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By Bridgette Bartlett Royall ·Updated May 15, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama does not waste words. The confident Chi-Town Capricorn has accumulated a plethora of impressive accomplishments in her 62 years of life. She and her husband, our Forever POTUS Barack Obama, are a power couple for the ages. She’s received two Ivy League degrees and become a senior level executive in various capacities as a talented attorney. She is the mom of two beautiful young adult daughters, Malia and Sasha. She’s a supportive sister and fierce Double Dutch jumper. She also happens to be our Forever FLOTUS and she’s heading to NOLA in July for the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture®.
Since the IMO Podcast with her older brother Craig Robinson debuted last March, fans can’t get of the duo’s palpable chemistry with guests who have included everyone from award-winning singer Monica to WNBA star Angel Reese to film and TV mastermind Mara Brock Akil. Whether discussing touchy topics like romantic love to tough career decisions to the sometimes slippery slope of family dynamics, the Forever First Lady meets her guests where they are and delivers tips on navigating the ups and downs of life with candor and care.
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We’re super eager to see Mrs. Obama deliver all this goodness irl in New Orleans this summer! In the meantime, here are 7 quotes from our Forever FLOTUS about love, death, family, aging and more.
ON MARRIAGE“Marriage is a choice you make every day. You don’t do it because it’s easy. You do it because you believe in it. You believe in the other person.” –ESSENCE Festival of Culture®, July 2019
ON MOTHERHOOD“I got pregnant once and miscarried, which was devastating. And then we tried and tried and tried, and we had to do IVF for both girls. I don’t know about all of you, but I know that when I struggled to conceive, I took that on, like a personal failure.” – IMO Podcast, May 2026
ON AGING + WELLNESS“I’m not wincing at my gray hairs, but I am coloring them! My mother was the same way. She dyed her hair until the day she died. I don’t really do much else. Fortunately, black don’t crack. But my health has always been paramount—what I eat, working out, regular doctors’ visits, all the things that allow me to enjoy this time. I’m as vibrant as I’ve ever been. – PEOPLE, October 2025
ON STYLE“Long before I knew that my look might mean something to others, I spent many years figuring out what it meant to me. Whether it was picking out a back-to-school dress as a young girl, going to prom in a gown designed by me and hand sewn by my mother, or walking across my college campus in braids and denim, those first > Instagram, November 2025
ON SOCIAL MEDIA OVERSHARING“The fact that people don’t see me going out on a date with my husband sparks rumors of the end of our marriage. It’s like, “OK, so we don’t Instagram every minute of our lives. We are 60. We’re 60, y’all. You just are not gonna know what we’re doing every minute of the day.” – NPR, June 2025
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ON HAVING A NURTURING VILLAGE“I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning are loved and nurtured by the people around them.” – In conversation with students, 2011
ON DEATH“[My mother] leaned over to me and she said, “Wow, this went fast.” And I held her hand, I said, “What are you talking about?” And she said, “Life.” She said, “This went fast.” This was the woman who was ready.” – NPR, June 2025
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