Michelle R. Obama

Michelle Obama's story is not very different from that of millions of American women who grew up in close-knit, loving families where respect for others was taught, high expectations were set, and education was valued.

Yet, while Mrs. Obama's upbringing resembles that of women everywhere, her current position marks a striking distinction: She is the first African American to serve as First Lady of the United States of America.

Many who know Michelle Obama agree that her role as the wife of Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American president, not only becomes her, but is one for which she is well suited. She is described as smart, focused, meticulous and kind.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was surrounded by family, friends and role models who provided tools that not only shaped her, but eventually helped establish her place in this country's greatest halls of power. She is the daughter of the late Fraser Robinson, III, and Marian Shields Robinson.

Mrs. Obama, a graduate of the prestigious Whitney M. Young High School for gifted students, was considered "college material" as a child. Her mother has stated in several interviews that her daughter always possessed a "strong sense of self." She also was competitive to the point of applying to Princeton University, following the path of her older brother, Craig, who also attended the Ivy League institution.

At Princeton, Mrs. Obama continued to excel in a world far different from her past. In her college thesis, she wrote about becoming more aware of her blackness, and how she often felt as if she were a visitor rather than a student.

Still, she persevered, becoming involved in black student life and helping to bridge the divide between the university and Princeton's African-American students. After her 1985 graduation from Princeton, Mrs. Obama enrolled in law school at Harvard University. During her free time, she worked for the law school's legal aid bureau assisting the poor with civil cases.

After graduating from law school in 1988, she joined Chicago's Sidley Austin law firm as an associate in the marketing group. It was during the summer of 1989 that she met her future husband, Barack Obama, who was a summer associate at the firm. She worked there for three years before joining the office of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Other positions included serving as executive director of a nonprofit organization and vice president of community affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

In September 2009, in remarks she made to students at Pittsburgh Capa High School, she said, "We want to show these young people that they have a place in our world, in our museums, our theaters, our concert halls.  And most importantly we want these people to know that they have a place in our White House."

She married Barack Obama in 1992 and gave birth to daughter Malia Ann in 1998 and Natasha (Sasha) in 2001.