Born: 17 January 1964, United States
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
Michelle Obama turned 45 just three days before her husband was sworn into office in 2009 and she and her daughters became the country’s first African American First Family. In addition to being a lawyer and bestselling author, Obama advocated for causes like girls’ education, supporting veterans and military families, and fighting childhood obesity. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, her parents instilled in her the belief that “the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” Earning her Bachelor’s from Princeton and law degree from Harvard, she was often one of few African Americans in white-dominated spaces.
Returning to Chicago to practice law in 1988, she soon became involved in public service. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development for the city before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares young people for public service. In 1996, she took on the role of associate dean of student services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the university’s first community service program. In 2002, she began working for the university’s Medical Center, becoming the vice president of community and external affairs in 2005.
In her capacity as First Lady, Obama was known for initiatives like Let’s Move!, which worked to encourage more physical activity in children and ensure more nutritious food in schools, provide healthy and affordable food in underserved communities—often known as “food deserts”—and plant fruit and vegetable gardens across the country (including Obama’s own in the White House South Lawn, whose produce was donated to soup kitchens and food banks). Her Reach Higher program helped students understand career opportunities and the skills and education needed to pursue different careers, and she encouraged young people to follow educational paths in technical schools and community colleges as well as universities. She was also a champion for girls’ and women’s education globally.
Obama built a reputation as a powerful public speaker in her own right, with eminently quotable lines like “when they go low, we go high.” She sparked controversy in 2016 at the Democratic National Convention when she pointed out that, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.” While she refrained by necessity from being what one might call “too honest” for politics during her husband’s terms, she would be much more candid about the racism that she and her family faced in her memoir.
After leaving the White House in 2017, Obama released her autobiography Becoming, which became one of the top-selling memoirs in history and led to a documentary of the same name, released in 2020. Her second book, 2022’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, was also a bestseller. She has served as executive producer on a range of film and television projects, from children’s shows to documentaries to the Oscar-nominated biopic Rustin (2023) about activist Bayard Rustin.