She has perfected a mean forehand, is working on her yoga poses, dishes with girlfriends over fattoush at the Mediterranean hotspot Zaytinya, pushes her two teenage daughters to play two sports — one of her choosing and one of theirs — and said last week that the wonders of modern dermatology, such as Botox, were in the realm of possibility for her.
Michelle Obama at 50 is in many ways the embodiment of the contemporary, urban, well-heeled middle-aged American woman. She likes to take “me time,” as she did during an extra vacation week this month without family in Hawaii, setting off a tabloid furore over the state of her marriage.
She frets that her older daughter, 15-year-old Malia, hangs out with the boys a grade above her. She gardens, although unlike the rest of us, she has significant weeding help.
She toys with false eyelashes.
The First Lady spent her big day out of sight, with no public appearances after back-to-back events at the White House earlier. She laid low and rested up for a big birthday dance party the president had planned for last Saturday at the White House.
XO singer Beyonce helped pal Michelle with the celebrations.
It was reported that the top-secret celebration hosted about 500 guests sprinkled with A-listers of the political and celebrity variety: Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, recording artists Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Smokey Robinson, James Taylor, Gladys Knight and Herbie Hancock, jazz singer Ledisi, Oprah’s bestie Gayle King, actor Samuel L. Jackson, NBA legend Magic Johnson, former Olympic figure skater and State Department senior advisor Michelle Kwan, TV host Rachael Ray and the Today show’s Al Roker and his wife, ABC correspondent Deborah Roberts, were also among the guests.
Ledisi, a Grammy winner, opened the evening’s live performances, and Beyonce took over for about a 30-minute set accompanied by a full band, while singer John Legend sang “Happy Birthday” and was accompanied by his new wife, Chrissy Tiegen.
Beyonce wore a revealing cocktail dress for the occasion and shared more than a dozen photos of her visit to the White House along with daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who posed with a White House Christmas tree and played with the Obamas’ dog Sunny. She brought her mother, Tina Knowles, and sister Solange Knowles to the event.
Bey reportedly sang Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) and Irreplaceable, and Wonder gave an impromptu performance of Signed, Sealed, Delivered and Do I Do, the Chicago Tribune said.
Guests were told not to bring their mobile phones into the gala and were provided with a check-in area for their devices. “No cellphones, no social media” signs were said to be posted at the party, the newspaper reported.
The evening was “literally a house party that happened to be at the White House,” Roker later said. “Sasha and Malia had invited a lot of their friends, so there were a lot of young people.”
The president is said to have given a heartfelt speech about his wife, calling her a great mother and wife and saying that she made him a better man, sources told the Tribune.
Michelle was said to have worn a flowing red blouse and pants and danced frequently.
The mix of Hollywood and quirky individualism underscores the conflicting diptych of glamorous mystery woman and regular PTA mother that defines America’s First Lady. Five years in, she has cobbled together a full life in Washington.
Sometimes she moves so discreetly through the area that a customer at a local Target store, not recognising her, asked the First Lady to reach for some highly perched toilet paper. At other times Michelle is on plain view around town as a parent on the sidelines of the soccer games of her daughter Sasha, 12.
Marc Howard, whose daughter Zoe once played on the soccer team with Sasha, recalled how his daughter had drained the tiny water bottle he had brought for her one hot Washington day on the field. Michelle lightheartedly chided him. “She said, ‘What kind of water bottle is that?’ and gave Zoe hers,” Howard said. “Those are things far away from the cameras.”
For all of her complaints about the scrutiny and isolation that comes with living in the White House, Michelle has created a vibrant life in Washington as well as a policy agenda that at times dovetails with her husband’s, particularly on education.
But she maintains a powerful zone of privacy, aided by discreet friends and a controlling East Wing. Accounts of her life here are culled from interviews with staff members, friends and parents of Malia and Sasha’s schoolmates. The accounts also draw on the First Lady’s public speeches and comments, including a recent interview with People magazine.
While Michelle has been careful not to define herself or her role strictly through race, she has paid steadfast attention to her role as a model and mentor to minority children from poor backgrounds like her own, and has built much of her policy agenda around them.
“She is more self-determinative than prior first ladies, because she very rarely allows herself to be drawn into distracting conversations,” said Carl Anthony, a historian of first ladies. In addition, he said, “She speaks to a demographic pretty much ignored by the White House by all first ladies except for Eleanor Roosevelt.”
Anthony cited trips Obama has made to the Anacostia neighbourhood of Washington and White House invitations she has extended to local working-class African-Americans.
The Obamas and their daughters usually eat together as a family at the White House, but the president and First Lady also give small dinner parties at home with a mix of friends, notable local columnists and others. A typical menu is grilled shrimp with tomatoes and peppers, followed by lean filet of steak (the First Lady’s favourite) with potatoes and a selection of pies for dessert. Guests should not expect bread.
Michelle also frequents Washington’s restaurants of the moment. She has been spotted more than once sweeping into BLT Steak on I Street with a gaggle of friends, headed for a private room. She eats roasted cauliflower and stuffed grape leaves at Zaytinya and guacamole and margaritas at Oyamel. She has grown fond of Bibiana, an upscale Italian restaurant downtown.
“She is interested in local food,” said Eddie Gehman Kohan, the executive editor of Obamafoodorama.com, an obsessive digital archive of the food ways and nutrition agenda of the Obamas. “Her typical meal is whatever is going on at the restaurant that is seasonal and best.”
Michelle’s group frequently includes her closest friend, Sharon Malone, a prominent obstetrician and wife of the attorney general, Eric H. Holder. Often on hand are old friends from Chicago, such as Valerie B. Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president; Cindy S. Moelis, the director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships; and Angela Acree, who was one of Michelle’s roommates at Princeton.
The First Lady also is known to wander the city’s museums and screen films at the White House, where she is partial to those that explore themes of poverty and struggle. Last week she saw the movie The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, a story about poor children in New York produced by singer Alicia Keys.
“This is truly one of my favourite films this year,” Michelle told her guests, including Keys. “And it obviously has moved me and it will be the guiding post for my work over the next three years.”
In hairstyle news, the bangs of 2013 are gone, replaced by a traditional First Lady wave. As Michelle told the TV chef Rachael Ray last year: “This is my midlife crisis, the bangs. I couldn’t get a sports car. They won’t let me bungee jump. So instead, I cut my bangs.”
Then there is her fitness routine. Known for her biceps, Michelle has recently taken up yoga for strength training and takes vigorous walks through Rock Creek Park.
She takes occasional tennis lessons with Malia or has clinics with friends to work on their swing. In addition to her forehand, “Michelle has a big backhand,” said Gordie Ernst, who coaches mother and daughter.
One thing Michelle tends not to do as much as previous first ladies is travel. There is still time.
— New York Times News Service
