Nationwide — Former First Lady Michelle Obama supports her daughter Malia’s decision to drop the Obama surname as she begins her film career. She said Malia wants to succeed on her own, without being tied to her parents’ name.
At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Malia debuted her short film The Heart using the name “Malia Ann.” On the Sibling Revelry podcast, Michelle shared that Malia made this choice to create space for her own identity as a filmmaker.
“She took off her last name,” Michelle said, according to Deadline. “And we were like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia.’ But we respected the fact that, you know, she’s trying to make her way.”
Michelle added that both Malia, 25, and Sasha, 23, have always wanted to earn their own achievements and avoid the assumption that their success comes from privilege.
“It’s 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. They’re very sensitive to that. They want to be their own people,” she added.
Before directing The Heart, Malia worked as a staff writer on the Amazon Prime series Swarm. Her short film tells the story of a man mourning his mother’s death while dealing with a strange final request she left behind.
Michelle noted that it’s common for children of well-known parents to want to step out of their family’s shadow. She said Malia’s decision was about giving people a chance to view her work without any bias linked to her last name.