Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17 1964) is an American lawyer and the wife of Illinois senator Barack Obama, who is a candidate for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination for U.S. President. She was born and raised on the South Side of and then educated at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She returned to Chicago after completing her formal education to work for the law firm Sidley Austin, on the staff of the Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Hospitals. She is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Brown University.
She met Barack when he came to work for Sidley Austin. The Obamas live on Chicago's South Side in , United States, choosing to remain in Chicago rather than moving to Washington, D.C. She is now perceived as Barack's closest adviser, although early in the race she said, "My job is not a senior adviser."
