‘What’s in a name?’
According to Malia Ann, a truckload of weight due to hailing from a ‘well-known’ family.
What’s happening?
Barack and
Michelle Obama's daughters are out in the world and on the path to forge their own identities – away from the weight that comes with their surname, ‘Obama’.
Maila, 26, is pursuing her career in the entertainment industry, and the aspiring writer and filmmaker has already premiered her short film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. Earlier this year, she debuted an ad film she made for Nike.
However, when the credits roll, it’s not Malia Obama you see – instead, it’s Malia Ann.
In 2024, Barack and Michelle Obama’s eldest daughter made a deliberate choice to drop her famous last name, opting to go by ‘Malia Ann’ professionally. This decision was highlighted when her short film The Heart premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with her name appearing without the ‘Obama’ surname in the credits.
Why?
Well, although she hasn’t addressed it publicly, Malia's choice seems to reflect her desire to establish her own identity in the entertainment industry, separate from her parents' renowned legacy.
Why omit ‘Obama’?
Malia's decision to use only her first and middle names stems from a desire to avoid the ‘nepo baby’ label and to ensure her work is evaluated on its own merits.
In an interview, former President
Barack Obama shared that Malia expressed her wish for audiences to experience her film without preconceived notions tied to the Obama name. He acknowledged her determination, noting that both Malia and her sister, Sasha, 23, are ‘very sensitive’ and ‘stubborn’ about not leveraging their family name for professional gain. He shared that Malia's choice to forgo the ‘Obama’ surname was a conscious effort to have her work stand on its own.
What about parental support?
Despite the challenges of stepping out of the spotlight, Malia's parents, Barack and Michelle Obama, have expressed understanding and support for her decision. Michelle Obama emphasized the importance of earning achievements independently, while Barack Obama recognized Malia's desire to be assessed based on her work rather than her family connections.
In fact, Michelle recently opened up about her feelings regarding Malia dropping ‘Obama’ from her name on the podcast Sibling Revelry, hosted by fellow famous siblings Kate and Oliver Hudson, where she made an appearance with her brother and co-host of the ‘IMO’ podcast, Craig Robinson.
When Oliver asked the Robinson siblings whether they experienced moments with their children simultaneously expressing a desire to emulate their parents while also wanting to separate themselves from them completely, Michelle revealed that her daughters definitely went through that phase, and still do.
She said, "Where do we begin! Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women. But they definitely went through a period in their teen years…it was the 'push away.'"
She added, "They're still doing that, and you guys know this of children with parents who are known. You're trying to distinguish yourself. It's very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world."
Michelle continued, "And they don't want people to assume that they don't want to work hard, that they're just naturally handed things, they're very sensitive to that. They want to be their own people."
The former First Lady also referenced Malia's decision to drop her last name while debuting her short film at Sundance. "And we were like, 'They're still going to know it's you, Malia.' But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way."
However, Michelle shared that as they've gotten older, Malia and Sasha are now "embracing" the principles she and Barack imbibed in them as parents, plus their actions when they were younger. As per her, "They understand us as full human beings now in the same way that I discovered that about my parents."