Malia Ann Obama

Malia Ann Obama, known professionally as Malia Ann, is the eldest daughter of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, and was born in Chicago. She grew up in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood with her younger sister, Sasha, and attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. In 2009, when her father assumed the presidency, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Malia enrolled at Sidwell Friends School. She graduated in 2016 and went on to study at Harvard University, earning a degree in history in 2021.

From an early age, Malia was in the public eye, and her style, public appearances and academic milestones often made headlines. In 2015, she interned on the set of HBO’s “Girls” and later worked as a production assistant on CBS’s “Extant.” She also interned at The Weinstein Company, gaining behind-the-scenes experience in the entertainment industry.

In 2021, Malia joined the writers’ room for Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime Video series “Swarm,” co-writing the episode “Girl, Bye,” which was praised for its originality and bold storytelling. In 2023, she made her directorial debut with the short film “The Heart,” which she also wrote. Starring Tunde Adebimpe and LaTonya Borsay, the film explored themes of grief and human connection, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and later screening at Sundance.

Choosing to be credited professionally as Malia Ann, she made the decision to drop her last name in an effort to establish her own creative identity. In 2025, she expanded her directing work with a Nike commercial featuring WNBA star A’ja Wilson for the “A’One” sneaker campaign.

Now an emerging voice in film and television, Malia continues to focus on storytelling that blends emotional depth with cultural resonance. While she keeps much of her personal life private, her growing body of work signals a deliberate path toward making her mark on the entertainment world on her own terms.