How Former President Barack Obama's Daughters Live Now: They Shop at Yard Sales & Are Budget-Savvy

• Malia and Sasha Obama, daughters of former President Barack Obama, embrace independent living with budget-savvy choices.
• Raised amid political scrutiny, the sisters grew into smart and compassionate young women.
• Malia and Sasha maintain a low profile, relishing adulthood away from the public eye.

Former US president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama went through a challenging time to have their daughters Malia and Natasha, who is commonly called Sasha. Michelle opened up about her fertility challenges in her memoir "Becoming."

She noted that even two committed people with deep love and great work ethics could not will themselves into being pregnant. When Michelle finally conceived, the author had a miscarriage weeks later.

She recalled her feelings at that time, "I felt lost and alone, and I feel l felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were because we don't talk about it. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow, we're broken."

Michelle, who shared these details in an exclusive interview, eventually conceived her daughters via in vitro fertilization (IVF) after undergoing fertility treatments when she was 34 and 35.

Malia Ann Obama was born on July 4, 1998. Her sibling, Natasha Marian Obama, was born on June 10, 2001, after a single round of IVF. Her mother named her Sasha because she thought the name had a sassy ring.

After welcoming their kids, Michelle and Barack had to raise them in the public eye due to their high-profile political careers. Protecting kids from the public was challenging because of 24-hour news sites, gossip magazines, and celebrity bloggers looking for the tiniest bit of information.

Michelle remembered how tiny their daughters were when Barack became the president of the US. "It still moves me to tears to think about the first day I put them in the car with their Secret Service agents to go to their first day of school," she narrated.

The author, who wondered what she was doing to her young babies, knew right then that her first job as first lady would be to ensure her children would be whole, regular, and cared for amid all the craziness that came with politics.

Years after Barack's presidential term ended, he joked that his daughters have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from Secret Service agents accompanying them to dates and music concerts while talking into their microphones and wearing dark glasses. Barack went on to say that due to this trauma, the girls would probably never go into public service.

Nevertheless, as per Michelle and Barack's friends, the girls' parents strove to give them a normal upbringing as much as possible and keep them grounded. Barack recalled that one time, when Malia was six, and they were walking along a lake as they held hands, the young girl told her father that she didn't want to be "really rich. I think I want to live a simple life."

Michelle and Barack also didn't give birthday presents to their kids as they wanted to teach some limits to them. However, they held sleepovers for the girls, and their friends would bring them so many presents that it just became numbing.

Maisy Biden, Joe Biden's granddaughter, is also one of Sasha's best friends. The two have been close friends since they were little, having shared their childhood in Washington, DC.

Susan Davis, Michelle's friend, said the couple worked hard to ensure their kids didn't become spoilt or self-important. Sasha and Malia seemed like children, as they didn't act entitled. Even with intense public interest, their parents wanted to conserve normalcy and privacy in their daughters' lives.

For example, Barack gave Malia a weekly allowance of $1, which she would only receive if she did all her chores. Some of the tasks the girls were required to do included cleaning up their closet of toys and the half of the third floor where they played. They also set the table, did dishes, and practiced piano daily.

Malia and Sasha learned to make their beds as soon as they were old enough. Their bedtime was 8 p.m., and they would set their alarms and get themselves up for school in the morning. The girls, who cleaned their rooms, were also excited to have a pet. They would walk their dog and pick up its poop.

Barack got his daughters interested in books early, just as his mom did. He would leave the Oval Office for dinner with Malia and Sasha. They said grace at dinner, but for a while, they didn't go to church every Sunday. The kids weren't spanked, but they were given lots of talk about actions and consequences.

Barack rarely missed Malia and Sasha's parent-teacher conferences and piano recitals. He also read all seven books in the Harry Potter series with Malia. The girls' parents didn't restrict viewing the Discovery Channel but limited television. Malia and Sasha were big fans of "American Idol," "Hannah Montana," and "The Cheetah Girls."

Barack is grateful that Malia and Sasha emerged intact and turned out pretty well after leaving the White House. "They are wonderful, kind, thoughtful, creative — and not entitled — young women. So that's a big sigh of relief," he said. The sisters treat everybody with respect such that other folks and parents ask Barack what they did to raise them so well.

Barack is also happy that his daughters, whom he described as sweet, kind, funny, and smart, have become great friends after the normal phase of squabbling as teenagers passed. The sisters, who have a three-year age gap, now enjoy each other's company and are splendid young women. "There's been no greater joy than that," gushed Barack.

The proud dad also raved about how his daughters went into organizer mode during the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Malia and Sasha, with no prompting from their parents, found their way to engage in the demonstrations and activisms alongside other young people.

Malia, who took a gap year before she joined college, left the White House for Harvard. She graduated in 2021 and is a TV writer and director. She co-wrote episode five, "Girl, Bye," of the series "Swarm," making her TV writing debut.

She co-wrote the episode with Janine Nabers, one of the minds behind "Swarm," who praised Malia as "an incredible writer" with good and wild pitches and "really dedicated to her craft."

In 2024, Malia hit another first when she brought her short film "The Heart" to Sundance. The film was screened as part of the US short fiction films at the Park City, Utah, festival. In a video, Malia described the movie as one about lost objects, lonely people, forgiveness, and regret.

She added, "I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things." Malia, who graced the red carpet during the premiere of "The Heart," hopes the movie will make people feel less lonely or not forget about those who are lonely.

As for Sasha, she joined the University of Michigan but moved to the University of Southern California and graduated in 2023. When the sisters were both in California, they moved in together, a step which excited their mother.

Michelle was happy to see the girls she raised finding comfort at a kitchen table with one another. "It's like the one thing you want for them," she revealed. The siblings would venture into yard sales and shop at a nearby IKEA, keeping an eye on their budget.

The proud mom finds it lovely to watch her girls fly as she is relieved that she didn't mess things up raising them. Now, she said she's settling into her new role, "I'm moving from mom-in-chief to advisor-in-chief."

On Sasha's 21st birthday, her mother shared a picture of herself with the baby girl, commending the "beautiful, independent, compassionate, highly capable young woman" she had grown to be. Michelle added that Sasha would "always be my littlest pea."

Barack also shared a throwback picture of little Sasha Obama and himself, writing, "I have loved watching you grow into the intelligent, beautiful, and caring young woman you've become. And no matter how old you get—you'll always be my baby girl."

During COVID-19, Sasha and Malia returned home, and the family reunited for a while. According to Michelle Obama, the two wanted so badly to return to their respective campuses as they were already sick of her but couldn't go back due to the pandemic as it wasn't safe yet.

Malia and Sasha attended classes at home, and the four were isolated together as they split their time between the family's homes in Washington, DC, and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

The family found joy in each other in the middle of the pandemic. As per Barack, they would have dinner together, play games, and watch movies every night. Sasha and Malia enjoyed making the meals and creating and experimenting in the kitchen while cooking. Michelle used this time to learn how to knit and got hooked on the activity.

Now, with her daughters all grown, Michelle has been opening up about how she parented them and their lives today. In 2022, she hilariously revealed on "The Ellen Show" that her daughters had boyfriends and were now "bringing grown men home." She added that they had grown up before everyone's eyes and were doing well.

Michelle has also revealed Malia and Sasha's different personalities. Malia speaks freely, but Sasha opens up on her terms. Malia is also open about her deepest feelings, but Sasha is comfortable letting others figure out how she feels. Additionally, the older daughter is like her dad, as she likes to seek advice and make decisions with input, but the younger one just thrives.

The author noted that neither of their approaches was right or wrong. How Malia and Sasha differed in how they did things was neither better nor worse; they were simply different. Despite their differences, they are both intelligent, compassionate, and independent young women, paving their own paths.

Michelle doesn't go deep into the lessons she learned as a parent when she speaks or while writing because she wants to protect the privacy of her daughters. "They are not social media stars. They are not looking to be followed by the paparazzi just because their mom wrote a book," she explained.

Sasha and Malia Obama are not looking to go back into the public eye or aching for attention, so their mom has to pull back on how much she shares about their lives. Michelle even emphasizes to the media that her daughters do not want the spotlight on them. The sisters are simply thriving in adulthood after spending much of their younger years in the glare of publicity.