Now college-aged, former President Barack Obama's oldest daughter Malia is branching
out and making headlines of her own.
From life in the White House, to accolades from celebrities, and a budding love of fashion,
here's what you don't know about Malia Obama.
Not a spoiled First Daughter
Just because she was one of the first daughters, doesn't mean Malia was spoiled.
While she and her sister Sasha got a small allowance, it came with responsibilities.
Barack told People,
"Originally, we were giving her a dollar a week as long as she did all her chores."
But if you thought the girls got special treatment once they moved into the White House, you'd
be wrong.
According to The New York Times, the Obama girls still had to clean their rooms.
Michelle's mother revealed her White House experience, telling CBS,
"I talked them into allowing me to do my own laundry."
"You were doing your own laundry?"
"Yes"
"And she taught the girls how to do their laundry."
Barack told Barbara Walters that, while his daughters are, of course, special to their
family,
"[…] they're not special, you know in terms of having to do their homework or having to
do chores."
Michelle added that her direction to White House staff was:
"Don't make their beds.
Make mine."
Kicking around with her favorite sport
Prior to moving into the White House, People reported that Malia was already busy with
soccer and tennis, as well as piano and dancing.
Barack told the magazine,
"Malia loves soccer, but she's still so tall and gangly compared to some of these little
kids who are zipping around her."
Malia and Sasha are also fans of pro soccer and wanted to meet Argentinian legend Lionel
Messi when they traveled to Argentina with their father.
Unfortunately, not even the U.S. president can interrupt an international sports schedule,
and the Obama girls missed their chance.
America's birthday girl
When your father's a politician and you happen to share a birthday with America, your special
day might not feel so special.
"Their whole lives were spent trying to have a normal life"
"with a security detail"
The Chicago Tribune reported Malia spent many of her July 4th birthdays in hotel rooms,
celebrating in between her father's appearances.
In 2007, she was following her dad around Iowa, and in 2008, the paper reported,
"She spent the evening in a Holiday Inn Express hotel room in Montana.
During a break in campaigning, the family partied in the hotel room, ordering in dinner
and a birthday cake […]."
But don't feel too bad for her.
According to People magazine in 2016, at Malia's 18th birthday bash, Kendrick Lamar and Janelle
Monae were there to celebrate.
Getting political
Instead of heading to college right after graduating high school in 2016, Malia took
a year off, but kept very busy.
She interned at the U.S. Embassy in Spain, according to Fox News, and also got involved
with events focused on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
In an interview with Seth Meyers, Shailene Woodley revealed that Malia attended a gathering
at the Sundance Film Festival, saying,
"She was at Sundance to hear what the chairman from Standing Rock had to say, and some of
the water protectors had to say."
Woodley added,
"It was neat to see her be invested personally and separately from her family in these causes"
A-list accolades
Given her parents, it's no surprise Malia got an internship in politics, but her real
interest isn't in Washington, it's in Hollywood.
During her gap year between high school and college, she also worked as an intern at The
Weinstein Company.
It wasn't her first gig in showbiz.
Back in 2014, she got to work as a production assistant on the set of Halle Berry's Extant.
Berry told Andy Cohen that Malia did everything a PA would be asked to do, adding,
"She was amazing.
She is such a smart and beautiful young woman …look at who her mother and her father are,
so duh"
Then in 2015, Malia once again proved she was up to the task when she worked on the
set of HBO's Girls.
Lena Dunham told Howard Stern,
"She is so smart.
[…] She wanted to do all the jobs.
That was the cool thing."
An icon in the making
She may fly under the radar, but Malia's fashion sense hasn't gone unnoticed.
"The first time you see your daughter in heels is a little bit jarring"
Though her mother is the one who has been called a fashion icon, Malia seems to be following
in those stylish footsteps.
The New York Times noted in 2015,
"For all the style credit Malia is garnering, there's still a sense that she is closely
mirroring her trendsetting mother."
Since that time, Malia has come into her own, with an evolving style certainly befitting
a fashion icon in the making.
In 2017, InStyle noted her flawless looks, even as a college co-ed.
And both she and her sister Sasha have been praised for their trending fashion since leaving
the White House.