AP/Doug Mills/Charles Dharapak/Martin, Monsivais
I'd be remiss if I didn't start off with Michelle Obama's much-chronicled style. In fact, her slayage was so on point from the moment she set that kitten-heeled foot into The White House that it threatened to eclipse her other talents and abilities. But not on MObama's watch.
Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton
One of MObama's first efforts as First Lady, the White House Vegetable Garden was the first kitchen garden at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave since Eleanor Roosevelt was hanging around. Though she had never gardened before, Mrs. O decided to develop a green thumb to provide healthier meals for Sasha and Malia. The Garden, in turn, serves to promote sustainable farming, encourage policy changes on school lunches, and educate children on the benefits of locally grown produce—and it ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon. FLOTUS recently unveiled a larger and more permanent garden, set in stone to deter "someone" from removing it.
With a goal of cutting childhood obesity 5% by 2030, Mrs. O launched her Let's Move! campaign to tackle childhood obesity and encourage kids to maybe, I dunno, go outside once in a while, in 2010. FLOTUS even tapped gal pal Beyoncé to record a song for Let's Move!, which I have heard out at the club more times than I care to mention.
And the Queen was like, "YAS KWEEN!"
Meeting the Queen of England is very much like handling other revered antiques—look but don't touch. But Michelle Obama broke protocol, to the shock of the otherwise oddly nonplussed British, and gave the Queen some physical affection. Though, in all fairness, Her Royal Highness started it.
Sisters! Are doing it! For themselves!
MO and O have been gal pals for a while, going back to at least 2005 when Mrs. O attended the greatest black girl kiki of all time, Oprah's Legends Ball. La Winfrey also campaigned heavily for the Obamas in 2008 and their friendship continued through the Obama's presidency, cemented by this epic cover. So naturally MObama chose her sisterfriend to conduct her final interview as America's mom. Only then can the healing truly begin.
Michelle Obama's never been a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment but she's always exercised her right to bare arms. In addition to appearing multiple times on The Biggest Loser, Mrs. O's demonstrated her fitness prowess on air with Ellen, who dared to challenge her to a pushup contest. Meanwhile, they're both in better shape than you and have 110 years between them. Take a note, kids.
We knew Michelle Obama was a different kind of First Lady because of her gift for public speaking.
The Obamas have had to walk a very precarious line as the most visible black family in the world so anytime they publicly acknowledge their blackness generates a response. Mrs. O's brilliant speech at Tuskegee University was met with a mix of bitterness and bruised egos by white conservatives because it spoke to something that they would prefer remain unspoken—the racial inequality that pervades every aspect and system of American life.
Rush Limbaugh had the audacity to accuse her of playing "the race card" while Sean Hannity at Fox News criticized her for a "lack of appreciation for the opportunities"afforded to her. Of course, those opportunities, and the struggle to achieve them, were the crux of her speech, and their reactions only served to lend that speech even more credence.
For the first five glorious months of the second Obama administration, Michelle had bangs. When she revealed them, shortly after Inauguration Day, the world collectively grabbed its pearls. Those halcyon days were short-lived and MO cut them in May 2013, citing a "midlife crisis." But at least we still have her second official First Lady portrait to remember them by.
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
Remember when John Boehner was the premier orange threat to democracy? Ah, the good old days. But even back then, MObama was having none of the then-Speaker of the House's shenanigans, side-eyeing him the way the rest of the nation only wished it could.
Can you see Eleanor Roosevelt dunking on LeBron James? Or Jackie O? Babs or Laura Bush? Melania? Doubt it.
Doubt.
It.
Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon
Military families have been among Mrs. O's top priorities as FLOTUS and in 2011 she partnered with the Second Lady (#SLOTUS), Dr. Jill Biden, to launch Joining Forces, "a nationwide initiative calling all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families and support them through wellness, education, and employment opportunities."
AP/Susan Walsh/Charles Dharapak/Steve Helber/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Screw the Met Gala, Michelle Obama at the State Dinner is the fashion event of the season. Mrs. O is always coming through, always snatching wigs, always serving commander in chic.
Related | We Need to Talk About Michelle Obama's Versace Slay
Though Jackie O has been the exemplar of First Lady style for the past 50 years, she honestly never had that much competition. Mrs. O eschewed Oscar de la Renta, who had dressed every First Lady since Kennedy, for the majority of her tenure, in favor of lesser known American designers—making household names of Jason Wu, Tracy Reese, Thakoon, and less fortunately, Rachel "(Not) Becky with the Good Hair" Roy.
The funeral of Maya Angelou is required viewing for your soul. All your favorite legendary black girls were there: Oprah. Cicely Tyson. Michelle Obama. Bill Clinton. Listening to them eulogize the original phenomenal woman is nothing short of healing.
Michelle Obama was hailed a fashion icon very early in her run as First Lady, but Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour made if official with Mrs. O's first cover—bearing the headline, "The First Lady the World’s Been Waiting For." Clearly, she was the First Lady Anna Wintour's been waiting for, as the two have developed a friendship over the years, with MObama gracing the cover three times. So far.
BET's Black Girls Rock is an annual awards show dedicated to celebrating the achievements of black women and encouraging young black girls to be, you know, the next Michelle Obama. So it was a pretty big deal when FLOTUS showed up and gave those young MObamas-in-the-making a pep talk:
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Michelle Obama much like her husband, truly came into her own in her second term, launching two education initiatives, Let Girls Learn and Reach Higher. The former aims to help adolescent girls around the world "attain a quality education that empowers them to reach their full potential" while the latter encourages American students to continue their educations past high school.
Mrs. O can be silly AF and that willingness to poke fun at herself even made Jimmy Fallon tolerable.
106-year-old Virginia McLaurin never thought she'd see a black president (same) and a black first lady, but the moment she met Mr. and Mrs. Obama is one of the most adorable things you'll ever see—Michelle even cut a (very delicate) rug with the feisty centenarian:
A large part of Michelle Obama's appeal is that she seems like somebody you'd love to hang out with. And, generally speaking, anyone who can rap along flawlessly to "Get Ur Freak On" (and get Missy Goddamn Elliott on backup) is someone you want to hang out with.
2016 was Michelle Obama's crowning glory as a public speaker. First, her speech was the undisputed highlight of the Democratic National Convention, inspiring calls for her to run for 2020—calls that are not going away, btw. Then, in New Hampshire, following Trump's pussy-grabbing scandal, Mrs. O delivered one of her last, and certainly one of her greatest, speeches as FLOTUS, remarking on the sad state of sexual affairs that had become the 2016 Election:
And I have to tell you that I listen to all of this and I feel it so personally, and I'm sure that many of you do too, particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman.
It is cruel. It's frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts. It's like that sick, sinking feeling you get when you're walking down the street minding your own business and some guy yells out vulgar words about your body. Or when you see that guy at work that stands just a little too close, stares a little too long, and makes you feel uncomfortable in your own skin.
Meanwhile, here we are in this post-election wasteland because not enough people (at least not in the right districts) bothered to follow the one rule of this campaign season: always listen to Michelle Obama.
AP/Jacquelyn Martin/Manuel Balce Ceneta
For one of her final glamazon moments as FLOTUS, Mrs. O turned it out in Gucci, the first time she's worn a non-American designer to the Kennedy Center Honors, which took place shortly after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation. And as has been custom for the past eight years, her choice in dress was analyzed and dissected for hidden, underlying messages. Was it a show of support to Italy and it's multi-billion dollar fashion industry? Or was it just another casual Michelle Obama slay? No, it was one of the final, if not the final, casual Michelle Obama slay. Naturally, she went out on a high-fashion note, making her exit that much more painful.
No T, no shade (all T, all shade), but we'll never know a First Lady as elegant, poised, compassionate, funny, fiercely intelligent, and inspiringly eloquent as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, Esq. Thank you for your service.
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