Associated Press
Associated Press
Associated Press
Kenyan Barack Obama Sr. abandoned his wife and son before the boy’s first birthday, leaving Barry to be raised by his mother, Ann and his maternal grandparents. On a beach near their home in Hawaii, Stanley Dunham frolicked with his only grandson. Half a world away, Michelle Robinson, shown here at age five, was growing up on Chicago’s South Side.
Polaris
Associated Press
By age nine, Barry was living in Jakarta with his Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, his mom, and his baby sister, Maya. Back in Hawaii the following year, Ann and Barry were visited by Barry’s dad for the first—and last—time.
Associated Press
Associated Press
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago
“We go play hoop,” Barry wrote in his high school yearbook. Meanwhile, “Miche” Robinson was performing at dance recitals and earning high enough marks at Chicago’s Whitney M. Young Magnet High School to be inducted into the National Honor Society.
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago
Associated Press
Toot and Gramps were beaming with pride when Barry graduated from Honolulu’s elite Punahou prep school in 1979. After two years at L.A.’s Occidental College, Barack, as he now wished to be called, transferred to Columbia University in New York.
Associated Press
Polaris
After four years of feeling like an outsider at Princeton, Michelle graduated with honors in 1985 and went on to Harvard Law School—where, years later, Barack would become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Later, Barack would teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
Associated Press
AP Photo/Obama for America
After a three-year courtship, Barack and Michelle were married on October 18, 1992. At one point during the festivities, they grabbed a few moments to kick off their shoes and relax.
Obama for America
Associated Press
Associated Press
An emotional Michelle threw her arms around her husband after he delivered the 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address that would put him on the national map. Three months later, the family watched as election returns came in, then celebrated his election to the U.S. Senate from Illinois in a blizzard of confetti.
Associated Press
Associated Press
In an effort to destigmatize AIDS, Barack and Michelle stopped at a clinic in the Kisumu, Kenya, during his image-building trip to Africa in August of 2006. That same day, he was warmly greeted by his step-grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama.
Associated Press
Hillary Clinton was the overwhelming favorite to be the next presidential nominee of the Democratic Party and Barack was a comparative unknown when they exchanged confidences at the NAACP convention in the summer of 2006.
Associated Press
Associated Press
Associated Press
Campaigning in Iowa in August of 2007, Barack and Michelle delighted locals with an impromptu dance, then at the State Fair in Des Moines paired off with Sasha and Malia to compete in carnival games. Riding the bumper cars with Sasha, Barack said, prepared him for the debates with his Democratic primary rivals.
Associated Press
Oprah decided to “go out on a limb” and endorse Barack—the first time she ever endorsed a presidential candidate—because she believed he was “something above and beyond politics.” She and Michelle huddled, then cheered their candidate when he spoke to a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire, on December 9, 2007.
Associated Press
Associated Press
Associated Press
Several weeks later, a New Yorker cover intended to poke fun at rumors swirling about them backfired, igniting a firestorm of controversy.
Associated Press
On the campaign trail in June of 2008, Barack and Michelle exchanged knowing glances at a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, and as they were introduced by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in Columbus
Associated Press
Associated Press
Associated Press
Vacationing in Kailua, Hawaii, in August of 2008, Barack strolled the beach with Malia and Sasha, then joined them and two friends for “shave ice”—Hawaii’s answer to the snow cone. Later, he bodysurfed alone at Honolulu’s Sandy Beach, a spot he frequented as a child.
Associated Press
Associated Press
Three days before the 2008 presidential election, Barack and Michelle dropped into Jorge’s Sombrero Cantina and Restaurant for a bite. On election eve, he wiped away a tear while talking about his grandmother at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Toot” Dunham, who had virtually raised Barack, had died only hours earlier at age eighty-six.
Associated Press
Associated Press
The candidate and his wife beamed while they cast their votes at Chicago’s Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School. That evening, the family waved to an emotional crowd of more than two hundred thousand gathered in Grant Park to celebrate Barack’s historic victory.
Associated Press
Ensconced at Washington’s Hay-Adams Hotel, the President-Elect and his wife got up early to send Malia and Sasha off on their first day at Sidwell Friends School.
Associated Press
Associated Press
Malia and Sasha looked on proudly as Daddy took the oath of office as 44th President of the United States—an oath that, because of a mistake by Chief Justice John Roberts, would have to be repeated in private the next day. In between, the new commander in chief danced the night away with his First Lady at no fewer than ten inaugural balls.
Associated Press
Although they left for a quick trip to Chicago just three weeks after taking office, the Obamas now considered 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home. On February 22, 2009, the nation’s hostess dazzled guests at her first formal White House affair, the Governors Ball.
Associated Press
Associated Press
After hesitating at first, Marian Robinson, a constant presence in her grandchildren’s lives, agreed to move into the White House to help out. Grandma joined Malia and Sasha in the East Room to hear the all-female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Associated Press
In the midst of the nation’s most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, Michelle joined students from Washington’s Bancroft Elementary School to break ground for the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn.
Associated Press
Associated Press
During the Obamas’ first trip abroad as First Couple, Michelle shattered centuries of English tradition when she and Queen Elizabeth put their arms around each other—the first time anyone could remember Her Majesty being physically affectionate toward anyone, including members of her own family. On that same trip, thousands turned out to greet them in Paris, Berlin, and Prague.
Associated Press
Associated Press
The life of a political wife is hard.
And that’s why Barack is such a grateful man.
—Michelle
If I’m a 10, Michelle’s an 11.
—Barack
They’re very demonstrative. You’ll always pick up a glance between them, a touch…
—Valerie Jarrett, friend
She’s my coconspirator.
—Barack on Michelle
I don’t want anybody to think that it’s easy….
We have a strong marriage, but it’s not perfect.
—Michelle