--- title: Michelle Obama on Prom Night for Malia in Becoming description: The First Daughter asked Michelle and Barack to "just be cool please" on the evening of her prom, as Michelle shares in her new book canonical: https://time.com/5453215/malia-barack-michelle-prom/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-13T16:14:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:59.402Z og:title: Malia Obama Asked Her Parents to 'Just Be Cool' at Prom og:description: Malia asked Barack and Obama to "just be cool please, okay" on her prom night og:url: https://time.com/5453215/malia-barack-michelle-prom/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178199d3124d314/69893efeb21a9c5fa24ff74d/malia-barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Obama Pardons National Thanksgiving Turkey og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Malia Obama Asked Her Parents to 'Just Be Cool' at Prom twitter:description: Malia asked Barack and Obama to "just be cool please, okay" on her prom night twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178199d3124d314/69893efeb21a9c5fa24ff74d/malia-barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Obama Says Daughter Malia Begged Her Parents to 'Just Be Cool' While Meeting Her Prom Date. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 13, 2018 4:14 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama (L) delivers remarks with his daughter Malia during the annual turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House November 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama (L) delivers remarks with his daughter Malia during the annual turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House November 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 13, 2018 4:14 PM UTC Before meeting her date for prom, [Malia Obama](http://time.com/5410025/malia-obama-music-video/) wanted only one thing from her parents President Barack Obama and First Lady [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/5451761/michelle-obama-oprah/): for them to “just be cool please, okay?” In her new book [_Becoming_](http://time.com/5451887/michelle-obama-trump-inauguration/), Michelle [reflects on](https://people.com/politics/michelle-obama-daughter-malia-prom-night-memoir-becoming/) her eldest daughter’s first prom experience, and the complicated — but extremely relatable — way that the family navigated the night. Obama recalls that it was spring of 2015\. (Malia was 16 at the time, and a student at Washington, D.C.’s [Sidwell Friends](http://time.com/4364299/president-obama-malia-graduation/) High School.) “On the appointed evening, her date arrived in his car, clearing security at the southeast gate of the White House, following the path up and around the South Lawn by which heads of state and other visiting dignitaries normally arrived, and then gamely — bravely — walking into the Dip Room dressed in a black suit,” [Obama writes.](https://people.com/politics/michelle-obama-daughter-malia-prom-night-memoir-becoming/) She notes that they made an exception for Malia to be driven by the date, since normally secret service would have that role. Apparently, Malia was embarrassed even before the meeting took place as she rode the elevator down with her parents. “I was barefoot, and Barack was in flip-flops,” Michelle recalls. Ultimately, Michelle says the date was “a bit excruciating,” according to Malia, but the Obamas did their best to “be cool” despite it all. Malia is currently an undergraduate at [Harvard University](http://time.com/4634386/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-read-letter-sasha-malia-obama/), so hopefully her life is now a little less encumbered by secret service protocols, White House standards and — of course — her parents’ presence. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5453215/malia-barack-michelle-prom/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5453215/malia-barack-michelle-prom/"},"headline":"Michelle Obama Says Daughter Malia Begged Her Parents to 'Just Be Cool' While Meeting Her Prom Date. 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