Malia Obama Is a Typical 18-Year-Old, Kinda

Malia Obama at Sundance. (Photo: AP Images)
Malia Obama at Sundance. (Photo: AP Images)

Since exiting the White House, Malia Obama has been busy being a typical teen (sorta). The 18-year-old opted for a gap year between high school and Harvard, and has been doing typical teen things with her time off like interning and hanging with friends. But her internship is for Hollywood powerhouse producer Harvey Weinstein. And her friends include people like New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s kids and Diane von Furstenberg’s grandson. In other words, she’s running with a very, very well-heeled crowd.

Malia’s Presidents’ Day weekend festivities put most normal girls her age to shame. She started with a jaunt to hot spot Up & Down in New York City on Friday night, where singer Jidenna had his album release party. (In his new song “Trampoline,” Jidenna makes reference to “the daughter of the president,” which might be Malia herself.) Janelle Monáe was in attendance, and Malia reportedly hung out in the VIP section of the bar until 2 a.m. drinking Red Bull. Not a bad start to the holiday.

Happy President's Day!! xM #Aspen #friends #family #fun

A post shared by Monique Lhuillier (@moniquelhuillier) on Feb 20, 2017 at 8:10am PST

She then flitted off to a ski trip in Aspen, Colo., where she partied at Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro on Highlands Mountain with a group of pals that gave new meaning to the term power lunch. (Though it may have been dinner — the timing of the meal was unclear.) Seated at the table with the former first daughter were Elizabeth, Zachary, and Holden Tisch, Tassilo von Furstenberg, fashion designer Monique Lhuillier and her husband, Tom Bugbee, Dutch professional cyclist Danielle Oerlemans and husband Reinout (the former host of the Dutch version of American Idol), and Audrey Kotick, the daughter of Activision CEO Robert Kotick. From the pic Lhuillier shared on Instagram, it appears the group mainly stuck to water, though a few of the adults did look like they might have enjoyed some chilled white wine.

Malia sported braids and a red, white, and blue hat reading “USA” for the happy occasion. It all looked very innocent and sweet, though it’s worth noting that famed DJ, producer, and tour manager Matt Chirichillo (whose client list includes everyone from the Eagles to Christina Aguilera and OneRepublic) posted his own snap from the same mountaintop bash that had a slightly different take on the festivities. “#tbt to Spraying off Champagne fireworks with a bunch of marvelous maniacs and Obama’s daughter….hmmmm,” he wrote under a pic showcasing a wall of champagne chilling in the snow.

Based on the phrasing, it doesn’t sound like he was including Malia in the group of “marvelous maniacs,” but still. Most teenagers aren’t enjoying “Champagne fireworks” with a bunch of superrich people on their three-day weekends.

Malia Obama stops by beauty store Ricky’s. (Photo: BlayzenPhotos/AKM-GSI)
Malia Obama stops by beauty store Ricky’s. (Photo: BlayzenPhotos/AKM-GSI)

On Tuesday Malia was back in the Big Apple and back to her normal routine, hitting up Ricky’s — a bargain beauty shop — and heading to her internship at the Weinstein Co. In other words, it seems that before even starting college, Barack Obama’s eldest daughter has already mastered the ability to work hard, play hard, and work hard again.


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