Name Marian Robinson | ||
Full Name Marian Lois Shields Residence 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. Spouse Fraser C. Robinson III (m. 1960–1991) Children Michelle Obama, Craig Robinson Parents Purnell Nathaniel Shields, Rebecca Jumper Grandchildren Natasha Obama, Malia Ann Obama, Leslie Robinson, Austin Robinson, Aaron Robinson, Avery Robinson Similar People Michelle Obama, Craig Robinson, Barack Obama, Ann Dunham, Fraser C Robinson III | ||
Marian Lois Robinson (nee Shields; July 30, 1937) is the mother of First Lady Michelle Robinson and the mother-in-law of President Barack Obama. She is the maternal grandmother and only living grandparent of Malia and Sasha Obama.
Early life and education
Marian Shields was born in Chicago in 1937, the fourth of seven children—five girls, followed by two boys—born to Purnell Nathaniel Shields, a house painter, and his wife Rebecca Jumper, a licensed practical nurse, according to Steve Shields, her youngest sibling. Her ancestors had moved from Georgia to Chicago in the early 20th century during the Great Migration.
As a girl, Marian attended public schools. She married Fraser Robinson on October 27, 1960 in Chicago.
Robinson formerly worked as a secretary for mail-order retailer Spiegel and at a bank. Both she and her husband had extended families in Chicago, whom they saw frequently at holidays and other times.
While Michelle and Barack Obama campaigned in 2008, Robinson tended her granddaughters. Early in January 2009, it was reported that Robinson would move into the White House with the rest of the First Family in order to provide further transition support for her granddaughters. She is the first live-in grandmother there since Elivera M. Doud, the mother of Mamie Eisenhower, during the Eisenhower administration. Some media outlets have dubbed Robinson the "First Granny."
