# Is Michelle Obama beautiful? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496 "2009-06-11T22:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/41 "2009-06-12T03:19:38Z")
She’s an outright hag compared to Dennis Kucinich’s wife. He has the best looking wife in politics, bar none. She looks like Julianne Moore’s identical twin. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/42 "2009-06-12T03:21:16Z")
I think she is the best-looking first lady we’ve had in my lifetime, and yes, my lifetime includes Jackie. But not a classic beauty. (Note that I think Jackie had a lot of class and was very stylish. I think Michele is better looking and almost as stylish, although I don’t know why she keeps wearing clothes that make her look pregnant. Not always–but occasionally.) I think she’s better looking than Diana, who IMO was only nice-looking in comparison to other members of the royal family. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/43 "2009-06-12T03:23:14Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I think Hillary is/was gorgeous\*. I noticed a long time ago that pictures of her are always awful but she usually looks good on video. Bad pictures of her must sell better. > > \*Umm, on the political curve that Zsofia mentioned, of course. A friend of mine who was a news photographer said it was very, very hard to get a flattering candid shot of Hilary, even though she was not at all bad=looking in person. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/44 "2009-06-12T04:00:16Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I’m pretty sure Penn is at least 6’6. I’m 6’4 and he towered over me when we met. My mistake. Even better for the 6’ tall showgirls. They can feel _dainty_. Though I understand that he is now married, so his showgirl dating days are through. The best looking ruler of a country has to be [Queen Noor](http://onemonkeyshow.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/queennoor2.jpg). King Hussien had great taste. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/45 "2009-06-12T04:49:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > The best looking ruler of a country has to be [Queen Noor](http://onemonkeyshow.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/queennoor2.jpg). King Hussien had great taste. Her daughter-in-law, [Queen Rania](http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/photo/2007/01/27/2005064323), is no slouch either. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/46 "2009-06-12T04:57:37Z")
She is pretty. Among first ladies she is #2. I’d say Jackie O is #1. It’s true that Hillary was pretty in her younger years, I didn’t really get that vibe when she was first lady. I don’t know of any other first ladies that I could even put on that scale. Obviously Michelle is pretty enough that people find it worth talking about. I think most of the features that people might object to are culturally based. She may even have the effect of changing those perceptions. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/47 "2009-06-12T05:02:18Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > She is pretty. Among first ladies she is #2. I’d say Jackie O is #1. It’s true that Hillary was pretty in her younger years, I didn’t really get that vibe when she was first lady. I don’t know of any other first ladies that I could even put on that scale. Obviously Michelle is pretty enough that people find it worth talking about. > > I think most of the features that people might object to are culturally based. She may even have the effect of changing those perceptions. Naw, WarmNPrickly. I think the feature most folks object to is that major mandible. That’s not cultural, right? Many folks across all sorts of culture lines would find that a bit to get past. My husband says she looks like she could bite through a wrought iron gate. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/48 "2009-06-12T05:07:32Z")
People think I’m crazy for saying this, but I think Eleanor Roosevelt was beautiful. She was not “sexy” like Jennifer Lopez. She was beautiful like a work of art. One of the most interesting and oddly lovely faces I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/49 "2009-06-12T05:09:34Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > A friend of mine who was a news photographer said it was very, very hard to get a flattering candid shot of Hilary, even though she was not at all bad=looking in person. There are definitely people like that. I’ve been told many times that I’m one of them, but people might have been trying to spare my feelings. I certainly look terrible in pictures; one hopes that I do in fact look better in real life. Keep in mind, by the way, that when you think about these political women in your mind, who are you comparing them to? I suspect that your brain classes them with “media celebrities” who you also see on magazine covers, and there’s no way that women in their 40’s - 60’s who were not particularly chosen for looks are going to compare with women in their 20’s who most certainly were. First ladies and other women in politics/political wives are going to be the ugliest people on the tabloid covers whose name isn’t Elizabeth Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/50 "2009-06-12T05:52:37Z")
She comes off as nice and intelligent, but physically she doesn’t do it for me. She looks as if she could handily kick my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/51 "2009-06-12T11:59:23Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > That’s probably a result of being so tall. Being tall doesn’t cause poor posture, of course. But being taller than average can cause acute self-consciousness when one is a teen. She may have slumped to fit in. Luckily she married a man taller than herself, tall enough that she can wear heels with him. I agree. I knew plenty of tall girls in school who slumped because they were self-conscious. Me and my good friend in Jr. High were both full-grown at 12 years old. She was 5’10" and I was 5’1". She was a bit of a slumper, but she grew out of it and carries herself very well these days. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/52 "2009-06-12T15:19:16Z")
Is Michelle Obama beautiful? She’s average in looks. She’s an accomplished and confident woman with a warmly expressive and intelligent face. Maybe that’s what people respond to. It’s just habitual, commenting on women in terms of their looks, even when they’re irrelevant. I know the day will never come when people don’t comment on women’s and girls’ looks before anything else. And the day will never come when it doesn’t rile my feminist heart. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/53 "2009-06-12T17:10:34Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > She comes off as nice and intelligent, but physically she doesn’t do it for me. She looks as if she could handily kick my ass. Oh, you don’t fool us–that’s what gets you off the most! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/54 "2009-06-12T17:56:34Z")
Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. I don’t find her beautiful. She’s not ugly by any means, but she’s not my particular cup of tea. I’d explain why but what’s the point? (No, it’s not because she’s black.) But that’s just me. Barack Obama apparently thought she was beautiful, and that’s what matters. [QUOTE=zsofia] Princess Diana was hot for a British royal [/QUOTE] She was much, much prettier in real life than she was in photos. I saw her during a visit to Kingston and was shocked at how beautiful she was; I couldn’t believe it was the same person. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/55 "2009-06-12T18:21:02Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Politicians and the nobility are graded on a curve. Princess Diana was hot _for a British royal_. Kennedy was hot _compared to Taft_. That must be why he got so many incredibly hot women to sleep with him. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/56 "2009-06-12T18:31:47Z")
She has a bit of a Klingon forehead thing going on which might be helped by a different hair style and her pouty lower lip suggests an underbite. These aren’t major things but there is something about her eyes that don’t look right and I think it’s her eyebrows. They drop down too low in the center. I like a more petite/slender figure but there is nothing horribly wrong with hers. She’s certainly in good shape for her age and can wear clothes well. by far her best feature is her smile. It really lights up her face. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/57 "2009-06-12T18:34:21Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Compared to other first ladies, yeah. Correct. I think you guys have hit it with the whole mouth/jaw area thing. I’ve been puzzled for a while about why I don’t seem to think she’s as attractive (physically) as everyone else does. Sure, I think she’s great, and I don’t find her unattractive, she’s obviously well groomed… so what was the problem? It’s the whole mouth area, and maybe something about her teeth. I think her figure is fine. She’s tall and fit, so what if she has wide hips. Aren’t women supposed to have wide hips? We’re not boys, you know. Maybe as a tall(ish) woman whose hips are noticeably wider than my hips, I’m biased. Princess Di was not pretty. Hillary C was pretty when she was young, which I was frankly surprised by. She still looks fine for a dumpy old broad. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/58 "2009-06-12T18:36:26Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I like a more petite/slender figure [Dude, how much skinnier should she be?](http://www.dancewithshadows.com/celebrity/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/michelle-obama-sexy.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/59 "2009-06-12T18:37:42Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > [Dude, how much skinnier should she be?](http://www.dancewithshadows.com/celebrity/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/michelle-obama-sexy.jpg) Fucking cow. She should lose 45 lbs immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/60 "2009-06-12T19:05:52Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I think Michelle Obama is uglier on the inside than she is on the outside. \ Take your politics over to Great Debates, please. IMHO isn’t the place for that. \ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496.md?page=4)