Earlier today it was announced that Malia Obama – the eldest daughter of former presidential pair Barack and Michelle – had made the decision to change her surname in public.
The action comes as the 26-year-old attempts to start a career for herself in an industry worlds away from that of her parents.
Apparently, Malia has her heart set on Hollywood, and has spent several years attempting to burst into entertainment.
Thankfully, her hard work paid up monumentally last year, and a short film she both wrote and directed – titled The Heart – published at the Sundance Film Festival. Malia’s name appeared in the credits – but with a twist.
As opposed to going by ‘Obama’, she was simply titled ‘Malia Ann’, using her middle name instead. But why?
According to mum Michelle, 61, the change forms part of Malia and her youngest daughter Sacha’s attempt to ‘repel’ from the political connotations of the surname.
She discussed the pair’s difficulty living a ‘normal’ life during their pinnacle teenage years because of their father’s position, which is spoken on Kate and Oliver Hudson’s podcast ‘Sibling Revelry’ earlier this wee
“Our daughters are 26 and 23,” Michelle shared.
“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.”
She continued to tell the pod’s presenters (who, themselves, are the children of singer Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn): “You guys know this as the children of parents who are known – 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, just handed things.”
The mother-of-two went on to add that her daughters are ‘very vurnerable to that’, and ‘want to be their own people’.”
“But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
This isn’t the first time that the Obamas have debated the heavy pressure that was previously positioned onto Malia and Sacha, who were just 10 and seven the first time their father was inaugurated into the White House.
The pair kept at the presidential residence until they turned 18 and 15, having grown up in a limelight that often had its major downsides.
“They complained about Secret Service as they became teenagers,” Barack, 63, told ABC News back in 2017.
“But as you might imagine, if you’re a teenager having a couple of people with microphones and guns always following you around, that could grate on them.”
The Democrat added: “But they’ve handled it with grace, and I give Michelle most of the credit for how well they’ve done.”
Four years later, during an appearance on The Late Late Show, he also debated the influence that high-profile security had had on his daughters’ upbringing.
“They still have PTSD from guys talking into their wrist microphones and glasses as they’re trying to go to a music concert,” Barack said.
