Early education 

Michelle Robinson was born in Chicago into a positive and supportive family, who had ambitions for her to do as well as her older brother, who went to Princeton University. Motivated by his success, Robinson worked hard at school and continued to do so at college, being accepted at Princeton in 1981. 

In her autobiography, Robinson said her teachers thought she was aiming too high when she told them of her ambition to attend Princeton. At first, she did not think she belonged at Princeton: rich students drove BMWs, and some of their parents were famous. Nevertheless, she worked hard and graduated from Princeton with the highest honours.

Career, marriage and politics 

Later, Robinson won a place at Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, she volunteered to support ethnic minority students and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She also pushed the university to hire more Black teachers. 

In 1988, she graduated from Harvard and got a job at a well-known law firm. There, she met a young man called Barack Obama. After a while, they fell in love and married. When Barack Obama became the first Black President of the U.S. in 2008, Michelle Obama also became the first Black First Lady. 

Today, she is one of the world’s most beloved celebrities, and her book, Becoming, has sold over ten million copies around the world. She has also travelled the world encouraging children to eat healthily, to work hard at school, and to remain positive even when facing challenges.