she is a director and signs her name as Malia Ann

The former first daughter of the United States chose to sign under the name Malia Ann, abandoning, at least in her professional life as a filmmaker, the name of the famous parents with whom she spent eight years in the White House. This past January, he attended Sundance in Utah using his middle name as his pseudonym, presenting his first film, The Heart.

A controversy immediately follows: it would be yet another case of accusation of “daddy's girl” or “nepo-baby” already fallen on Zoe Kravitz, Kaia Gerber and Lily-Rose Depp. It has been said – writes Ansa – that the daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama would not have obtained funding or missions in large-scale projects if she had not been helped by the close ties of her mother and father with the world of cinema, also thanks to their company produced by Higher Ground.

Whoopi Goldberg on ABC's The View defended the girl's decision: “Who cares what she wants to be called? If she wanted to be called Jeanette McDonald, she would have every right to do so. If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be the one who decides,” said the comedian who changed her name.

In The Heart, Malia tells “a fairy tale of sorts, about a man who mourns the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.” The Obamas' eldest daughter has aspired to work in film since she was at Sidwell Friends High School in Washington. A 2021 Harvard graduate, she contributed to the writers room of Swarm, a Glover series for Prime.