Michelle Obama’s Birthday — 17 January

What is Michelle Obama’s Birthday?

On January 17, we celebrate Michelle Obama’s Birthday! As first lady, Michelle Obama won our hearts with inspiring speeches and acts of kindness. She encouraged young women to believe in their futures — promising that hard work can lead to endless possibilities. “When they go low, we go high.” 

History of Michelle Obama’s Birthday

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois to Fraser Robinson III and Marian Shields Robinson. Despite her high school adviser telling her not to set her sights too high in terms of applying to colleges, she and her older brother, Craig, both went to Princeton University, where Michelle majored in sociology and minored in African American studies, graduating cum laude with a BA in 1985. Michelle mentions that being at Princeton was the first time she was aware of her race and economic class, and despite the willingness of her classmates and teachers to reach out to her, she merely felt like a visitor on campus.

She then went on to receive her JD (Juris Doctor) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Her faculty mentor at Harvard Law was Charles Ogletree, who said that she had answered the questions plaguing her throughout Princeton by the time she arrived at Harvard: whether she would remain the product of her parents or keep the identity she had acquired at Princeton. She had come to the conclusion that she could be both brilliant and black. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. 

Michelle met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm: Sidley Austin LLP. She was assigned to mentor him while he was a summer associate, and though she didn’t immediately take romantic interest in him, he continued to impress and woo her throughout the short time they spent with each other.