Barack and Michelle Obama Marriage Profile

What You Can Learn From the Marriage of Michelle and Barack Obama:

Barack and Michelle understand the importance of putting a priority on their time together. Even with both of their busy schedules, Barack and Michelle make time for one another.

In an ABC interview, Michelle said that "Barack didn't pledge riches, only a life that would be interesting. On that promise he's delivered." She also said as part of the division of labor in their house, Barack did the grocery shopping. Read more about their marriage in the spotlight.

News Updates:

01/20/09: Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.

11/04/08: "Barack Obama, a first-term US senator from Illinois who campaigned on a message of hope and change, was elected the country's first African-American president tonight."
Source: Michael Kranish, Scott Helman. "Obama wins historic election." Boston.com. 11/04/08.

Election Night PDA

Born:

Barack "Barry" Hussein Obama, Jr.: August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His name Barack means "one who is blessed" in Swahili. He was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson: January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois.

How Barack and Michelle Met:

In 1989, Michelle was working at a downtown law firm and assigned the role of advisor to a summer associate from Harvard, Barack Obama. He reportedly didn't have much interest in corporate law, but did have a lot of interest in Michelle.

She said "she fell in love with him for the same reason many other people respect him; his connection with people."
Source: Journal Gazette/Times-Courier Online

After refusing to go out with Barack for a month, Michelle agreed to spend the day with him. They went to the art institute, had lunch at an outdoor cafe, walked and talked, saw the movie Do the Right Thing, and had a drink on the 99th floor of the John Hancock building.

In a CNN interview with Suzanne Malveau, Michelle said "We clicked right away ... by the end of that date it was over ... I was sold."

Obama: "I think it's fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me. We might not have married. The fact that we agreed on Stevie was part of the essence of our courtship."
Source: Mark Dagostino. "The Obamas' Secret to Love? Stevie Wonder." People.com. 2/26/09.

Wedding Date and Info:

Michelle and Barack's wedding ceremony was performed in October 1992 by Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. The reception was held at the South Shore Cultural Center.

Stevie Wonder's song, "You and I" was Michelle and Obama's wedding song.

It was “one of the happier weddings that I had been to,” says MacArthur, “because people understood that putting the two of them together was like putting hydrogen and oxygen together to create this unbelievable life force. Everybody knew it. We understood that together they were going to be so much more than they would have been individually.”
Source: Carol Felsenthal. "The Making of a First Lady." ChicagoMag.com. 2/2009.

Obama Wedding & Anniversary Album
Obamas' Greatest PDA Moments Slideshow
More Barack and Michelle Obama PDA Moments

Children:

Barack and Michelle have two daughters.

• Malia Ann Obama: Born in 1998.
• Natasha Obama: Born in 2001.

Residence:

While their official residence is the White House, Barack and Michelle own a historic, $1.6 million Georgian revival home on Chicago's South Side with lots of play space for their girls. The home was purchased in 2005.

While in the Senate, Barack tried to make it a priority to be home every weekend from Thursday to Sunday.

Religion:

In a letter written 5/30/08 by Barack and Michelle, the couple resigned their membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ. Barack had been a member of the Chicago church for twenty years. More Info

Trivia:

Barack and Michelle returned most every Christmas to Hawaii where his grandmother and sister still lived.

Occupations:

Barack: President of the U.S.; elected in November 2004 as U.S. Senator representing Illinois; community organizer; civil rights lawyer; in 1997 elected as Illinois State Senator representing the 13th Senate District on Chicago's South Side; senior lecturer specializing in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. Barack has served on the boards of several civic and philanthropic organizations.

Michelle: First Lady of the U.S, former Vice President for Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals. In May 2007, she announced she would quit her job: "It's a bit disconcerting," she said. "But it's not like I'll be bored."

Source: MSNBC.com