2024-07-05 19:19:42
Almost 20 years ago, Michelle Obama came into the political spotlight alongside her husband Barack. Not only her role, but also her look has changed since then.
The rumor mill in Washington is bubbling: No sooner had the “New York Times” spoken of a possible withdrawal of Joe Biden from the race for the US presidential candidacy than a denial came from the White House. But speculation about possible alternatives for Biden continues – at least since his disastrous performance in the TV debate against Donald Trump.
Many Democrats are pinning their hopes on Michelle Obama. The wife of former US President Barack Obama is repeatedly mentioned as a possible candidate. She herself has so far declined to apply. However, the mother of two has increasingly stepped out of the shadow of her influential partner in recent years.
Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964. She grew up in a working-class district of Chicago. Her father was a butcher, then a machinist, and her mother a secretary. Most of her ancestors came from the southern United States as former slaves. The American had great ambitions from a young age: she ignored a teacher’s advice not to set her goals too high as a black child – and applied to the elite Princeton University. There, Obama earned a degree in sociology and African-American studies. She then studied law at Harvard, which she successfully completed in 1988.
Michelle Obama then worked as a lawyer at the renowned law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband Barack. The couple married in October 1992, and their daughters Malia and Sasha completed the family. The lawyer once said of the division of roles in her marriage: “I’m a loud mouth, I raise my husband. He’s incredibly smart, and he’s very capable of dealing with a strong woman. Being able to deal with me is one of the reasons why he’s suitable to be president.”
Barack Obama has also repeatedly said in the past that his political career would not have been possible without his wife Michelle. She not only supported him as an advisor, but also wrote and edited his speeches. “Without Michelle, I would not have been able to do anything I have accomplished in my life. She was not only a great First Lady, she is simply my rock. I count on her every day in so many areas,” the politician explained on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2011.
For Michelle Obama, it was therefore a matter of course to get involved in the election campaign. She often took the microphone herself at her husband’s appearances – as was the case in July 2007 in the US state of Iowa. The pictures from a rally show that the American opted for a much more casual look at the time. She combined black high-waisted trousers with a white spaghetti strap top. She wore her hair in a shoulder-length bob, and a black hairband prevented strands from falling into her face.
Her hairstyle was always a big issue for Michelle Obama: Her hair styling was often seen as a political statement. In the USA, African-American women still report that they are discriminated against because of their naturally curly hair. When her husband took office, the politician’s wife therefore decided to straighten her hair. The American population had “just gotten used to” the fact that a black presidential family lived in the White House – they were “not ready” for curly Afro hair, Obama once said in an interview with US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Her inconspicuous hairstyle allowed the government to concentrate on her husband’s agenda instead of answering critical questions about the First Lady’s hair.