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Malia's graduation day: Fast facts about the first daughter

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Debbie Lord
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Debbie Lord

Malia Obama, daughter of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, will graduated from high school today.

The 17-year-old is receiving her diploma from the Sidwell Friends School – an elite private school in Bethesda, Md.

Growing up in one of  the most public of settings has to be difficult, but, according to her parents, Malia has spent a normal, happy time in the White House and is ready to take on the world after high school.

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Here are a few “fast facts” about Malia you may not have known.

  • Her full name is Malia Ann Obama.
  • She was born on July 4, 1998.
  • She was 10 when she moved into the White House with her family.
  • She's taller than her dad – he's 6'1''.
  • She was taught to drive by members of the Secret Service.
  • She is graduating from Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school in Bethesda, Maryland. Other famous people who attended Sidwell -- Chelsea Clinton, Albert Gore III, Theodore Roosevelt's son, Archibald, Bill Ney the Science Guy, reporter Charlie Gibson, former first lady Nancy Reagan and Charles Lindbergh. Her sister, Sasha, also attends the school.
  • At Sidwell, Malia played soccer and tennis, the flute and piano.
  • She will be going to college at Harvard. She is taking a "gap year" off before starting school, though.
  • In 2014 Malia and Sasha were named two of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" by Time magazine.
  • As a high school student, Malia spent a portion of the summer in 2014 and 2015 working in television studios in New York and Los Angeles. Her mother said she wants to be a filmmaker after she graduates from college.
  • Her graduation day falls on her sister's 15th birthday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group

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