Meet Malia Ann. Filmmaker Malia Obama dropped her father’s name, and he’s OK with that

Filmmaker Malia Obama doesn’t want tagging as a ‘nepo baby’, so these days she is ‘Malia Ann’. And US ex-president is just fine with that

Reading Time:2 minutes

Malia Obama attends the premiere of her short film The Heart at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, for which she is credited as “Malia Ann’. Her father, former US president Barack Obama, says he is fine with her dropping his surname. Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Published: 4:15pm, 1 Nov 2024

It is not unheard of in Hollywood for the offspring of celebrities to shed their famous parents’ last names, so Malia Obama isn’t breaking any new ground by wanting to be known as “Malia Ann” as she pursues her career as a filmmaker.

In recent years, the daughters of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have dropped the movie stars’ surnames, although that is reportedly because these women have difficult, or even nonexistent, relationships with these famous men.

Malia Obama belongs in another category, according to her father, former US president Barack Obama. She is among the celebrity offspring who hope to make their own way in their careers and who do not want their work judged by their famous connections.

In other words, they do not want to be potentially seen as “nepo babies”.

Barack and Michelle Obama with daughters Malia and Sasha. Photo: Instagram/@michelleobama

During an interview this week on the Pivot podcast, Obama said that Malia, 26, wanted audiences to watch her directorial debut, The Heart, without having the family connection in mind.

“She is all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association,’” Obama said, during a conversation about raising children in the public eye.