Malia Obama, the eldest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama, is building her own career in film and keeping her parents at arm’s length when it comes to her creative projects.
Filmmaking Career
At 27, Malia has already made her mark in the industry. She worked as a writer on the Donald Glover series Swarm and made her directorial debut with the 2023 short film The Heart. Despite her growing accomplishments, she reportedly prefers to navigate her career independently, without inviting her parents to participate in her work.
Parents’ Perspective
Michelle Obama revealed on her IMO podcast, hosted with her brother Craig Robinson, that Malia “will never invite us to anything that she does” regarding her film projects. Steven Spielberg, a guest on the podcast, noted that the set of his latest film, Disclosure Day, was the first set Barack Obama ever visited.
He joked about “scooping” Malia by attending before she could invite her parents, to which Michelle confirmed that Malia simply “doesn’t want us around her stuff.”
Michelle added that Barack can be “a bully” when it comes to seeing her films, joking that he threatens to watch them only on an iPhone if he isn’t among the first to view them. Spielberg also noted Barack’s playful insistence on watching vertically rather than horizontally to further tease his daughter.
On Set with Barack Obama
Despite Malia’s independent streak, Barack did visit the set of Disclosure Day. Spielberg described the moment as unforgettable, explaining that the cast, many of whom had never met the former president, were struck silent by his presence. The experience was described as both surreal and “a bit of a religious experience” for the actors, highlighting the respect and admiration they held for him.
About Disclosure Day
The film, set to release on June 12, stars Emily Blunt, Eve Hewson, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Josh O’Connor, and Elizabeth Marvel. It tells the story of a Kansas City TV meteorologist, played by Emily Blunt, who experiences a mysterious extraterrestrial phenomenon while delivering a live weather report, creating chaos both on-air and in her personal life.
