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Quick Facts
- NAME: Michelle Obama
- OCCUPATION: Lawyer, U.S. First Lady
- BIRTH DATE: January 17, 1964 (Age: 49)
- EDUCATION: Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Princeton University, Harvard Law School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Chicago, Illinois
- AKA: Michelle Obama
- Full Name: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama
- Originally: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
- ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn
Best Known For
Michelle Obama is a lawyer, Chicago city administrator and community outreach worker, as well as the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama and the 44th first lady.
Videos see all videos
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Michelle Obama - First Sitting First Lady to Tweet on Twitter (0:21)
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Michelle Obama - First Sitting First Lady to Tweet on Twitter
Just before game one of the 2011 World Series, Michelle Obama became the first sitting First Lady to tweet on Twitter, when she sent out a message of support to military families. Video courtesy of the White House.
Michelle Obama - The White House Vegetable Garden
In the Spring of 2009, locale school children helped First Lady Michelle Obama plant the first White House garden since Eleanor Roosevelt's World War II Victory Garden. Video courtesy of the White House.
Michelle Obama - Mini Biography
A short biography of Michelle Obama, who rose up from her tough Chicago neighborhood to become a Princeton and Harvard alumni with a successful career, wife of Barack Obama, and eventually the first lady of the United States.
Nelson Mandela - Meeting with Michelle Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke about meeting Nelson Mandela and his legacy while visiting Soweto, South Africa. Video courtesy of The White House.
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Play NowMichelle Obama. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 11:55, May 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592.
Michelle Obama. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 [Accessed 20 May 2013].
"Michelle Obama." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 20 2013, 11:55 http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592.
"Michelle Obama," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 [accessed May 20, 2013].
"Michelle Obama," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 (accessed May 20, 2013).
Michelle Obama [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592.
Michelle Obama, http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 (last visited May 20, 2013).
Michelle Obama. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592. Accessed May 20, 2013.
Ever conscious of her family's diet and health, Michelle Obama has supported the organic food movement, instructing the White House kitchens to prepare organic food for guests and her family. In March 2009, Michelle worked with 23 fifth graders from a local school in Washington, D.C., to plant a 1,100-square-foot garden of fresh vegetables and install beehives on the South Lawn of the White House. Periodically, throughout the summer,
Contents
the same students returned to harvest various foods and learned to cook fresh-grown organic vegetables. Since 2010, Michelle has put efforts to fight childhood obesity near the top of her agenda.
Michelle Obama remains committed to her health and wellness causes. In 2012, she announced a new fitness program for kids as part of her Let's Move initiative. She, the U.S. Olympic team and other sports organizations have teamed up to get young people try out a new sport or activity. "This year, 1.7 million young people will be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities—many of them for the very first time. And that is so important, because sometimes all it takes is that first lesson, or clinic, or class to get a child excited about a new sport," Obama said in a statement.
Putting her message in print, Obama released a book as part of her mission to promote healthy eating. American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America (2012) explores Obama's own experience creating a vegetable garden as well as the work of community gardens elsewhere. She sees the book as an opportunity to help readers understand "where their food was coming from" and "to talk about the work that we're doing with childhood obesity and childhood health," Obama told Reuters.
First Family
Both Michelle and Barack Obama have stated that their personal priority is their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. The parents realized that the move from Chicago to Washington, D.C., would be a major adjustment for any family. Living in the White House, having Secret Service protection and always being in the wake of their parents' public lives has dramatically transformed their lives. Both parents try to make their daughters' lives as "normal" as possible, with set times for studying, going to bed and getting up. "My first priority will always be to make sure that our girls are healthy and grounded," Michelle said. "Then I want to help other families get the support they need, not just to survive, but to thrive."
Both Malia and Sasha attend the Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school in Washington, D.C. They seem to be living a fairly normal teenage existence despite their extraordinary circumstances. Michelle and Barack have certain rules that the girls are expected to follow, such as having to eat their vegetables and strict limits on how long and when they can use the computer or watch television.
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Influential Women of Washington
View groupWhen the 19th Amendment was ratified, women were finally given the right to vote, and over the years many courageous women have stepped onto the national political stage as well. In 1916, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress and almost a century later Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina woman to serve on the Supreme Court. And within the last two decades, the esteemable Hillary Clinton has served as First Lady, a New York senator and Secretary of State. These women, and many more, are setting the stage for the future of female leaders in Washington.
Visit Biography.com's Women's History group to explore more biographies, photos and videos of some the world's most fascinating women."
Influential Women of Washington 73 people in this group
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U.S. First Ladies
View groupThe wives of U.S. presidents are often important American figures in their own right. Although they have no official responsibilities, first ladies are a highly visible part of U.S. government. The role of the first lady has evolved over the centuries, from hostess of the White House to advocates for public policy. Learn about the different causes first ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama have championed over the years, from literacy to addiction to health care reform.
U.S. First Ladies 45 people in this group
