Michelle LaVaughn Obama was the first African-American First Lady of the United States of America. She was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She is the wife of former U.S. President Barack Obama.
Michelle was born to Fraser Robinson, a city water purification employee and Marian Shields Robinson, a homemaker. Michelle’s family traces its roots to ancestors who were born into slavery. She faced some discrimination growing up but did not let it affect her goals. She had a conventional upbringing in an affectionate family. She loved reading, playing games with her brother Craig and playing the piano. She was an honour student in school and served as student council treasurer.
She graduated with a degree in sociology and African-American studies from Princeton University in 1985 and went on to earn a postgraduate degree in law from Harvard Law School in 1988. While in Princeton, she was involved in a support group which helped minority students and the African-American community. She is the third First Lady in American history to have a postgraduate degree, after Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.
After graduation Michelle became an associate at a law firm called Sidley and Austin where she met Barack Obama. They married on October 3, 1992 and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
In 1993, she became Executive Director of ‘Public Allies’ an organization supporting young people working on social issues. She also served as Vice President for Community and External Affairs at Chicago Hospitals and on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She held various high-profile positions during her career before serving as First Lady.
Michelle is a role model for women and as First Lady, worked in areas concerning education, nutrition and physical activity for children. She has authored two books – ‘American Grown’ and ‘Becoming’, both of which were bestsellers and was inducted into the ‘National Women’s Hall of Fame’ in 2021.
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