Obama daughter drops her last name

It’s not unheard of in Hollywood for the offspring of celebrities to shed their famous parents’ last names, so Malia Obama isn’t breaking any new ground by wanting to be known as “Malia Ann,” as she pursues her career as a filmmaker.

In recent years, the daughters of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have dropped the movie stars’ surnames, although that’s reportedly because these women have difficult, or even nonexistent, relationships with these famous men

Malia Obama belongs in another category, according to her father, former President Barack Obama. She’s among the celebrity offspring who hope to make their own way in their careers and who don’t want their work judged by their famous connections. In other words, they don’t want to be potentially seen as “nepo babies.”

During an interview Tuesday on the “Pivot” podcast, Obama said that Malia, 26, wanted audiences to watch her directorial debut, “The Heart,” without having the family connection in mind.

“She’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association,’” Obama said, during a conversation about raising children in the public eye.

Obama explained that his daughter’s first film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has screened at “all these fancy film festivals” — without her using “Obama” in the director credits.

The father of two — who also shares daughter Sasha, 23, with wife Michelle Obama — explained that his daughters aren’t interested in using their status as former first daughters to get ahead.