--- description: See some of the sweetest First Daughter moments, from campaign planes to pardoned turkeys. title: Growing Up Obama: Malia and Sasha Through the Years image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbd06b62906c4f2f/6988b53b428a9e4850cd5732/sasha-malia-obama-07.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [society](/tag/society/) ## society Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Growing Up Obama: Malia and Sasha Through the Years by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2017 5:38 PM CUT  Malia and Sasha arrive during the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 21, 2013. Malia and Sasha arrive during the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 21, 2013.Win McNamee—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2017 5:38 PM CUT In his farewell speech on January 10, after he professed his love and gratitude for his wife Michelle Obama, President Obama [thanked his children](http://time.com/4631007/president-obama-farewell-speech-transcript/ "undefined"), acknowledging what is surely one of the most unusual and rare upbringings one could imagine: growing up in the White House. “Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances you have become two amazing young women. … Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad,” he said, directing his eyes to Malia. As if to prove she is being reared as normally as circumstances allow, Sasha was reportedly back in D.C. studying for a big exam. (Her absence sparked [#WhereIsSasha,](http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/11/politics/obama-farewell-sasha/index.html "undefined") the younger daughter’s second major social media moment of the year; the first was when Obama dropped [the news that Sasha tweets](http://time.com/4393990/sasha-obama-twitter-tweets/ "undefined").) Although Sasha and Malia have very much been a part of their father’s public image over his presidency—and a crucial one at that, completing the picture of a wholesome and happy family—the Obamas and their staff are protective of the girls’ privacy, and that includes photographs. As Michelle Obama’s press secretary [Katie McCormick Lelyveld told TIME in a recent interview](http://time.com/white-house-interviews/ "undefined"), “What we determined was, if it’s a picture of the children at a public event, it’s fair game, or if it’s a picture that has their father in the frame. That was first tested in a photo with Sasha running down the colonnade after a Marine One landing. She was running to see her dad. It was a reminder that the White House is an office, a home and a museum. They live above the store, so to speak.” Here are some White House-sanctioned photos of the girls growing up Obama.  Then-candidate for the U.S. Senate Barack Obama celebrates with his daughters Malia and Sasha and wife Michelle during a victory party in Chicago on Nov. 2, 2004. Scott Olson—Getty Images  Then-Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and two daughters Sasha, 6, and Malia, 9, play cards in their RV on a campaign swing between Oskaloosa and Pella, Iowa, on July 4, 2007. Charles Ommanney—Getty Images  Then-Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama is welcomed by his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 11 and Sasha, 7, upon landing in Pueblo, Colorado, on Nov. 01, 2008. Emmanuel Dunand—AFP/Getty Images  Malia and Sasha Obama see their parents off at the airport in Denver, CO, on Aug. 29, 2008. Callie Shell—Aurora for Time  Sasha and Malia attend the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2009. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, attend the Christmas in Washington taping at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, on Dec. 11, 2011. Pete Souza—The White House  President Obama and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, watch on television as First Lady Michelle Obama takes the stage to deliver her speech at the Democratic National Convention, in the Treaty Room of the White House, on Sept. 4, 2012. Pete Souza—The White House  Malia and Sasha arrive during the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 21, 2013. Win McNamee—Getty Images  President Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha look at "Mac" the turkey in the East Room prior to the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey pardon ceremony at the White House, on Nov. 26, 2016. Pete Souza—The White House  Sasha and Malia Obama read fairy tales to children at the United States and Nato military base in Vicenza on June 19, 2015. Andreas Solaro—AFP/Getty Images  Malia and Sasha walk to a helicopter while looking back at their parents at Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico, on June 17, 2016. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  President Obama hugs his daughter Malia following his farewell speech to the nation in Chicago, on Jan. 10, 2017. Scott Olson—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4631599/malia-sasha-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4631599/malia-sasha-obama/"},"headline":"Growing Up Obama: Malia and Sasha Through the Years","datePublished":"2017-01-12T17:38:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:11.414Z","description":"See some of the sweetest First Daughter moments, from campaign planes to pardoned turkeys.","url":"https://time.com/4631599/malia-sasha-obama/","keywords":["society","History","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbd06b62906c4f2f/6988b53b428a9e4850cd5732/sasha-malia-obama-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbd06b62906c4f2f/6988b53b428a9e4850cd5732/sasha-malia-obama-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama Sworn In As U.S. President For A Second Term","caption":"Barack Obama Sworn In As U.S. President For A Second Term","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/society/","name":"society"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4631599/malia-sasha-obama/","name":"Growing Up Obama: Malia and Sasha Through the Years"}}]}] ```