Sasha Obama: 10 Facts About Barack & Michelle's Youngest Daughter

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Following her father Barack Obama's rise to the United States presidency in 2008, Sasha Obama — alongside her sister Malia Obama — instantly became one of the most high-profile children in the world. But although she occasionally accompanied her dad and mom, Michelle Obama, to state events, the youngster was largely kept out of the limelight: In fact, her parents admitted they regretted putting her in front of the cameras for a segment on "Access Hollywood" which aired shortly before they all moved into the White House.

Details about Sasha's life, therefore, are relatively scarce. There's been the odd nugget of inside information, of course, typically gleamed from an interview where Michelle, Barack, or both are feeling a little more relaxed. And from her college graduation ceremony to her career progress, several developments have occurred within the public domain. But on the whole, the twenty-something remains something of an enigma. Here are 10 interesting facts that we do know about the former First Daughter. 

Barack and Michelle Obama suffered every parent's worst nightmare in 2001 when their youngest daughter, Sasha Obama, contracted meningitis at just 3 months old. Thankfully, the tot made a complete recovery. But the health scare still continues to haunt both her mother and father.

"I will never forget," Michelle recalled (via NBC News) about the traumatic time in a 2013 interview with Rev. Al Sharpton. "It was a day when, you know, one hour she was fine, she was normal, she was happy, doing everything I was used to her doing and the next hour she was crying inconsolably, and that just wasn't like her. And I did everything." The former First Lady went on to describe how Sasha's symptoms developed, the rush to the emergency room, and how grateful she was to have had access to health insurance. "... I just can't put into words how important it is for every American, for every mother, for every person in this country to have health care, because you just never know what kind of curveballs life is going to throw you."

The year previously, Barack revealed in a campaign video that Sasha's battle with meningitis was the most difficult time of his life. "I still remember going to the hospital together and they had to give her a spinal tap," he said (via Politico). "Your world narrows to this very small point. There's one thing you care about and you don't care about anything else."

In 2024, the oft-tragic Sasha Obama received a credit on the psychoanalyst documentary series "Couples Therapy" as a casting interviewer. Not that you'd necessarily know it, for the former presidential daughter went under her real name of Natasha.

Yes, turns out that Sasha is just a nickname. And no doubt in a bid to draw less attention to herself and avoid the nepo baby discourse, she asked to be credited under her birth name. She isn't the only Obama to have gone back to her roots in such a manner, either. A year earlier, her older sister directed a short film, "The Heart," under her less familiar guise of Malia Ann.

Furthermore, this isn't the only alternative moniker that Sasha has been known by. As the youngest of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, she was allowed by the Secret Service to pick her own code name. According to Vanity Fair, the choice of "Rosebud" was inspired by the dying words of Orson Welles' titular hero in the silver screen classic "Citizen Kane," a film she immersed herself in after learning that her father was about to assume the highest office in the world. 

Sasha Obama was only 7 years old when her father Barack Obama's first presidential victory turned her whole young life upside down. And as a result, she made history when she and the rest of her family moved from the south side of Chicago into the White House.

Yes, in 2009, Sasha became the historic building's youngest resident since John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Kennedy — the offspring of the 35th POTUS John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy — first lived under its roof at the ages of 3 and 2 months, respectively, way back in 1961.

While promoting her memoir "Becoming," mom Michelle Obama told Stephen Colbert (via E! News) that she was determined to make Sasha and her oldest daughter Malia Obama's new lives as normal as possible. And this included making sure they continued to do their chores. "I had to beg the housekeepers, 'These girls have to learn how to clean their own rooms and make their beds and do their laundry. You cannot do this every day, 'cause they will not live here forever — and I am not raising kids that don't know how to make a bed.'" Nevertheless, Sasha and Malia's ridiculously lavish lives are still hard to believe.

No doubt that customers at Martha's Vineyard seafood restaurant Nancy's regularly did a double take in the summer of 2016. For one of the servers was none other than then-presidential daughter Sasha Obama.

Yes, shortly before she and the rest of her famous family were forced to vacate the White House, the teenager decided to get a taste of what life was like outside the realm of the U.S. political spectrum and land a seasonal job. And as a particular favorite of the Obamas whenever they visit the region — they are pals with its owner Joe Moujabber — the 350-seat Nancy's was a no-brainer. According to the Boston Herald, Sasha's duties during her four-hour early shift included waiting tables, using the cash register, and helping with pre-opening hours preparation.

Barack and Michelle Obama had often spoken about how they tried to make their kids' lives as normal as they could. Of course, there was one slight giveaway that Sasha — who worked under her birth name of Natasha — wasn't a normal employee. "We were wondering why there were six people helping this girl, but then we found out who it was," one unnamed colleague told the newspaper, referring to the Secret Service representatives who watched the First Daughter's every move from either the benches outside or a stationary SUV.

Barack Obama is renowned for his witty speeches and roasting abilities, while Michelle Obama has gamely appeared on the likes of "Parks and Recreation" and "Billy on the Street." In fact, the married couple has now joined forces with Larry David to create a brand-new sketch show celebrating the history of America. But it turns out the real natural comedian in their family is Sasha Obama.

In a 2008 interview with People, Barack gushed about his youngest's uncanny ability to make him laugh, recalling one particular incident in which he and his daughters were sleeping late. "And Michelle, who wakes up early all the time, comes in and starts turning on the lights, jostling us and saying it's time to get up and dressed for school. And Sasha says, 'Awww, Mommy, we are peace!' She meant peaceful, I gather. So now, whenever Michelle and I want some quiet time, we say, 'We are peace! I am peace!'"

Sasha isn't afraid to mock her parents, either. Speaking to "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (1.10), Barack revealed that during one particular White House dinner, he enquired about the emerging Snapchat before launching into a serious debate about such apps' effect on society. "I came to find out that she was recording the whole time and then sent to her friends afterward: 'This is my dad lecturing us on the meaning of social media.' And she took a picture of herself, sort of looking bored."

As the daughter of the 44th POTUS, Barack Obama, and the granddaughter of his running mate, Joe Biden, Sasha Obama and Maisy Biden were inevitably going to enter each other's orbits. And they've remained firm friends ever since.

Indeed, the pair played basketball together in the fourth grade. The Vipers team, which counted Barack as its coach, held a joint graduation party and has been a constant source of support for each other as they've grown from children to young adults in the public eye. In an interview with TODAY shortly before Joe's inauguration ceremony, Maisy spoke of how her BFF and sister Malia Obama had set the perfect example as children in the White House: "You can only hope to do as well as they did because they just did it so beautifully."

And Sasha and Maisy still regularly hang out, as Barack confirmed in a 2021 appearance on "Armchair Podcast" while reminiscing (via People) about his brief spell as a basketball coach. "Maisy was like the LeBron of the league. She dominated. She was great, you know, and we went undefeated. The Vipers ruled." Further evidence that the pair are still total besties came three years later when the couple was spotted socializing at a bash for "Saturday Night Live" at New York nightspot Zuma, another example of how Sasha isn't even trying to hide her party girl lifestyle anymore.

Two years after Malia Obama graduated from Harvard University with a history degree, her younger sister also got the chance to wear a cap and gown in front of her nearest and dearest. Indeed, in 2023, Sasha Obama picked up her degree in sociology from the University of Southern California at a graduation ceremony, which inevitably made more headlines than usual.

Indeed, the Los Angeles Times dedicated a whole piece to the event — attended by Barack and Michelle Obama alongside Malia — asking many of Sasha's fellow students to comment on the day. "I wanted a picture [with the Obamas] so bad, but then they left early," an excitable Michelle Davies remarked at Allyson Felix Field. "If I would have gotten a picture, I would have passed out."

Sasha, who'd previously attended Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and the University of Michigan before transferring to USC, and her family were also accompanied by a team of Secret Service agents for the occasion. Several years previously, Michelle admitted to TODAY that she found bidding farewell to her youngest on her first day of college extremely tough: "It was at the end, after lunch, when we said that final goodbye, when we got into a car me, and Barack, and Malia — who was there with us — and then Sasha drove off on her own, and said that last goodbye, that's when we were like [mimics crying]."

Barack and Michelle Obama have always encouraged their children to think for themselves. And Sasha Obama, in particular, has undoubtedly taken this advice to heart. In fact, as her father told InStyle in 2020, the former First Daughter — whose smoking habit caused quite the drama — has been a strong independent woman since she was a tot.

"Sasha is, as Malia describes it, completely confident about her own take on the world and is not cowed or intimidated — and never has been — by anybody's titles, anybody's credentials," Barack said (via Elle). "If she thinks something's wrong or right, she will say so." The 44th President of the United States then recalled one particular moment that the family was in Russia when Sasha, then only kindergarten age, simply refused to taste caviar. "She was like, 'No. Sorry. That looks slimy. It's nasty. I'm not going to do it — even if I've got to give up dessert.' And that part of her character has always been there."

And Barack isn't the only member of his clan to recognize this fiercely independent spirit. "Sasha is more like Michelle," her maternal grandmother, Marian Robinson, claimed in a 2007 chat with People. "She's more determined. She's got her own mind made up."

In 2022, Michelle Obama revealed that Sasha — whose sassy behavior is worlds away from her sister's easy-going nature — and Malia Obama weren't always particularly close while growing up together in the White House. In an interview with TODAY, she said, "There was a period of time when they couldn't stand each other, and I said, 'You wait, you are going to wake up one day and you're going to look over at that other person, and you're going to know that you two share something very unique.'"

The sisters appeared to have taken their mom's advice on board, though. As that same year, they decided to move in together in Los Angeles, where Sasha — who has undergone an incredible transformation — was studying sociology and Malia was pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. "The thing that I love the most is that those two girls are each other's best friends," their proud mother gushed.

And the siblings also appear to have finally taken some of Michelle's domestic guidance on board, too. Remembering the cocktails soiree she and husband Barack Obama were invited to by their daughters, the former First Lady recalled laughing at one particular rule: "I'm like, 'You never used a coaster in my house.' So now when it's your stuff, you want to take care of it?"

Ever wondered how Barack Obama's annual playlist often seems to feature the coolest tracks of the year? Well, as he freely admits, the 44th always gets a little help from the younger generation, namely his muso youngest daughter Sasha Obama. However, as he revealed to "Good Luck America," there's a limit to her guidance.

"I pick up on some trends," Barack said (via People). "Sasha's more protective of her music. There's certain things on SoundCloud — She has a like a private playlist. She won't share all of it with me because she's not sure I'm hip enough to handle it." Indeed, her music tastes certainly seem to have matured since the days she was teenybopping to One Direction and Jonas Brothers. She's been spotted attending gigs by acts like Rihanna, Beyonce, and Jay-Z. And as her dad revealed on an episode of "My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman," she once even got the chance to bust some moves with Prince!

"This was probably three or four months before he died," Barack recalled (via E! News). "Prince asked Sasha to come up and dance — and she's an excellent dancer. Then Sasha pulls me up, which surprises me because she always mocks my dancing, but I have dad moves." While appearing on "Armchair Podcast," the ex-president revealed he's also routinely mocked by his family for failing to have his finger on the pulse, particularly if he mispronounces the name of Sasha's new favorite hip-hop star.