Malia Obama is getting red, white and birthday wish celebrations.
The 26-year-old, whose birthday is July 4, received heartwarming messages and throwback photos from her father, former President Barack Obama, and her mother, former first lady Michelle Obama, on Instagram.
"Happy birthday, Malia," her father captioned his post, which featured an old photo of the father and daughter hand-in-hand. "One of the greatest joys of my life is watching you grow into the extraordinary woman you’ve become today — and the fact that you’re still willing to hold your dad’s hand in public!"
Michelle shared similar sentiments on Instagram, posting a sweet baby photo of her eldest child.
"Happy birthday, Malia!" Michelle wrote. "No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my little pea and I’ll always be proud of you. You deserve the world and more."
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are the proud parents of two daughters: Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.
Read on to learn more about their two kids.
Malia Obama
Malia Ann Obama was born on July 4, 1998, in Chicago, Illinois.
According to NBCNews, she graduated from the prestigious Sidwell Friends school in the District of Columbia in 2016. She then took a gap year before enrolling at Harvard University in 2017.
Speaking to InStyle in 2020, her father described her personality as “buoyant.”
“She’s somebody who enjoys people, enjoys life and enjoys conversation. She’s never bored, which is a bad--- quality that can take you places,” he added.
Nowadays, she has been using her time to write and direct new movies and TV shows.
In 2024, she attended the Sundance Film Festival and debuted her short film, “The Heart,” which she wrote and directed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is about a grieving son whose mother left him with an unusual request in her will.
“The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things,” Malia said in a video to promote the movie.
“We hope you enjoy the film and it makes you feel a bit less lonely, or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are,” she added.
She is also credited with being a writer on Donald Glover’s TV series “The Swarm.”
In a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, Grover praised her writing abilities.
“She’s just like, an amazingly talented person,” he said. “She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard.”
“I feel like she’s just somebody who’s going to have really good things coming soon,” Glover added. “Her writing style is great.”
In July 2023, Barack and Michelle wished Malia a happy 25th birthday on Instagram.
In his post, Barack shared a sweet photo of the two hugging one another. “Happy birthday to this talented, hilarious, and beautiful young woman. Malia, I hope 25 brings you everything you’re looking for and more," he penned the caption.
Michelle's post at the time featured a throwback photo of her and Malia together.
“Happy birthday, Malia!” she captioned the picture. “I feel so lucky to be your mom and to be able to watch you become the wonderful young woman you are today. Love you so much!”
Sasha Obama
Barack and Michelle welcomed their second daughter, Natasha “Sasha” Obama, on June 10, 2001. Like her sister, Malia, Sasha was born in Chicago.
In his 2020 InStyle interview, Barack told the outlet that he admires his youngest for her independence and commitment to her views.
“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. If she thinks something’s wrong or right, she will say so,” he said.
“When she was 4, 5, 6 years old, once she made a decision, she would dig in and couldn’t be steered off it. I write about it in the book, how we were trying to get her to taste caviar when we were visiting Russia,” he said, referencing his memoir, “A Promised Land."
“She was like, ‘No. Sorry. That looks slimy. It’s nasty. I’m not going to do it — even if I’ve got to give up dessert.’ And that part of her character has always been there.”
In a 2019 interview with People, Michelle recalled what it was like to see her youngest mature.
“Time just goes so fast,’’ she said. “But like so many experiences in the last ten years, we wanted to make it feel as normal as possible, given our family’s circ*mstances.
“It was of course a little emotional to drop Sasha off at college," she added. "It’s an adjustment to see each other for a weekend here, a holiday break there, but the moments we do spend together feel extra special because of it."
According to Los Angeles Times, Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California with a sociology degree in May 2023.
For Sasha's 22nd birthday, her parents both gave her sweet shout-outs online.
"Where does the time go? Happy birthday, Sasha!" Barack wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
He featured the post with a throwback of the two together.
"It’s been the greatest gift to watch you become such a confident, intelligent, and beautiful young woman. Can’t wait to see what this year ahead brings you."
In her own post to X, Michelle wrote "Happy birthday to my baby girl! Sasha, you bring so much light and joy to our lives — always have, always will. I’m so excited to see what this new year will bring you. Love you so much!"
Joyann Jeffrey
Joyann Jeffrey is a trending news reporter based in New York City
Alex Portée
contributed
.
