'MY MOST IMPORTANT TITLE IS MOM-IN-CHIEF'

FOLLOWING THE GLOBAL SUCCESS OF MICHELLE OBAMA'S, MEMOIR AND DOCUMENTARY OK! TAKES A LOOK AT THE FORMER FIRST LADY'S RISE TO THE TOP

- KATIE LANGFORD-FOSTER

She’s best known as the former First Lady of the United States, but Michelle Obama was a force to be reckoned with long before she and her family moved into the White House in 2009.

Her best-selling memoir, Becoming, and her subsequent international book tour has become the subject of Netflix’s hit documentary of the same name. To date, the book has sold more than 10 million copies and the audio version picked up a Grammy earlier this year.

And at last month’s virtual BET Awards ceremony, Michelle was, of course, the one to present Beyoncé with her humanitarian award.

Born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on 17 January 1964, she grew up on the South Side of Chicago alongside older brother Craig. Both her late father Fraser and her mother Marian – who she credits as her “rock” – inspired the belief in championing young women that she would carry into adulthood.

The 56-year-old reflects, “I think girls can do everything boys can, so we should treat them like it from an early age. That’s something my father did for me. I have an older brother and when we were little my dad bought him boxing gloves – but he also bought me some, too, and I learned how to throw a punch.”