Marian Robinson shunned the spotlight and rarely gave interviews – her daughter, Michelle Obama, once described her as a “sweet, witty companion who doesn’t need the limelight”.
But it was that privacy, tightly guarded by the Obamas, that afforded Robinson the rare luxury of being able to live relatively freely in the White House and without the usual scrutiny that follows every first family – while still enjoying the perks of being the president’s mother-in-law.
Growing up in Chicago, she may never have dreamed that her daughter would one day be the first lady of the United States. On election night, holding Barack Obama’s hand, she said to him: “Well, it’s just a little overwhelming, isn’t it?”
Robinson moved into the White House – albeit reluctantly at first – and played a unique and crucial role. As the affectionately known “first grandma”, she brought some normality to the lives of her granddaughters, Malia and Sasha.
In 2019, Barack Obama said: “I’ve always appreciated her steadiness, her perspective, and the way a wisecrack from her reverberates around the room.”
Following her death on Friday at the age of 86, the former president paid tribute in a statement to the “extraordinary gift of her life”.
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