A look into Malia Obama's Hollywood career: watch her movies and TV shows
Malia Obama went from the White House to Hollywood.
The 25-year-old writer and producer hopes to make a name for herself in the entertainment world without ties to her powerful family. As the eldest daughter of the former president Barack Obama And Michelle Obamashe now goes by her middle name: Malia Ann.
The Harvard alum debuted with her first short film, titled The heartwhich she wrote and directed, at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18. In a “meet the artist” video released by Sundance, Malia said her short film is about “lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret.”
“But I also think it's working hard to discover where tenderness and connection can exist in these things,” she added, explaining that she hopes the 18-minute film “makes you feel a little less alone, or at least reminds you that you don't have to. forget the people who are.”
Prior to her film debut, Malia had already written once for Prime Video's critically acclaimed 2023 series Swarmwho played a leading role Dominique Visback, Billie Eilish And Chloe Bailey, among other things. The miniseries was produced by Donald Glover's film production company, Gilga, which also produced Malia's directorial debut.
“I feel like she's just someone who's going to experience some really good things soon,” he said of Malia during a March 2023 meeting. GQ cover story. “The first thing we did was talk about the fact that she will only do this once. “You are Obama's daughter. So if you make a bad movie, it will haunt you.'”
As for her experience with Swarm, The show made headlines when it was announced that the former first daughter would be joining the writers' room.
“She is a very professional person. She is an incredible writer and artist.” Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers said about Malia in a March 2023 interview with Vanity fair. “We really wanted to give her the opportunity to get her feet wet on TV and see if this is something she wants to continue doing.”
Despite her pedigree, Glover insisted that they treated the former first daughter just like any other member of the creative team.
'We can't make it easy for her just because she has the [former] The president's daughter,” he said VF in March 2022. “No, she is very down to earth and cool. So it's not a problem at all.”
The former President and First Lady have also transitioned into the entertainment world after launching their company Higher Ground Productions, which released the Oscar-nominated biopic Rustin last year and Netflix's Leaving the world behind.
Scroll to see an overview of Malia's Hollywood career so far.
What did Malia Obama write?
The former first daughter was a writer Swarma show created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, and she wrote a short film in 2024 called The heart.
What did Malia Obama direct?
She wrote and directed her first short film The heartwhich was released on January 18, 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival.
Did Malia Obama study filmmaking?
She graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies, but Malia started gaining experience on TV sets before graduating high school.
Malia was a production assistant for Halle Berry's CBS show, Existing, in 2014 prior to her freshman year of high school. Prior to her senior year, she also worked as a college intern in New York City Girlscreated by and starring Lena Dunhamin July 2015.
“Obviously we didn't force her to get our coffee,” Dunham told Sirius XM's.The Howard Stern Show' in 2017. 'But she wanted to do all the jobs, that was the fun part. She was completely enthusiastic.”
Before starting her college education at Harvard, Malia reportedly interned at The Weinstein Company, a major Hollywood production company at the time, in February 2017. (Founder Harvey WeinsteinThe #MeToo scandal didn't make headlines until October, after which Malia left to start her freshman year.)
What is her professional name?
Malia Ann is the credit that appears on her projects. The former first daughter appears to be dropping her recognizable last name.