Malia Obama Landed Her First Hollywood Gig When She Was Only 15
Malia Obama's film career has been years in the making, as after the former first daughter began her Hollywood journey when she was just a teenager. In June 2014, Malia got her first opportunity to work on a major production when she interned as an assistant on the sci-fi series "Extant." The opportunity saw Malia working closely on the project, which starred Halle Berry. She was reportedly tasked with helping the director and assisting with the computer shop.
Actor Camryn Manheim, who also appeared in the series, praised Malia for being such an easy person with whom to work. "I can tell you that she is graceful and lovely, and just charming and delightful ... she's pretty remarkable. I mean, they are a remarkable family" Manheim told Entertainment Tonight during the show's premiere party at the Los Angeles Science Center [via CBS News]. The actor also noted that Malia had a good head on her shoulders despite growing up in the public eye.
It appears that this opportunity to work behind the scenes of "Extant" led to several others, allowing Malia to gain a plethora of experience while she was still in her teens.
Malia Obama headed to another set after Extant wrapped
After "Extant" completed filming, Malia Obama once again found herself working on a television show. In July 2015, she was spotted in Brooklyn on the set of the HBO series "Girls." Malia was initially supposed to intern with the network itself on a general basis; however, she was paired with the Lena Dunham-created show, of which she reportedly was a fan. Though her exact tasks are unknown, it seems that she had her hands in many aspects of the set.
During an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" in February 2017, Dunham shared her views on Malia's willingness to do even minor tasks despite being from a prestigious family. "She wanted to do all the jobs. That was the cool thing. She was totally enthusiastic," Dunham explained [via Vanity Fair]. "I once asked her, 'What's your favorite movie?' and she was like, 'Well, do you want me to list by my favorite director, actor, or cinematographer?' And I was like, 'You are smarter than me, let's just be done with that.'" It appears that Malia's wish to learn continued to impress people within the industry. She would once again be given another gig, this time allowing her to be even more hands-on.
Malia interned with the Weinstein Company
By February 2017, Malia Obama had moved on to the Weinstein Company. As part of the production and development department, the daughter of Michelle and Barack Obama was tasked with reading through scripts from screenwriters and helping make the final decision about which ones would progress to Weinstein's top executives. The paid position ran through the spring of 2017. Therefore, Malia was seemingly gone when the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein led to him being terminated from his enterprise in October of that year.
Malia began her college career at Harvard University in August 2017, where she majored in visual and environmental studies to further her filmmaking endeavors. After graduating in 2021, the ambitious creator landed a job as a writer on the Amazon Prime series "Hive." With her short film, "The Heart," debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024, it's apparent that she has grown tremendously within her cinema profession with no signs of slowing down.
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