Michelle Obama

Born on January 17, 1964, Michelle Robinson Obama grew up with her parents and older brother Craig in DeYoung, Illinois. Michelle followed in her brother’s footsteps by attending Princeton University in New Jersey where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in African-American Studies. Shortly after she graduated from Princeton, she earned her law degree from Harvard Law School. At Harvard, she worked at the Law Review. She began work at Sidley & Austin Law Firm in Chicago where she eventually met Barack Obama, her future husband when he was her associate. After marrying in 1992 they welcomed two daughters, Malia and Natasha (Sasha) who are a few years apart. In 1996, Mrs. Obama was offered a position as the Associate Dean of Students at the University of Chicago where she also worked as director of the University Community Student Center. She became the University of Chicago Hospital’s Director of Community Affairs in 2002 and was promoted to Vice President of External Affairs and Community Relations three years later.

Introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, Mrs. Obama spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Later in 2008, Michelle Obama became the 44th First lady of the United States of America. During her two terms as First Lady, she launched several initiatives. Primarily focusing on health and wellness, Mrs. Obama’s projects helped fight child obesity, food insecurity, and educated kids on a healthy diet. She also helped fund initiatives that helped veterans and their families, empowered young people to pursue an education beyond High School and on an international level, and supported young girls to fight for equal opportunity in education.

Mrs. Obama is also a two-time best-selling author. Her latest book, Becoming (2018) highlights her life and how she found her voice as a young woman. She has a new book, The Light We Carry, focusing on her approaches to overcoming challenges coming out in the fall of 2022.