More than a decade after moving into the White House, the sisters returned to center stage as the Obama family’s legacy was celebrated in Chicago
As former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the long-awaited Obama Presidential Center on June 18, two familiar faces drew attention alongside them: their daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, who have largely stayed out of the public eye since their years in the White House.
Malia and Sasha joined their parents for the dedication ceremony at the new 19-acre campus in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, where thousands gathered to celebrate a project nearly a decade in the making. The event featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Jennifer Hudson, and also drew former presidents, foreign leaders and longtime friends of the Obama family.
Michelle Obama acknowledged her girls’ presence in a loving tribute: “To our daughters, Malia and Sasha, who will always be my babies. Even though we’re no longer playing hide and seek on the South Lawn with Bo, or hosting sleepovers in the solarium … You both have grown into such brilliant and beautiful young women, making your way out there in the world. Thank you for bringing so much joy and spirit and energy to a life you had no voice in choosing and for making us proud every step of the way.”
The sisters’ appearance highlighted how much time has passed since the Obamas first arrived in Washington in 2009 and reflected the legacy now being commemorated in Chicago.
Malia was 10 and Sasha was 7 when their dad was first inaugurated.
In the years since leaving Washington, both sisters have forged paths outside politics. Malia, 27, graduated from Harvard University in 2021 and has established herself in the entertainment industry, working as a writer and director. Professionally, she goes by her first and middle names, Malia Ann.
“Her first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals, and she didn’t use Obama as a director on the credits,” her father said on the “The Pivot Podcast.”
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“I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are,’” Obama recalled telling his daughter. “And she was like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.”
Sasha, 25, earned a sociology degree from the University of Southern California in 2023, according to the Los Angeles Times. She has maintained a lower public profile than her older sister, keeping details of her professional life private.
In a 2020 interview with InStyle, Obama spoke admiringly of Sasha’s independent streak.
“Sasha is, as Malia describes it, completely confident about her own take on the world and is not cowed or intimidated — and never has been — by anybody’s titles, anybody’s credentials,” he said.“If she thinks something’s wrong or right, she will say so.”
