Former First Daughter Malia Obama Drops Last Name

By Joe Lombardi From Daily Voice

Malia Obama is making a name for herself. Literally.

The 26-year-old writer, filmmaker, and former first daughter is now using Malia Ann as her professional name.

She dropped her familiar last name in the credits of her short film The Heart, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. Ann is her middle name.

Her mother addressed the move publicly in an interview with actors Kate and Oliver Hudson in an episode of their podcast Sibling Revelry, saying she and former President Barack Obama fully support their daughters forging their own paths.

“They want to be their own people,” her mother, Michelle Obama, said, praising both Malia and her younger sister, 23-year-old Sasha Obama, for shaping identities outside the political spotlight.

"It is very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world," the former first lady said, "and they don't want people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're just handed things.

"They're very sensitive to that. They want to be their own people."