(44) Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

 

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

Birthdate

01/17/1964

Death date

N/A

President

Barack Obama

Dates of service

01/20/2009-01/20/2017

Relationship to president

Spouse

Other marriages

N/A

 

Websites

The White House: Michelle Obama

Barack Obama Presidential Library Biography of Michelle Obama

Papers/letters collections

Becoming American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America

Michelle Obama Documents in the American Presidency Project

Book: Becoming

Book: American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America

Historical sites

National Portrait Gallery: Michelle Obama

National Museum of American History Michelle Obama Exhibit

Fascinating details

  • First African American first lady of the United States.
  • She received her B.A. from Princeton University in 1985 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988 before specializing in intellectual property law as a junior associate at Sidley & Austin LLP in Chicago. She met Barack Obama at this firm.
  • Became assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1991 and later held multiple positions at the University of Chicago.
  • Pioneered the “Let's Move!” initiative, geared at reducing childhood obesity.
  • Teamed up with then vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, to initiate programs to help military families, Joining Forces, being the most effective. 
  • She hired a full-time speechwriter, Sarah Hurwitz.
  • Michelle broke from expectations when she personally attacked Donald J. Trump for his intolerance and plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
  • Noted as the “Most Admired Woman in the United States” by the Gallup Poll for the years 2018-2020.

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