia's middle name.
Along with Malia, the former president and the 'Becoming' author, who tied the knot in 1992, are also parents to daughter Sasha Obama, 24.
Michelle opens up about Malia’s decision to drop her last name
Last year, just a few days after Malia decided to drop her last name, Michelle appeared on Oliver Hudson's 'Sibling Revelry' podcast, where she admitted that she understands why Malia isn't so keen on using her family's last name for her movies.
“Our daughters are 25 and 23. They're 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 said.
The former First Lady then explained that the "push away" tends to happen to kids who are born into famous families.
“You’re trying to distinguish yourself. 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 handed things,” she added. “They’re very sensitive to that. They want to be their own people.”
“Malia, who started in film, and it being her first project, she took off her last name, and we were like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia,’” Michelle Obama said with a laugh. “But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
