Michelle Obama Makes TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2009...

Michelle Obama
By Oprah Winfrey

Michelle Obama (in Rodarte, left) doesn't just inspire us. She affirms us with her intelligence, authenticity, depth and compassion. We see the best of ourselves in her and marvel that no matter what she's doing, she brings 100% of herself to the experience.

I first met Michelle almost five years ago, shortly after Senator Barack Obama's riveting 2004 DNC speech. Long before there was serious talk of a campaign for the presidency, I remember going to the Obamas' house for dinner. I figured there would be takeout since I knew that, like me, Michelle had worked all day. But no, there she was in the kitchen, calm and organized, preparing linguine with shrimp and vegetables.

The woman I witnessed five years ago, with her graciousness, care and attention to detail, is the same woman I visited in the White House in February. Her very presence makes you feel welcome. Her political power is secondary to her heart power, and I salute her for that. I trust her. I know that whatever she gives her attention to, the truth will always be present. She doesn't make false moves.

The joy Michelle, 45, brings to her roles as First Mother and First Lady is what makes her so intoxicating. We want that joy in the roles we inhabit as mothers, wives, workers, daughters and friends. And while we admire those arms and applaud her fashion choices (from J. Crew to top designers), her greatest influence is that she makes us want to be our own best selves — and maybe lift a few weights too.

Watching her on the global stage greeting the Queen and chatting with dignitaries and representing us the way we imagine presenting ourselves on our best day, I was reminded of lines from Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman": "It's the fire in my eyes,/ And the flash of my teeth,/ The swing in my waist,/ And the joy in my feet./ I'm a woman/ Phenomenally."

How sweet it is that America has a First Lady who embodies the vibrancy and confidence of a seriously prepared 21st century woman. A phenomenal woman indeed.

Winfrey is a global media leader and international philanthropist

Fast Fact: Michelle Obama's undergraduate thesis for Princeton examined the sometimes isolating experience of being black in the Ivy League

Click to see a complete list of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2009. And YES, the President made TIME's list too...

Michelle Obama Casual in J. Crew and Lanvin as She Serves...

First lady Michelle Obama (in a J. Crew sweater and Lanvin Cap Toe Sneaks) along with Jill Biden, congressional spouses and volunteers, fills plastic bags with non-perishable food items for distribution at the Capitol Area Food Bank for Feeding America on April 29, 2009 in Washington , D.C.



(l. to r.) Dr. Jill Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and Vicki Escarra, President and Chief Executive Officer of Feeding America.


A closer look at Michelle's sneaks below..

[photos via Reuters]

Check for Michelle's Lanvin sneakers at Barney's or Bluefly and her argyle sweater is available at J. Crew.

First Lady Michelle Obama Showing High Favorability Among Republican Women...

via Politico:

Michelle Obama continues to enjoy high favorability ratings, with a recent poll showing that 76 percent of Americans have a positive opinion of her. That’s up from 68 percent before POTUS was inaugurated.

Much of the surge has to with Republican women, 67 percent of whom have a favorable view of Michelle Obama. That’s up 21 percent since January.

So far, FLOTUS is outpacing Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton on the likeability scale. Bush and Clinton had ratings of 64 percent and 60 percent, respectively, at similar times in their husbands' presidencies.

The poll also found that people’s overall perceptions of Bush and Obama varied:

“Among the most often used words to describe Michelle Obama are Strong, Confident, Smart, Wife, and Wonderful, none of which were in the top-20 words used for Laura Bush eight years ago. By contrast, Mrs. Bush was often described as Ladylike, Quiet, Loyal, Dignified, and Pleasant, none of which make the list for Mrs. Obama. Notably, Michelle Obama is rarely described in ideological terms – only one person out of 765 interviewed describes her as Liberal.”

Michelle Obama Makes People Magazine's 2009 "Most Beautiful" List

Which is a huge honor. But the picture they chose of the First Lady? WRONG IMHO.


See who else made the list here.
Also VOTE on Michelle Obama's 100 Days of Style here.

"Ain't I a Woman?" Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton Unveil Bust of Sojourner Truth..

First Lady Michelle Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived for the unveiling ceremony for the bust of Sojourner Truth in the U.S. Captiol Visitors Center April 28, 2009 in Washington, DC. Sojourner Truth was an 19th century American slave, abolitionist, and women's rights activist who is best-known for her speech, "Ain't I a Woman?"

* WARDROBE UPDATE*For the unveiling of the bust of abolitionist Sojourner Truth at Emancipation Hall on Tuesday, Michelle Obama chose another new designer, Sophie Theallet, and familiar silhouette (narrow waist, full skirt), reports today’s Women’s Wear Daily.

The choice was especially savvy given that Theallet, a French-born, Brooklyn-based designer who is a 10-year veteran of Azzedine Alaïa (another Obama favorite), was the only designer to use an entire casting of black models for her debut spring 2009 runway show:
“When I was designing that first show, which was before the election, I was just thinking about colors. I think that black models and black skin are very beautiful, and I wanted to express that. When people saw my clothes, they said, ‘Oh, Michelle, she would be so good in these clothes.’ She’s beautiful lady and she is very well-dressed and she looks stunning all the time.”

Michelle Obama's First 100 Days...

CNN's Don Lemon takes a closer look at what First Lady, Michelle Obama has accomplished in her first 100 days.

Designer Elie Tahari to Release His "Michelle Dress" Soon..

via WWD

On Thursday, Elie Tahari got his chance to talk about Michelle Obama’s style on CNN’s “American Morning.” The segment focused on the First Lady as a fashion muse, which is something Tahari knows about. He just created the “Michelle” dress, naturally inspired by Obama. “I noticed when I saw her that she wears bare shoulders and she had great arms,” Tahari said on the show. “She has a great style, and what’s great about her is she is dressing like everybody else can dress.”

His “Michelle” dress exposes one shoulder, and will be available in a floral print for $598 this July, and a solid plum color for $498 in October. This wasn’t the only Tahari moment on television. The designer’s wife, Rory, was a guest judge on Bravo’s “Make Me a Supermodel” on Wednesday, where she turned down two aspiring models for the brand’s fall campaign. And Elie Tahari will be a judge on an upcoming episode of “The Fashion Show,” the new series on Bravo, which premieres May 7.

Michelle O. Speaks at a "Take Your Children to Work Day" Event at the White House..

First lady Michelle Obama (in another Junya Watanabe sweater and her critically acclaimed white Moschino bow blouse) spoke to a group of children during a "take your children to work day" event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday April 23, 2009.

[photo via Reuters]

First Lady Michelle Obama Sports Garden Chic...

First Lady Michelle Obama (wearing a Lanvin blouse) helps plant a tree as part of a service project at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC, after US President Barack Obama earlier signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, on April 21, 2009.

Arnold Scaasi on Who Michelle Obama Should Be Wearing: "I Think I'm Great"

In today’s Women’s Wear Daily, designer Arnold Scaasi offers fashion advice for the First Lady (like she needs it? -Chanel). Scaasi, who has dressed five First Ladies, was eager to weigh in on Michelle Obama’s approach to fashion, saying while the First Lady is great-looking with a great personality, “something is amiss.”

On whose role it should be to ensure that proper wardrobe protocol is followed for various events: “I don’t know how much advice she’s getting from who or where, but for instance, she has a very good-looking social secretary, Desirée Rogers. She’s great-looking, and she dresses beautifully from the photographs I see, so why not discuss it with her?”

For the record, Scaasi doesn’t think Obama should abandon her current choices, but merely spread the wealth: “I think J. Crew is great. But I also think Donna Karen is great, and I think Ralph [Lauren] is great, and I think Oscar [de la Renta] is great, and I think I’m great.”

Ahh... the REAL agenda emerges...

Bo Obama Makes His Debut at the White House [VIDEO]

2009 White House Easter Egg Roll with the Obama's [VIDEO]

[photo via Getty images]
President Barack Obama reads the book "Where the Wild Thing Are" to young children alongside First Lady Michelle Obama, their daughters Sasha and Malia and Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2009. More than 30,000 guests will attend this year's events, which include a kids kitchen, an organic kitchen, live musical performances, kids yoga and the traditional Easter egg roll.

Fergie Sings the National Anthem before the Easter Egg Roll:


President Obama kicks off the Easter Egg Roll:


Click here to watch a LIVE STREAM of the the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll festivities already in progress...

Easter Sunday with the Obama's...

[via AP Photo]
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in a Peter Soronen dress) depart St. John's Episcopal Church after attending an Easter service in Washington April 12, 2009.

"Bo" The Obama's Cute New Pup, Makes Its Debut...

via The Washington Post
The identity of the first puppy -- the one that the Washington press corps has been yelping about for months, the one President Obama has seemed to delight in dropping hints about -- leaked out yesterday. This despite White House efforts to delay the news until the big debut planned for Tuesday afternoon.

The little guy is a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog given to the Obama girls as a gift by that Portuguese water dog-lovin' senator himself, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The girls named it Bo -- and let it be noted that you learned that here first. Malia and Sasha chose the name, because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, a source said. (Get it? Bo . . . Diddley?)

Bo's a handsome little guy. Well suited for formal occasions at the White House, he's got tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee.

Clearly, the identity of the dog was information too big to contain. A mysterious Web site called http://firstdogcharlie.com published a picture of a Portie yesterday morning, complete with a Q and A with the dog, which it said was originally named Charlie. The celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com linked to the picture. So much for the big White House unveiling.

Continue reading about the Obama's new puppy "Bo" here.

Cost of the White House Veggie Garden? Less than $200...

First lady Michelle Obama smiles as she helps students plant herbs in the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington April 9, 2009.



It's refreshing to see that the first lady is not afraid to get her hands (and her clothes!) dirty. Fabulous.
[photos via AP Photo]

Michelle Obama's Approval Ratings Continue to Escalate...

Also in this video, another fitting tribute to Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother who the Obama's call their "secret weapon"...

Wax Replicas of the Obama's are Unveiled at Washington D.C.'s Madame Tussaud's..

The wax replica of Michelle Obama at the unveiling of a "Michelle Obama" wax figure at Madame Tussauds on April 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. Michelle joins only two other first ladies who've previously been immortalized in wax, Jackie Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.



The replicas of first lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama at Madame Tussauds were unveiled on April 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. 

The outfit that Michelle's wax figure is sporting is super close to the dress I was inspired by Michelle Obama to make! I'm just super tickled by that... any thoughts on the Obama's wax figures?

Michelle Obama & Her Mom to Cover Essence Magazine's May Mother's Day Issue..

via Politico
Add another to Michelle Obama’s growing stack of magazine spreads. In the May issue of Essence, first grandmother Marian Robinson gets into the act, too, joining her daughter for a joint interview and cover shoot for the mother’s day issue.

Interviewed in the Frst Lady’s East Wing Office at about a month after the inauguration, the mother-daughter team discuss family, life in the White House and the importance of good role models. Robinson, 71, says her role model is her daughter:

“Michelle has always been Michelle. And she has always accomplished whatever it was she set out to accomplish,” Robinson says in the interview, which is not yet posted online. I have always looked up to Michelle because she has been able to do things that I couldn’t do emotionally, psychologically or physically. I think she is amazing.”

Obama said of her mother that “she made me who I am.”

In the interview, Obama also discusses her growing platform, giving it a global spin.

“We have to talk about flex hours and exercise and nutrition and health and what that means. And we have to talk about values, and our relationship with men,” she says. “All of those are part of the conversation that I think we need to have, not just in this country, but around the world.”

Obama and Robinson also discuss parenting and whether Robinson might follow the path of her son, Craig, and also become an author. When Robinson was asked if she thought of writing a parenting book, her daughter jumped in with a laugh.

“We are working on it,” she said.

Michelle Obama Takes the World Stage By Storm...

Michelle Obama Visits St. Vitus Cathedral in Black & White Moschino and Michael Kors..

First Lady Michelle Obama (in a black Michael Kors skirt, a white Moschino top and her fave Azzedine Alaia belt) visits the St. Vitus' Cathedral with her Czech counterpart Livia Klausovt Hradcany Square of Czech capital, on April 5, 2009 during on the second day of US President Obama's official visit here. Obama will also attend a summit between the US and the 27-member European Union in Prague held today.





President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he is accompanied by his wife Michelle upon their arrival at the Hradcanske Square.

Michelle is chic in a fitted black sheath as the Obama's land in Prague
FLOTUS on Tour[photos via Getty images]

Fashionable First Ladies...

France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama (in an Azzedine Alaia jacket) wave as they arrive for the visit of the Strasbourg's Cathedral April 4, 2009.



Checking each other out earlier...



First Lady Michelle Obama and French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy walk through the streets of Strasbourg, eastern France on April 4, 2009. The spouses of the NATO country leaders took part in their own program during the two-day NATO summit, which marks the organizations 60th anniversary, is taking place on April 3 and 4, 2009 in Strasbourg, France and the neighboring German cities of Baden-Baden and Kehl.
[photos via Getty images]

Michelle Obama gifts Carla Bruni-Sarkozy an acoustic Guitar as a friendship gesture:
Call Michelle Obama the ultimate guitar hero. The American First Lady presented French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy with a practical – and very rock 'n' roll – gift: an acoustic Gibson guitar.

Offered "as a sign of friendship', Michelle Obama gave Gibson's Legend model, to Bruni, a former model-turned-singer who is currently in the process of recording her fourth album. The gift, which Michelle Obama brought to France, was presented to Bruni following their visit Saturday to Strasbourg's 12th century cathedral and the city's Renaissance Museum, a source says.

The pair, who met on Friday for the first time, have formed a fast friendship according to one source.
Continue reading this article here.

Michelle Obama Brings the Drama in a Black Azzedine Alaia Cocktail Dress...

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in Azzedine Alaia via WWD) arrive for a cultural event at the Kurhaus during the NATO summit in Baden-Baden, April 3, 2009. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week at a summit co-hosted by Germany and France.



I'm loving the long bangs... fabulous.


[photos via Getty Images]


Victoria Beckham and Mariah Carey both in Azzedine Alaia. This designer is definitely a celeb favorite.

The Obama's Arrive in Germany...

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in a Thakoon dress), disembark a helicopter at the Klosterwiese in Baden-Baden, Germany, Friday, April 3, 2009.



German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pose after the welcome ceremony at the market place near the town hall in Baden-Baden April 3, 2009. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week at a summit co-hosted by Germany and France.

Michelle Obama Arrives in France Wearing Bright Floral Thakoon...

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in Thakoon) step off Air Force One upon their arrival to Strasbourg, April 3, 2009.



President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama gather with France's President Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg April 3, 2009. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week at a summit co-hosted by Germany and France.


(underneath Michelle's coat...)

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy greet members of the public as they leave the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg following a meeting between France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama, April 3, 2009.



The dress (seen here in more vivid color!) as President Barack Obama kisses Michelle during a town hall meeting at Rhenus Sports Arena in Strasbourg, eastern France on April 3, 2009.[photos via Getty images]

Palace Says "No Breach of Protocol" Between Michelle Obama and The Queen...

Our first lady is a hugger. It's been well documented, so she wasn't going to NOT show affection towards the Queen. Seriously, people just need to relax.


via Shenanigans"Inside Edition" called up the Palace to ask about this hubbub that Michelle Obama dare touch the Queen - a big royal no-no that has all blogs and cables talking.

However, it's no big deal, the Palace says.

“It’s obvious that it was a mutual sign of affection and appreciated between the Queen and Michelle Obama,” a spokesperson for the Queen told "Inside Edition."

“There is no offense. The reception was an informal occasion. There's no breach of protocol.”

And the advice from Buckingham Palace for future encounters? “The only recommendation is that you do what you would naturally feel in that environment.”

Michelle Obama Receives a Royal Welcome Overseas [VIDEO]

Michelle Obama may just be "the most famous first lady in the world."

Michelle Obama Attends G-20 Spouses Visit in a Wu-Watanabe Combination [4/2/09]

First lady Michelle Obama (in a Jason Wu dress and a Junya Watanabe cardigan) talks to Sarah Brown, at a G20 spouses visit to the Royal Opera House in London April 2, 2009.



Sarah Brown, greets U.S first lady Michelle Obama, April 2, 2009.

The Obama's Meet the Queen, Prince Charles & Camilla...

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle (in an Isabel Toledo dress and Azzedine Alaia cardigan), pose with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday April 1, 2009 (the President gifted an iPod to the Queen and the Queen gifted the President a silver framed photograph of herself and her husband).





President Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle, speak with Britain's Prince Charles, left, and his wife, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall during a reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

[photos via AP Photo]

Michelle Obama in Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu to Meet the Queen...

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in a black-and-white dress by Isabel Toledo, black cardigan by Azzedine Alaïa and a black Jason Wu opera coat) are escorted by by David Walker, the Head of the Household, upon their arrive at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

[photos via AP photos]