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Michelle and Barack Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha appear in rare family throwback for Easter

The former First Lady and President's daughters are leading lives out of the spotlight


The Obamas stood together with their dogs
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
On 31 March 2024
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Former First Couple Michelle and Barack Obama marked Easter Sunday with a throwback to one of their celebrated and well-attended White House Easter Egg Rolls on social media.

The Easter Egg Roll at the White House has been a yearly tradition on Easter Mondays since 1878. In the 1870s, children rolling their eggs down the hill on the grounds of Capitol Hill was a popular activity.

However, in 1876, Congress passed a law forbidding the Capitol's grounds being used as a playground, which was followed in 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes declaring that children would be allowed to roll their Easter eggs at the White House.

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The Obama family annually hosted the tradition during the eight years of Barack's presidency, and shared a video recapping one of their celebrations in honor of the holiday.

Alongside inspiring speeches courtesy of the former POTUS, now 62, and FLOTUS, now 60, their rarely-seen daughters Malia, 25, and Sasha, 22, were also seen waving to the crowds.

Michelle penned alongside the clip: "From our family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter!" Fans responded with comments like: "Greatest years of the country with the Obamas," and: "Love and miss y'all Big! Happy Easter."

U.S. President Barack Obama (R), first lady Michelle (L) and their daughters, Malia (2nd L) and Sasha (3rd L) introduce their new dog, a Portuguese water dog named Bo, to the White House press corps at the South Lawn of the White House April 14, 2009 in Washington, DC. The six-month-old puppy is a gift from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) who owns several Portuguese water dogs himself. This breed of dog is considered a good pet for children who have allergies, as Malia does.© Getty Images
The former First Daughters were often seen with their parents during prominent family celebrations

Malia and Sasha lead their lives away from the spotlight, and are both living together in Los Angeles, with younger sibling Sasha having recently graduated from the University of Southern California, and Malia coming into her own as a filmmaker.

LATEST: Michelle Obama praises rarely-seen lookalike brother as she discusses his bond with husband Barack

Malia, in fact, debuted her first short, The Heart, at the Sundance Film Festival, even dropping her last name and simply going by "Malia Ann," using her middle name instead. She also co-wrote for Donald Glover's Swarm after studying filmmaking at Harvard University.

On a recent episode of her The Light Podcast, speaking with Today Show anchor and fellow girl-mom-of-two Hoda Kotb, Michelle opened up about being on "the other side" of parenting.

MORE: Michelle Obama shares special news with Barack Obama close to home: 'So excited'

"I'm moving from mom-in-chief to advisor-in-chief," the mom-of-two said. "That's a lovely thing – to be able to watch my girls fly and have the relief that 'Okay, I think I didn't mess them up.'"

Malia Obama at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah© Getty Images
Malia is stepping into her own as a filmmaker, outside of her family legacy

She also spoke more candidly about being able to see them with a "critical eye" and not just the adoring gaze of a parent, recalling one specific incident when Malia walked into her hotel room with wrinkly clothes and she offered her opinion. "'You're wrinkly – you're gonna do something about this.' And she was like 'Yeah, Mom,'" she remembered saying.

MORE: Michelle Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia and dad Barack seen in rare emotional photo

"And then I thought I did it. I greeted her with – instead of what I felt, which is, 'Sit on my lap, give me a kiss' – I'm fixing things. I'm pointing out, 'Oh my God, your hair is not right here,'" Michelle said.

Barack Obama delivers remarks with his daughters Sasha and Malia during the annual turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House  November 25, 2015 in Washington, DC© Getty Images
Sasha is living in Los Angeles with her big sister after graduating from USC

"What Toni Morrison says is that our kids just want our gladness. They don't need us to fix them. They don't need us to point out the thing that's wrong, first."

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