Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (1964– ), born in Chicago, Illinois, is a lawyer, a writer, and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international girls education. She is the wife of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady and is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha. After graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she joined a Chicago law firm, where she later met Barack. Turning her career focus toward community service, she later worked for the City of Chicago, AmeriCorps, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. As America’s First Lady, she launched several community service efforts: Let’s Move!, a nationwide effort that addresses childhood obesity; with Dr. Jill Biden, Joining Forces, a nationwide rally around service members, veterans, and their families that supports them through opportunities for wellness, education, and employment; Reach Higher Initiative, which inspires young Americans to complete their education past high school; and with President Obama, Let Girls Learn, a U.S. government-wide initiative that helps educate and empower girls throughout the world. In her post-First Lady years, she has remained an advocate for the issues behind these efforts. Her memoir, Becoming, was released in late 2018. She previously wrote American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, which was published in 2012.
