Malia Obama is no longer just the little girl we remember running across the White House lawn with her sister. At 25, she’s fully grown into her own person, carving out a path that looks nothing like her parents’ world of politics—and she’s even changing the name the world has always known her by. When her directorial debut The Heart premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, fans noticed something unusual. In the credits, she wasn’t listed as Malia Obama.
Instead, she chose Malia Ann—a subtle but powerful step away from the towering shadow of the Obama name, while honoring her late grandmother, Ann, who passed away from ovarian cancer years before Malia was born. For many, this was a jaw-dropping reminder: Malia isn’t just “the President’s daughter.” She’s a filmmaker, a Harvard graduate, and a young woman determined to make her mark in an industry that values individuality.
On Sundance’s red carpet, she looked confident, proud, and ready to face an audience not as the daughter of a global icon, but as a storyteller…