January 17, 1964 Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, the first African American First Lady of the United States, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Obama earned her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Princeton University in 1985 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard University Law School in 1988. While at Harvard, she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of minority professors.

Following law school, she held positions in the Chicago city government and in 1993 became Executive Director of the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit encouraging young people to work on social issues, where she set fundraising records for the organization. In 2002, Obama began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals and in 2005 was appointed Vice President for Community and External Affairs. As first lady, Obama has focused on reducing childhood obesity.