Malia Obama: activist, globe-trotter, gossip topic – 5 things to know about Barack and Michelle Obama’s eldest daughter
Harvard University student and former first daughter has attended equality and Dakota Pipeline protests – and has made headlines by being pictured kissing her boyfriend Rory Farquharson, smoking, and underage drinking
Malia Obama was only 11 years old when her father become US president in 2009 and the family moved into the White House. But under the protection of her parents Barack and Michelle Obama, the lives of Malia and her younger sister Sasha remained something of a mystery. Despite still being chaperoned by Secret Service agents, the public is now getting more of a glimpse into the world of the former first daughter.
Here’s what you need to know about her journey from her hometown Chicago, to Washington DC and beyond.
She’s a globe-trotter
Born July 4, 1998, Malia Obama’s birthday falls on America’s biggest holiday. But Malia has always been keen to explore far beyond the borders of her country. She has spent summers in the UK with her British boyfriend, interning at the US embassy in Spain and travelling to many countries with her family. One of those places includes Indonesia, where Barack Obama spent some of his childhood. In May 2019, Michelle Obama, talking about a picture of them from Venice, Italy, said that she encourages her children to travel to seek out “new perspectives”. She said that by “reaching outside of our comfort zones, we can discover more about ourselves”.
She’s an activist
In 2017, when Malia was just 18, Sundance Film Festival attendees were shocked to see her there, protesting against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which could have dire consequences on the environment and encroach on Native American land. Malia also joined her family to march for equality on Juneteenth in 2019 – a holiday to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which ordered all slaves to be freed.
She’s following in her parents’ academic footsteps