What People Thought Of Malia Obama's First Writers' Room Gig
She might be most known as a former first daughter, but Malia Obama has been forging a career in Hollywood for years. While 2024 saw the debut of Malia's first-ever short film, the Chicago native actually scored her first Hollywood job at the age of 15. She started in the field as an intern, working on Halle Berry's sci-fi series "Extant," but eventually landed a gig in the writer's room of the Amazon Prime series "Swarm."
The 2023 release is a horror comedy starring Dominique Fishback as Dre, an extreme fan obsessed with a Beyonce-like R&B singer. As the series lead, Fishback opened up about what it was like working with the budding Obama daughter. "I think she's so intelligent," she told E! News, explaining that Obama was on set during the first episode's filming. "She's so cool. I just want to know what she wants to do next. Maybe we can do something together."
While Fishback adds that the two of them "plan on meeting up and chatting and continuing to build our relationship," she's not the only one impressed by the Harvard graduate. Show creators Donald Glover and Janine Nabers had similarly positive things to say about working with Malia Obama.
Swarm creators praised the young screenwriter
"Swarm" might've been Malia Obama's first foray into the writer's room, but she didn't fail to impress. Show creators Donald Glover and Janine Nabers both praised the former first daughter, admiring her work as an up-and-coming writer. "She's an incredible writer and artist," Nabers told Vanity Fair, also noting her professionalism. "[The main characters of the show] are in their 20s, and Malia is in her 20s, so it was really great having someone like her in the room."
Donald Glover, who's known as an actor, comedian, rapper, director, and producer, similarly commended Obama in an interview with Vanity Fair. "She's just, like, an amazingly talented person," he said. "She's really focused, and she's working really hard." The "Atlanta" creator was seemingly so impressed with the Harvard graduate that he took her under his wing, sharing with GQ that Malia was producing her first-ever short film under his production company.
"The first thing we did was talk about the fact that she will only get to do this once," he shared. "You're Obama's daughter. So if you make a bad film, it will follow you around." Her film, titled "The Heart," showed at Telluride, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Sundance Film Festival, ultimately receiving mixed reviews.
This wasn't Malia's first professional praise
While Malia Obama's work on "Swarm" was a major stepping stone for her career, it wasn't the first Hollywood-centered job she received praise for. After she worked as a production assistant on "Extant," lead actor Halle Berry opened up about what the Obama daughter was like on set. "She was fantastic. She is such a smart, beautiful young woman," she said on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."
Though the star revealed that the cast and crew had trouble seeing Malia as PA, that didn't stop the young writer from trying her hardest. Berry added, "She was down to do whatever a PA is asked to do, and I had wild respect for her for that." This work ethic was echoed by Lena Dunham, who worked with Obama on HBO's "Girls."
In an interview on "The Howard Stern Show," the comedian revealed Malia had already been interning at the network when they decided to send her to the comedy show's set a few days a week. "Obviously, we weren't making her go get our coffee," Dunham shared. "But she wanted to do all the jobs, that was the cool thing. She was totally enthusiastic." So far, Malia Obama has a pretty positive Hollywood track record, but we can't wait to see what the up-and-coming talent has planned for the future.