Former United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, has revealed that her daughter, Malia, decided to drop the family surname to build her own identity in the film industry without relying on her father’s name or influence.
She made this known on Monday during an appearance on the “Sibling Revelry” podcast hosted by Kate and Oliver Hudson.
Michelle said her 26-year-old daughter now goes by “Malia Ann” to prove her worth and carve out her own identity without riding on the fame of the Obama name.
“I mean, 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,” she said.
According to her, both Malia and Sasha, 23, have always wanted to build something for themselves.
She added that the girls were careful not to take advantage of their famous background.
“They’re very sensitive to that, they want to be their own people,” she said.
Malia first introduced her new name at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where she premiered her short film titled “The Heart”. The name “Ann” is a tribute to her late grandmother, Ann Dunham, who passed away in 1995.
Reacting to the change, Michelle said, “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.”
Former US President Barack Obama also addressed the matter during an interview on “The Pivot Podcast” in October 2024.
He said Malia’s reason was to ensure her film was judged on its own merit and not her family’s legacy.
“She’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association,’” Barack said.
He explained that both daughters prefer to keep their journey separate from politics and public expectations.
“I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,” he added.
