Barack Obama understands why Malia Obama wanted a stage name. When debuting her film The Heart at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in February, the 26-year-old daughter of the former president and Michelle Obama opted to drop the last name Obama , instead using her middle name and going by Malia Ann . And according to Barack—who is also dad to Sasha Obama , 23—her choice didn't surprise him.
"The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all," Barack confessed on the Oct. 29 episode of The Pivot Podcast . "I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff.
They're very stubborn about it." When he saw that Malia was choosing to be credited without her last name , he warned her that people would still know they were related. "I was all like, ‘You do know they'll know who you are,'" the 63-year-old explained.
"And she's all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.' So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that." But still, Barack has noticed that his daughters have gained more public attention since entering adulthood and exploring their passions.
"Now, as they've gotten older, there's been some paparazzi stuff going on, and it drives them nuts," he said, "because their attitude is, ‘We're not looking for all that.' So they're grounded." For Barack and Michelle —who are also working in Hollywood with their film company Higher Ground Productions— making sure that Malia a.