Malia Obama, the daughter of former President Barack Obama, is changing her name for professional projects.
During an appearance on the “Sibling Revelry” podcast, former First Lady Michelle Obama revealed that Malia will be going by Malia Ann. Michelle said the decision was made because her eldest daughter wanted to carve her path and avoid claims of nepotism as the child of a former president.
“It is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world,” Michelle explained about her daughters. “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,”
The 26-year-old used her stage name at the Sundance Film Festival last year for the directorial debut of her 2023 short film “The Heart.”
“Her first project — she took off her last name, and we were like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia,’” she said. “But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
In recent years, Malia has been pursuing a career in Hollywood
She’s the oldest of the couple’s two children. Her younger sister Sasha is 24-years-old.
