Michelle Obama served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 and is wife to Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America. Besides being a mother of two daughters: Malia and Sasha, she is also a lawyer, writer, and university administrator.
Born on 1964, Michelle was the daughter of Fraser and Marian Robinson. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois, to a conventional family.
Like her brother, Michelle went to Princeton University where she earned a degree in sociology and graduated as a cum laude in 1985. She then proceeded to Harvard Law School, earning her Juris Doctor degree in 1988.
Michelle met Barack when she worked for the Sidley Austin LLP law firm when she mentored him while he was a summer associate. They married on October 3, 1992.
Being a private person, Michelle was hesitant in participating for her husband’s campaign at first. Eventually, she took more active roles as First Lady, advocating for education, healthcare, nutrition, and healthy eating.
Michelle is one of the best role models that embody a modern professional woman. Be moved to be someone like her through several of the best Michelle Obama quotes and sayings that explores her views on women, education, leadership, love, health, and many more.
Table of Contents
Michelle Obama Quotes About Women
1. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s the power of using your voice. I tried my best to speak the truth and shed light on the stories of people who are often brushed aside.”
2. “The easiest way to disregard a woman’s voice is to package her as a scold.”
3. “Every girl, no matter where she lives, deserve the opportunity to develop the promise inside of her.”
4. “Like a lot of girls, I became aware of the liabilities of my body early, long before I began to even look like a woman.”
5. “I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.”
6. “You don’t have to be somebody different to be important. You are important in your own right.”
7. “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens.”
Michelle Obama Quotes About Education
1. “To me, there was magic in the learning.”
2. “I never cut class. I loved getting A’s, I liked being smart. I liked being on time. I thought being smart is cooler than anything in the world.”
3. “I know what it feels like to struggle to get the education that you need.”
4. “The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.”
Michelle Obama Quotes About Leadership
1. “I’ve seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.”
2. “Although the circumstances of our lives may seem very disengaged, with me standing here as the First Lady of the United States of America and you just getting through school, I want you to know we have very much in common. For nothing in my life ever would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first African-American First Lady.”
3. “At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.”
4. “See, that’s why Barack’s running: to end the war in Iraq responsibly – to build an economy that lifts every family, to make sure health care is available for every American – and to make sure that every child in this nation has a world-class education all the way from preschool to college.”
Michelle Obama Quotes About Love
1. “I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as ‘us’ and ‘them’ – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above… he knows that we all love our country… and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas… he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.”
2. “I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend. And I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.”
3. “And I love that even in the toughest moments, when we’re all sweating it – when we’re worried that the bill won’t pass, and it seems like all is lost – Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward… with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace.”
4. “My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.”
Michelle Obama Quotes About Food and Health
1. “The problem is when that fun stuff becomes the habit. And I think that’s what’s happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal.”
2. “Even if we give parents all the information they need and we improve school meals and build brand new supermarkets on every corner, none of that matters if when families step into a restaurant, they can’t make a healthy choice.”
3. “I’m not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business. But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.”
4. “And let’s be clear: It’s not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren’t healthy. It’s also going to be critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy.”
5. “We all need to start making some changes to how our families eat. Now, everyone loves a good Sunday dinner. Me included. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is when we eat Sunday dinner Monday through Saturday.”
6. “We can make a commitment to promote vegetables and fruits and whole grains on every part of every menu. We can make portion sizes smaller and emphasize quality over quantity. And we can help create a culture – imagine this – where our kids ask for healthy options instead of resisting them.”
7. “Exercise is really important to me – it’s therapeutic. So if I’m ever feeling tense or stressed or like I’m about to have a meltdown, I’ll put on my iPod and head to the gym or out on a bike ride along Lake Michigan with the girls.”
8. “Sometimes, it’s just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It’s exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables.”
9. “When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically – that’s not how he was raised – he cared that it was the right thing to do.”
More Michelle Obama Quotes and Sayings
1. “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”
2. “Clearly this is a tough economic time, and a lot of families are hurting. So when we talk to parents, we talk about small changes for kids and things that don’t cost extra money. Like adding water and eliminating sugary drinks and sodas. That’s going to save money right there. Or adding a few more vegetables.”
3. “You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
4. “America is just downright mean.”
5. “Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.”
6. “And in my own life, in my own small way, I’ve tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That’s why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us – no matter what our age or background or walk of life – each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.”
7. “My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls… that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe.”
8. “We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.”
9. “There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.”
10. “The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world. That is so important. So when you study abroad, you’re actually helping to make America stronger.”
11. “I have a very eclectic iPod. So I’ve got my cardio people – so it’s anything from Beyonce to some Jay-Z to Janelle Monae, her song ‘Tightrope,’ that’s a good cardio song. And then I’ve got Sting. I’ve got Mary J. Blige. I’ve got The Beatles. I’ve got Michael Jackson. I try to pick the songs that I personally love.”
12. “Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. Don’t be afraid to fail.”
13. “Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?”
14. “And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.”
15. “Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.”
16. “I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he’s going to do, even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard.”
17. “I am desperate for change – now – not in 8 years or 12 years, but right now.”
18. “Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”
19. “Find people who will make you better.”
20. “When I get up and work out, I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself. It’s just as much about letting them know as young women that it is okay to put yourself a little higher on your priority list.”
21. “As a mom, I know it is my responsibility, and no one else’s, to raise my kids. But we have to ask ourselves, what does it mean when so many parents are finding their best efforts undermined by an avalanche of advertisements aimed at our kids.”
22. “We learned about dignity and decency – that how hard you work matters more than how much you make… that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.”
23. “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”
24. “And I come here as a daughter, raised on the South Side of Chicago – by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me.”
25. “When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
26. “I think that people are tired. They’re tired of the same old kind of politics. People want a new tone to politics.”
27. “I like to talk about my obsession with french fries because I don’t want people to think that ‘Let’s Move’ is about complete, utter deprivation. It’s about moderation and real-life changes and ideas that really work for families.”
28. “Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it, and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are or where we’re from or what we look like or who we love.”
29. “We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.”
30. “Choose people who lift you up.”
31. “I’m a fry lover.”
32. “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.”
33. “Together, we can help make sure that every family that walks into a restaurant can make an easy, healthy choice.”
34. “The realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know.”
35. “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
36. “Like so many American families, our families weren’t asking for much. They didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success or care that others had much more than they did… in fact, they admired it.”
37. “I am so tired of fear. And I don’t want my girls to live in a country, in a world, based on fear.”
38. “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction.”
If you’d like to read more about Michelle Obama, we recommend you read her latest book, Becoming.
