Malia Obama has suddenly decided to drop her father’s last name — the 26-year-old former first daughter has been using “Malia Ann” as her professional filmmaking name, including for her short film “The Heart” that premiered at Sundance in 2024.
Former first lady Michelle Obama discussed the decision during a Wednesday appearance on the “Sibling Revelry” podcast hosted by Kate and Oliver Hudson, and said she accepts Malia’s decision.
“They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years where it was the push away … they’re still doing that,” Michelle Obama said, referring to both Malia and her 23-year-old sister Sasha. “And you guys know, this is the children of parents who are known. You know, you’re trying to distinguish yourself.”
The former first lady said both daughters don’t like using the Obama name, and worry their success comes from family connections rather than their own work.
“It is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world. And they don’t want people to assume that they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally just handed things,” Obama said. “They’re very sensitive to that. They want to be their own people.”
“Her first project, she took off her last name and we were like, ‘they’re still going to know it’s you, Malia,'” Michelle said. “But we respected the fact that she’s trying to make her way.”
Former President Barack Obama made similar comments on “The Pivot” podcast in October, recalling telling Malia: “‘You do know they’ll know who you are.’ 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 [with the Obama last name].'”
The name change comes amid recent controversy over Malia’s work.
Independent filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris, 27, accused Malia of plagerizing her work — filming a Nike commercial that was “shockingly similar” to her film “Grace,” which also premiered at Sundance 2024.
“Been sitting with this for a while. My Sundance short film Grace (shot brilliantly by Tehillah de Castro) was made with deep love and care,” Harris wrote on social media. “The social cut of the new @Nike commercial directed by Malia Obama (who was also at Sundance my year) feels shockingly similar to my work…”
Harris said the Nike commercial featuring WNBA star A’ja Wilson depicted scenes of black girls playing pat-a-cake on stoops that mirrored her film’s composition, color palette, and camera angles. She revealed she crossed paths with Malia at the Sundance director’s brunch.
“If brands want a certain look, why not hire from the source instead of for name recognition?” Harris recently told Business Insider. “At first, I was confused, wondering whether it was real. Initially, I was disappointed and hurt — not just for myself but for my entire team.”
Malia faced no backlash over the plagiarism.
As far as dropping the family name, Michelle Obama said her daughters didn’t want to be “little princesses in the White House” anymore and needed independence. “They wanted to push the envelope; they needed some rope. They wanted to try some things, they wanted to be out in the world, and I knew that under the circumstances, they needed more rope than I probably would’ve given them if I were my mom,” Obama said.
Malia graduated from Harvard University and won the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize for excellence in art. Harris graduated from NYU in 2020 and had her thesis film bought by HBO.