Michelle Obama shares her honest thoughts on Malia dropping last name

Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News on Jun 5, 2025

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Former first lady Michelle Obama has opened up on her honest reaction to her eldest daughter, Malia, deciding to drop her last name.

Now going by Malia Ann, the former first daughter has adopted her middle name for her professional pursuits in Hollywood.

The new moniker appears in the credits of “The Heart,” the short film she wrote and directed. The 18-minute drama was screened at the Sundance Film Festival last year and had previously won the award for Best Live Action Short at the Chicago International Film Fest.

During an appearance on the latest episode of the “Sibling Revelry” podcast, Michelle finally broke her silence on Malia’s decision to ditch the Obama family name after leaving the White House in 2017.

“Our daughters (Malia and Sasha) are 25 and 23,” Michelle told co-hosts Kate and Oliver Hudson. “They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years where it was the push away. … They’re still doing that.”

Michelle remarked that the co-hosts likely understand exactly what it’s like to be the children of people who are famous. The Hudsons’ parents are actress Goldie Hawn and musician Bill Hudson, though both were primarily raised by Hawn and her longtime partner, Kurt Russell.

“It is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world, and they don’t want people to assume that they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally handed things,” she said of the potential for her daughteres to be labeled as nepo babies. “They’re very sensitive to that — they want to be their own people.”

The 61-year-old said she warned Malia that a name likely wouldn’t matter much, given that she’s still the widely recognized daughter of a former president. It didn’t change her mind, but Michelle respects that she’s “trying to make her way.”

Malia jumped headfirst in the entertainment industry after graduating from Harvard in 2021. She directed a Nike commercial that debuted earlier this year, and is credited as a writer on the NAACP Image Award-winning Amazon Prime series “Swarm.”