IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson - I’m Not Disappearing - A Candid Conversation About Aging

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

On this very special episode of The Look, a table of legends joins the show to talk about aging. Actress and activist Jane Fonda, former model and activist Bethann Hardison, and designer and businesswoman Jenna Lyons join Michelle Obama to discuss what it means to get old: to not just physically evolve, but also to come closer to our own purpose with age. Plus, they share their surprising advice about love.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So I never date it. You know, like, we just... You got a boyfriend now? I have people who take care of me in a very nice way. Okay. Okay. Have you ever been on an app? Never, I'm not too cool for that.

She's never going to have a date. She's definitely not going to be on that. I'm too cool for that. So when you say they take care of you, what do you mean? You know, you know, you people love you. You got your Wednesday dude. You got your Saturday dudes.

No, in different places in the world. Oh, oh, yes. It's a little bit better to be in different places in the world. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Progressive Insurance and Sarah V. Welcome to The Look, a special series on IMO. The Look is also the name of Michelle Obama's beautiful new book, which is available for purchase now. I'm Jenna Lyons, designer and entrepreneur, and I'm here with a table of legends. We have Beth Ann Hardison, a former fashion model, modeling agent, and activist known for her groundbreaking work in the fashion space.

and Jane Fonda, Academy Award-winning actress and activist, and of course, needing no introduction, Michelle Obama. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for having me. Today, we're going to be discussing what it means to be a woman aging in the public eye, but we're also going to be discussing what it means to be a woman aging, period. How do we find our purpose as we age? So to get started, I'd like to get a sense of what aging has been like for all of you. We're going to start with you, Michelle.

Oh, my goodness. I'm curious. The baby of the crew. She's not started yet. That's there. I agree. You think I haven't started aging yet? Not really, no.

She hasn't. I mean, I happen to have been here at her 50th birthday party and literally you look exactly the same. Exactly. But that's not aging. It's not what you look like. It's what you feel like. Well, I think that's an interesting point because I think that being younger, that's what I thought. I thought the Golden Girls was aging.

and I didn't understand that aging can look very different. So I'm curious, when you were younger, what did you think aging would look like and what were you scared of? You know, it was who your grandparents were. And I'm doing the counting now. I'm trying to remember how old were my grandparents when I thought they were old. And they were 50, in their late 50s and 60s.

And as black people working class, black people, people died in their 70s. I had a great grandmother that lived until she was 83. My paternal grandmother lived into her 80s, but my other grandparents died in their 70s, and that wasn't an unusual thing. So I thought aging, I would think that by the time I am my age now,

and I am, you guys, 62, Am I 62? Everyone help me. I'm 61. Okay, I'm sorry. 64. I was on my second husband. Well.

But if I were to think of then what 61 was, 61 would be my grandparents. Right. And I know that that's, and they were old. I mean, because back then people let themselves age. I mean, it was sort of like people just said, okay, that's it. I'm old. I'm through trying to worry about getting dressed and what I look like. People were retiring. You know, I mean, it just seemed like aging was off a cliff. Well, and I think society sort of made you feel like once you were a certain age, you were kind of not as relevant.

I'm curious, Jane, what was like for you? What were you worried about when you were younger about getting older? I didn't think I'd live past 30. I was sure I was going to die. My mother died when I was 12. My youth was not especially happy. And I thought I was going to die. I'm not addictive, but I thought I was going to die from drugs and loneliness. So the fact that I'm almost 88 is astonishing to me. And what is even more astonishing is that I'm better now than I wouldn't go back for anything.

I feel more centered, more whole, more complete. I'm very happy, single, gorgeous. Yeah, that's just working for you. You're a fan. I'm a fan of you. How about for you about that? I think just recently I've begun to notice that there's a change in time and my body, but my mind and my spirit continues.

I have no problem telling people what I think, but I don't think I ever did have that problem. And I also love the idea that I love by others. You still have men in your life, but you have your freedom to be independent. And I just love being older because people jump to help you. And I love being older because I don't act like it. You sure don't. That's true. That's true.

Were you afraid of getting older when you were younger? No. You are? I never even imagine that. Like Jane said, I thought I wasn't going to live past the age 26. And when they gave me my 26th birthday party, I was supposed to be it, you know, like a party of celebrating me.

And I just stood outside and scared to go in because I couldn't believe it was happening. But truth, it wasn't out of some other fear. It just was a thought, you know. I was a cool kid, but it was just something like that. And now it just don't seem to stop. My life doesn't stop. I'm always going and doing and, you know, still trying to change something or fix something or help something.

even though I still want to be just in a hammock with a tequila. I'm curious, now that you've gotten older and you're feeling beautiful, as you all seem to be really in your body, was there a moment where you sort of stopped worrying or sort of stopped thinking about, oh, I have another gray hair, I have another wrinkle. Did it ever just stop? I'm looking at you, Jane. I don't, I've never been afraid of aging,

and more importantly, I'm not afraid of dying. But the most important thing I did, was when I was going to turn 60. And in my mind, first 30 years, second 30 years, this is the beginning of my final act. And I didn't know how to live it. And so I thought, well, what am I most afraid of? I'm not afraid of.

I'm afraid of dying with a lot of regrets. I watched my dad die with a lot of regrets. That was an important realization for me, because if you don't want to die with regrets, then you have to live the last part of your life in such a way that there won't be any regrets. I also want to be surrounded by people who love me. Then I have to, forgiveness comes into play, including forgiving myself. You know, and that actually has guided me in the last 30 years.

I've been living to not have regrets. I think it's interesting, Jane, that you say that because I've been talking about this phase of my life because I'm trying to be more conscious about it because and I think it disturbs some of the young people in my life when I talk about this perhaps last chapter

if I think 60 because I am trying to be mindful it's 60 and on and if I'm lucky to live to the age that you guys are we're still talking about 25 more summers, 27, maybe 30, if we're lucky. When I say that the horror that comes over the faces of young people, yeah. And I'm saying, I'm not, you know, I'm not regretful. I just, I know how fast time goes.

Like, we will have almost been 10 years out of the White House a decade. We were in the White House. It doesn't seem so. It doesn't seem so. But that 10 years flew. And in it, yes, I wrote two books. And my husband wrote a book and we campaigned for people and we made movies. We made movies.

So much happened. It was like post the White House, having had eight years of a big, huge life of impact. There was still 10 and it happened like that. So I just told myself, like, I so love life that I want to be mindful of the time that I have. Yeah. Because if you don't acknowledge that we, at 60, we do have maybe one more chapter. Then it starts slipping away. I want time to slow down.

So, you know, it's interesting. As you speak, you actually have been thinking about this like a novel. You've really been really thinking it out. And there's something that Jane said I heard some time ago that always made. makes me repeat it. She said, you know, you don't feel old as long as you're healthy. So true. You remember saying that? Yeah. I mean, I think that old age is fantastic. If it's lived intentionally. Intentionality is the key. Really thinking about it. Oh, God, this happens to me all the time. I start a sentence.

Oh, my God. Welcome to the world. What was I said? Welcome, welcome, welcome. Why should I be alone? I don't remember. What was it that you say? But I was saying that what you've said, and I keep this in mind. Healthy. Yes. You don't feel old as long as you're healthy. If you're healthy, you don't feel old. But I am someone who was raised to believe in death.

So between my grandmother. What does that mean believe in death? I'll tell you. That my grandmother always said to me when I was eight, nine years old. I said, what do you think? What's life going to be like? And her name, Mama Carrie, I used to call her. And she said, I don't know, but for sure you're going to die.

She'd tell you straight up. I went to live with my father at 12, and he's an Islamic Imam. leader. And he would say to me, also, they, you know, they live to die. They prepare their body, their world to die. You know, that's what we go to paradise. So you come up in two different backgrounds of people who really talk about death. So like when you're saying earlier about young people hate to hear you talking about like the journey and the end. And I'm all about that. And my mother, my mother was like that. I mean, I joke that my mother was preparing us for her death when we were 10. Yeah.

And I think, yeah, because my mother, her philosophy of raising children, first of all, is like, first of all, I'm raising you for me. I'm raising you to be an adult and to be able to live independently and have an independent life, which meant that she wanted us to know that we could make it with or without her. And I think she was mentally, and I can see this now as a mother. As a mother, one of the, the points of, uh,

exhaling is when my girls got to the point where I knew they would be fine without me. They would miss me. But that they're okay. They have the lessons in their head. They have common sense. They understand a lot of the basics. They still have a lot to grow. And I tell them this.

This is a relief to me that you can take care of yourself because I see that at my mother. She wanted us to grow up and be ready. So when she died, which was, you know, it was. Recently, you know, she would always say you can be sad, but be sad for a minute. Yeah. Because if you're sitting around, moaning and acting like you can't get on, she says, I'm going to be in my grave, really pissed. Yeah, you know. No, I get the same thing with you say when young people hate things.

Or people in general, no matter what age, they say, oh, don't talk like that. It's really interesting. I think it's so ridiculous. Come on. We're going. Everyone. No one. That's the only thing that's guaranteed.

That's what she would say, my grandma, but for joining that. It's part of life. Yes. You know, it's like light makes sense of dark. Noise makes sense of silence. Death makes sense of life. And if you don't deal with it, you're not really living fully, I think. Listening to all of you talk, you're all talking about the cerebral part, the healthy part, the emotional part of aging. And it's really interesting because I think when I was younger, I was scared of I'm going to fall apart, basically.

I was sort of bred to think that way. and listening to Talk, it's actually very encouraging, very inspiring. I'm thrilled to be hearing this. Michelle, you previously talked about how society has unrealistic expectations on what it means to age gracefully and how there's still an expectation to preserve your youthful appearance, which is a little bit of what I'm talking about, what are some of the ways you push back against that messaging after hearing that? You know, I agree with you both that health is the key. I mean, I work out.

I think about what I eat. Don't get me, I dye my hair. I do care about the physical. But a lot of it is because I think we also have to have a healthy baseline in order to know when something is wrong. So I think, you know, we have to sort of maintain a baseline of health where you're not bloated and you're not constipated. and, you know, things are regular, and you know what hail and hearty feels like because some of the first signs of illness come from fatigue. You know, well, how do you know that there's something wrong if you're always fatigued?

I think I could be something wrong and I'll just be running anyway. I need to slow down, but I can't. Well, you know what? But it's not meant to be, right? But whatever you're doing, Beth Ann, is working. Yeah, right? It does work with spirit. But I think baseline health is always important.

That's first and foremost. Look how so many people really work hard at being healthy and they still die. Or they still get sick. It's true. We all die. But I mean, still get sick to die. You know what I mean? There's certain things you can do it. It's just how your body works, your chromosomes, how they all work together fit.

You just never know. I mean, some people, you know, like they said, well, my grandmother smoked and drank until she was 94, you know, things like that. But we do need to make an effort. This segment is brought to you by Saraje, the number one dermatologist-recommended skin care brand, developed with dermatologists to help you feel comfortable in your own skin. Amish, what do you think being comfortable in your own skin means?

Well, for me, it means feeling good inside and out. And it's not just what I'm wearing, but it's how I'm feeling. It's about, you know, little things about, you know, in our family, not being ashy is an important part of feeling good. You know, so taking care of myself, you know, lotioning my skin, you know, working out at the gym. You know, that's to me what feeling good in my own skin means. I hear you on sort of the moisturizing and keeping yourself well prepared. The self-care. Self-care.

But you know, when I think about being in my own skin, I reckon back to when mom used to say, you don't need to worry about people who are outside this house. You should feel comfortable in your own skin, which made me feel confident and assured when I went outside that no matter what somebody said to me, I always felt comfortable. But it also helped you not being ashy. And speaking of not being ashy and taking care of your skin, a big thanks to Sarah V for supporting this conversation. Sarah V's new intensive body moisturizer line,

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And it's all about balance for that very reason. You know, it's like if you, if you're working out so hard that you can't enjoy life, right? Barak and I went out to dinner last night and, you know, we were at a restaurant and the guy said, are there any dietary restrictions? and Barack is like, I don't believe in dietary restrictions, especially when you're eating out. I mean, in my opinion, you shouldn't eat out and be worried about what you're going to eat. These are the times that you should enjoy everything and take everything in. So while we're both very healthy, there's also the balance of, well, we got to find joy in it, right? Because we don't know.

I have a theory that, you know, I'm controversial and I'm an activist, and I've been very unpopular. I'm popular right now. It probably won't last. But I think that it's important for somebody like me who's an activist to show that I can also look good and then I'm still hireable. You know, it encourages the young ones to not be so afraid. Afraid of it. Right. Right. I mean, I'm curious because I'm a tall girl and I'm just wondering how it's being taller affected your styling choices. And when it comes to aesthetics and things like you. heels. Oh my gosh, you know, it was different at different ages. You know, when I was younger, being tall was like, oh my God, terrible boys, or they're short and the clothes. There weren't tall sizes. Oh, I know. And there weren't long in seam. So life was this, you know, pushing up the sleeve and stretching the pant leg down so that you weren't flooding. It was just a nightmare, right? But now, oh, now that I. Slamorous. Oh my God. I love my height. I love a four-inch heel as long as I'm just walking from here to there.

That's all I do. It's like I can walk from the backstage to a chair. It's all you do. Stand up. So you're like the four-year-old in your mother's shoes when you get the heels. That's how it is for me now. Yeah. I love the silhouette of a heel, the way it makes your foot look. But I like a kitten heel because I'm also, I don't want to be that uncomfortable. So now it's, I feel like I completely own all of me. My height, all of it. And fortunately, I have a tall husband, but I have also have a husband who doesn't mind when I'm right eye to eye with him because I've got a heel on. He's like, okay, we're going to be tall tonight.

And I'm going to be tall tonight. And it helps, right? Because my partner loves every inch of me. So that helps. Was there ever an outfit that you look? look back and I'm like, oh my God, that was my absolute flop. What? Is it an outfit that you can think of? It was a total flop.

But you made a mistake. Oh, yeah, hundreds. I mean, I never, you know, this is where my connection to how I looked changed. I was making on Golden Pond, with my father and Henry Fonda and Catherine Hepburn. And one of the early days, and I was standing, we were just about to start, and I was looking in a mirror to fix my hair. And she came up, Catherine Hepburn, came up behind me. and she took my cheek like this, and she said, this is your box. This is how you present.

What do you want it to say? Oh. I didn't know what she was talking about. It took me years of lying in bed thinking, what did she mean? And then I realized what she was saying. You got to see, I always thought that being self-conscious was bad. But what she was telling me is be conscious of how you, are presenting yourself to the world. Of course, nobody was as conscious of how she presented as

Catherine Everett, right? She had a look and presented herself, but it really made me think. And so I started to pay attention to what I wore and how I looked at my hair. I hadn't before. And she didn't like that about me. So she really taught me a lot there. I would never have thought Catherine Heaven would have been the one. She seemed like that wasn't something that was so present for her. But she wasn't a fashion person. That's what I mean. It wasn't. No, she had a look. She had more bohemian than anything. And bohemian is much more tailored.

Yeah. She just felt like you were just not thinking at all. I wasn't thinking. Come on. Represent. What does fashion mean for you today? And this is a question for all of you. So you all get to answer this one.

I'll start with you, Bethann. Well, you're asking the wrong person because I'm not a big fan of fashion. Well, I think that's an important question to answer because you come from that world and you know the world well. I mean, you don't like, like, you know come to Garsohn. I mean, and I also, and I'm also always always in Gucci, as you see me go out now mostly, right? That's true, because I work as a consultant to the brand. Which era of Gucci are we talking about right now? But I think in the end of it, what was the question again?

Your relation to fashion today. Oh, look at you. He's listening. It seems to hear me, but she's listening. Yeah, so now I think it really is. I'm more concerned of helping others. I'm much more interested in helping designers and creative people. And we do have a community with designers hub and things.

I really want to help them to get it right. Get it out of it. Don't stay in it. Don't hang on to it. It's not what you, it's all that's cracked up to be. Understand that what seems like it's what all the shines is not gold, please, all that. you know, know what you should do and shouldn't. Don't get into it because everybody thinks it's cool.

I know, Jane, you said that you would stop buying new clothes at one point. I'm wondering what triggered that moment for you. Greta Toonberg, the climate activist from Sweden. You know, I mean, we've all seen images of the, you know, clothes get dumped in the ocean. How much we have. It's a problem. And this is Gabriella Hurst.

It's beautiful. Totally circular. You know, the carbon footprint is minimal. So that's what I look for now. Yeah. Is recyclable, reused. People are really conscious about what they make. Yeah.

Yeah. Right. So I'm curious, I know as we get older, if we are single, there is, you know, the dating world. And I'm curious if you're, I know you're not in it. Are you in it? I have never dated in my life. Wait, explain that. Dating is a very funny word.

Yeah, well, what does that mean? I don't understand. You know, you go to a bar and you sit there and you meet somebody or you start going out. I don't know. It seems like every time I ever met somebody that was my boyfriend. So I never dated. You know, like we just live. You got a boyfriend now?

I have people who take care of me in a very nice way. Okay. Okay. Have you ever been on an app? Never. Never. I'm too cool for that. She's never been on a date.

She's definitely not going to be on that. I'm too cool for an app. So when you say they take care of you? Yeah. What do you mean? You got your Wednesday dude. You got your Saturday dudes. No, in different places in the world.

Oh, yes. It's a little bit better to be in different places in the world. Wow. Are we outing you? Do they know about each other? Where do you meet them? Like you care? They're not going anywhere.

Where do you meet? I mean, you meet them when you go into a place in the world. Okay. And someone may introduce you to someone. But, you know, Mexico, you know, in other places, too. You have people who you, I just believe that women who are alone, who profess to being lonely, they have such prerequisites of who they would date. And I think they should just let somebody who wants to come along and take care of them, love them, care for them.

It doesn't even have to be sexual. It could just be the intimacy that we talk about, you set of fear. Intimacy is such an important thing, and it doesn't have to be sexual. The fact that you could have that. And so many people said, well, he's too young. Why? Are you going to marry him? Why is he too young?

If he wants to be with you, enjoy him or her. So are they young? Yes. I would go out with somebody who is my age, but I can't have an age limit, like a cutoff? No limits. Interesting. No limit. Okay.

No, I don't date. I get married. You've done that well. I've been married three times. Great marriages. Yeah, really interesting marriages. I'm really grateful. But I don't feel the needs.

need to date. Nobody asks me anyway. So, but I'm very, my girlfriends are the world to me. They make me braver. They, they make me laugh. You know, women friends are very different than male friends. Absolutely. Male friends sit next to each other looking out at things, girls, women, cars, sports, women look at each. So true. And they're not afraid to ask for help. William, I need to give me a hug. What should I be doing now? We're not afraid to be vulnerable with each other. It feeds our soul. Even if, I don't know, we've been apart for years when we get back together,

soul level right away, drill right down. And that's how we, that's why I think was one of the main reasons why we live longer. But then this one is for you. What kind of anti-aging pressures do you see in the fashion industry? Help lead me with that because I don't understand. I'm just curious, like, the fashion industry is notoriously one for, like, you are in, and then you're out. You don't necessarily have a long career. I know I felt that in my own career that I was going to age out of the industry and I was wondering if you felt that. Never.

Really? No. It's interesting. But did you feel it externally? People facing it towards you meaning, maybe you didn't think that way. But did you feel like, no. No. Bethann's special. Bethann is so special. She's such a special. I mean, you know, I'm gangstit what I do. So I don't think anything that in the idea really, truly, I never thought about that. You know, because even when I had dreadlocks, long, and that was many, many years ago, people would say, before they were in. People would say, did you get any pushback? No. No, I mean, I don't think you'd notice pushback if it pushed you in the face.

I think you'd look and go, what's your problem? Some things, you know, some things you could see. But absolutely, you're great about it. And I think when you work in a corporation, you got to, you'll be conscious of that because you worked in a corporation. Yeah. And in my world, you know, we're like flying by the seat of our pants. I had a model agency. I'm doing things I really shouldn't do, don't want to do.

In the end of the day, you know, you're coming hardcore and people are cheering you on. I never even thought about that. Now I see myself in pictures and I see the difference of how I look when I, people say you still look the same. And no, I don't. Look at this picture and look at that picture. I'm fucking 40 years old. And I feel bad about that. But it doesn't stop me or make me feel like, oh, no, I can't go forth.

But I think what you say, Bethann, to get to your point, Jenna, is that, yeah, there is crazy pressure that we're not supposed to evolve, you know, and men have a different kind of pressure. 100%. You know, just look at our leaders. You know, I mean, what's allowed. Jane said, as an activist, she feels like she has to show up looking good, right? I don't think you'd hear a male activist saying that. Absolutely not.

I don't think they could think it, but they couldn't say it out loud because they don't have that intellect to say it out loud, but they probably look it. But I don't think they, I don't think they, I think that they are. But if you're a real activist, you're supposed to look out of. For men to look powerful and be desirable. I think, you know, I think there's a wide spectrum. Now, I do think that men have a limit. on on what being a man is. And I think that that's a shame.

That's a burden, you know, on men, that there's still three ways you can be. You have to be competitive. You have to be tough. You can't cry. You can't cry. You can't cry. So I think emotionally they're limited,

but physically it's the world. We're sure. There's no question. I'm curious for you, Jane, because obviously your industry is very challenging in terms of what you were saying. Michelle, like the standards of beauty for women in your industry

are very different than air for men. I mean, the number of times I've seen a man who's much older and his girlfriend or wife looks like she's 20 years younger. I mean, do you feel like it's changing? Do you feel like it's getting better? Do you feel like it's still the same? No, I'm sorry. All I heard was younger. That's all I heard in the whole conversation.

It's hard. Yeah, I'm not sure that it's, you know, as I'm saying, I'm not sure it's getting better. I'm seeing Helen Mirren. You know, I'm seeing me. I'm seeing older women who are still taking leading roles. And I think that's really good. I just came back from Paris. I walked the deli lay for L'Oreal.

I've been working for it. I'm the oldest living skincare ambassador in the world. And me and Helen Maron. Because they know they have a market that's there. Yeah. There's no doubt. But I really appreciate that. I do too.

They recognize that. Yes, I do too. Very much so. But that's new. I mean, that's recent. Right? Definitely recent. And it's just recent in the apparel fashion industry, what we want to call it.

Because, you know, we see it on the runway. We see it in commercials, you know, all sizes. Now, marketing, advertising agents. The other thing is hurting the all sizes. I'm not going to lie. That one we are seeing rollback for sure. But I think the diversity in age has gotten better. All right.

Go ahead. Question. You all have experienced the media scrutinizing your bodies over the years. And how did that affect how you viewed your own body? And how does that affect your current confidence? I was made to feel fat when I was little and very much objectified by my parents. Well, my mom was dead, but my dad. He was a good person, but it was just a problem, you know.

And it came from your father. Your bathing suit is too big, you know, small. You got, don't wear too short. I don't know. He was always. critical of my physical being. And so I had body dysmorphia most of my life and suffered from eating disorders. So it's been a battle for me. And at almost 88, I'm happy to say, I don't give a flying fuzzy rat's ass. I want to look good enough that I can get work, but I'm not worried about it anymore.

If I was married to a man, it's still ingrained in me. I grew up in the 40s and 50s. I would have a problem, but I'm single, so I don't care. Well, I will say that your workout video was one of my favorite. It was kind of game-changing. It was. It was. It was. It was designed for women, and I was so inspired.

I loved it. I was one of my favorite things. It was all done to raise money for the campaign for economic democracy. No. It was very influential for a lot of young women, myself included. I was surprised at how, what an effect it had. It was great. Yes, it's true.

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Coligard test performance in adults ages 45 to 49 is estimated based on a large clinical study of patients 50 and older. False positives and false negatives can occur. Coligard is available by prescription only. All right, Bethann, this one is for you. When you started out in the modeling world, you were so often the first or the only black woman in many spaces. What was it like for you to navigate the fashion world at that time? And how did that shape you?

I kept thinking about... I kept thinking about representing. I think I was thinking, yeah, thank you. I think I was always thinking about represent. I didn't mind being the only one. You didn't. I never sweat me now because I didn't think that anybody was better than I anyway. But I honestly did think, oh, this is just the beginning.

Where did your confidence come from? I'm curious because it seems so... I want to tell you a story. I used to be in a gang. A gang gang? Wait, wait, back up. What? I used to be in a gangbanger.

Where was this? Cool. In Brooklyn. And I think sometimes you often... I tell us to people, they go, are you serious? Yeah, but it wasn't a gang. I believe it. Yeah, I know you do.

I can tell you. I thought you're going to stroke me through this one again. But no, I was. And I think, you know, even then, I always had confidence. I think I saw it. I was a last kid kid as a kid. you know, I had to go home, you know, after seven years old, let yourself in the house, blah, blah, blah, blah. Most of my grandmother and my mother worked.

But I was on the streets fighting. It's true. Back then, it wasn't like real guns. You got mostly beat up. Maybe someone might have gotten stabbed. That was huge. And this gang was five boroughs. And it was one of the best gangs.

And so I sometimes give them a shout out. What was your enterprise? Your gang enterprise. Was it me? Was it drugs? Was it just... Were you slinging? This was the 50s.

Was it territorial? It's territorial. That's all. She understands all these things. You're trying to make me so. I'm just checking. I'm just checking if I remember. Do you really remember where you were?

I think a lot of it is also I really always, I started writing the book. And I realized by 12, I had really already been very successful. I did a lot of things on my own. I would tell my mother and grandmother what I was doing next and they'd go, oh my God, what else you're going to do? And, you know, they'd just let me go. So I think I always had it. I think people come to earth that have that.

I think you, too. You came to earth with it. No matter how much you were being oppressed, you were meant to grow. I think you're born resilient. Me too. Me too. And it's interesting because two siblings can be born close together,

same parents, and one will be resilient and one won't. Exactly. It's a real mystery. Same for the brain, too. Well, you do as a parent, if you have more than one kid, you see it really clearly that nature really does play a role. There is a part of me that always felt like I knew certain things about myself really young. You know, like I knew what I knew. Me too.

And the confidence, same thing. My mother would always say, oh, I didn't raise Michelle. She raised herself. Yeah, same pretty much so. She always knew certain things. She's just like, I just let her go. And I'm like, Mom, that's not true. I was listening to you.

But when I think of the messages that I told myself, and that's why when I talk to young people, I'm trying to get them to tap into that voice because you hear it early in yourself, you know. And I'm trying to tell kids, like, listen to that voice. Yeah, but it's interesting. You're saying that. That's interesting because that's true. But you don't know that when you're. you're young. That's the point. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know. You don't hear a voice.

You just, you know, do it. I didn't have one. I didn't have a voice until I was in my 60s. I'm telling you, I don't think I got a voice until last week. I don't know that we were born with a voice. No, I really did. Wait, we were in a gang. I'm sorry. I, last week I started realizing, God damn, my ankle swell just every so often. Age. time on earth, no matter how much I'm buzzing around and fashion week and coming here and do it. Just little things start coming to you that makes you know, okay, this shit's shifting, like you said about time and men. You just think, I start to realize, okay.

And even though I just had a birthday too, and I hate ever saying how old now I just let people talk about it. I'm just so mad about it. I really am. I just don't want anybody telling me anymore. So you're 83. I fuck you. It pisses me off. But I like being older.

The freedom it gives you to be older, right? Me too. I know you do. Because I know who I am now. I didn't know for a long, long time. And I'd like to talk about that because it helps young people who don't know. People are so, it's hard to be young. It's way easier to be older.

Much easier. I would never go back. I would never go back. I would never go back. I mean, the point. Well, first of all, I can't bullshit. I had a great growing up years. I had a very good childhood.

And, I mean, I came up, Betha Stuyveson, Brooklyn, two parents, both female, then went to live with my dad, who was much more of the intellect and all. I really had a great childhood. I didn't have all the oppressions and teens and being hit. So I don't have any complaint that way, but when you start to write about who you are, you start to learn more of who you are. Yeah, that's true. You saying when you start to write about what was.

Well, the thing that I feel like when, and I don't know whether this is unique to women, but it is true for me that it wasn't until now that I feel like I can own my wisdom. Like the thing I didn't know, I can look back and go, I can look back now and say that four-year-old person did know something that I wasn't ready or able to claim because I didn't realize it. And I think we as women, I just find that we aren't ready to own our wisdom until now when we are sure that we've learned the lesson, that when we can look back on a life and actually point to the things that have happened to say, oh, that actually worked out the way I planned. But you know, wisdom, it's interesting. As an older person, I've learned this, wisdom doesn't come from having a lot of experiences. it comes from understanding what they are. And that's why at a certain point in life, it's so important to really think about your life.

You know, when I turned 60, wanting to figure out the last, I knew that you can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been. And that's when I began to really study myself like I wasn't me, like I was somebody else, like an archaeologist. and really, and then wisdom came when I started to really figure it out. It didn't just, you know what I mean?

Yes. You do are so smart. What? You, I really, you are, to me, have always been one of the smartest women. I mean, really. You are. So you're still not claiming intentional. You're not, still not claiming your wisdom.

No, but she, you really, I've always thought of you being so smart. Thank you. Even with all the mistakes you think you made, I always thought you are so smart. Listen to you now. I mean, the average young person would never think a person, as you said, about how we think of age. When we're kids, we think 50, done. Here you are in your 80s talking shit that most people are an expression. My son said the other day, my mother talked, since I was born, my mother's talked about her death. It's focusing on the end and how you want the, I mean, we could all die tomorrow. We don't know how we're going to die, but having a vision of how you want it. It's so smart. And then living to that. And you're having, you always being, your husband always saying how smart you were, how smart you were, how smart. You're so smart.

And I never went to college. But you're so smart, too. FIT, that's not college. I mean, there's, there's all kinds of smart, you know. I mean, because, you know, there are people who are more academically lettered. They accomplish more. They don't take the steps. But there's a combination, smart is a combination of things.

There's also, there's IQ and there's EQ. Exactly. Very different. And I think particularly in the corporate world, EQ is often more valuable than IQ. I can test that. I spent a lot of time recently in Louisiana, on the Gulf, Louisiana and Texas, with people who live near LNG terminals and they're called sacrifice zones. And most of the activists were women.

They're so smart. Most of them didn't graduate high school. But they're the smartest people I know. The wisdom that they just naturally have. Yeah. I'm going to bring us back. Go ahead. Go ahead.

This has been directed towards you, Michelle. You share in your book that society tends to diminish older women and expects them to fade into the background, younger women too. However, you chose to go the opposite direction. And it's also shown up in your fashion and you've worn bolder looks and gotten much more sort of expressive. I'm just wondering if you can talk a little bit about how you're feeling now about the way you show up.

Yeah, I think my trajectory was a little unconventional. You know, that little eight-year stint as First Lady, tends to confine, to be a bit confining, right? Because, you know, the role, the job was not to just represent me, but to represent the nation. And as the first black family in that house, just like, you know, black folks feel in all the first positions that we're the, you know, we're carrying the torch, we're lighting the way, which means that we've got to do it. really, really well so that the next folks will have a chance. You know, when you're the only, you know, you feel like if you don't get it right, nobody will ever get this position.

Women, people of color, people of different ethnicities, of different genders and sexual orientation. But we all feel that. So a lot of my fashion choices, you know, as we talk about in the look, you know, the look was about using the language of fashion as a way to send a message, to send a message about beauty, about culture, about the American spirit, about inclusion, right? So that was, you know, I had a role, right? Now that I'm out of that role,

fashion is about me. It is selfishly, it's completely about what I like and what I want to do. It was that way in the White House, I mean, but it was confonding. And so now I feel like, you know, whatever I do, I don't have to explain it or it doesn't have a consequence in that way. And it wasn't that I resented that, but that was the assignment. You know, I was representing. And now I'm just representing me.

I remember one of the first outfits you wore after the White House that were sky high boots and gold. And I was like, yes. With the head of stairs, I'm so excited. You know, I got sent this is so good, this book. I love the way you talk about what you just said, and I love the way it's manifested in there. Because you really changed when you left. That would make sense, too. It does.

It's great. We're evolving. I mean, that's the other thing. I mean, you know, I have, I'm at a different place in life. My kids have graduated, you know. I'm an empty nester. I don't wake up, I mean, until they like, the house, I woke up every thought was them. You know, it is when they're under my roof,

I'm like, how are you? Are you eating? What's wrong with you? Are you happy? Am I screwing you up? Are you being in the White House going to make you crazy? Are you crazy? You know, where are you? Why didn't you come home? Why are you in trouble again? Oh my God, did you do your homework? Are you a strict mom, aren't you? I was, the girls would say I was, because I just believed in boundaries, you know, for kids. Absolutely. And, you know, they, the consequences of their mistakes would be national fodder. But also.

So I wanted to protect them through that period and then fight for some normalcy. And that takes a little structure. Yeah. And you're also, congratulations. Some work. Boy did you succeed. But also, you're also your mother's daughter. I am.

And that's the same way I feel, I believe in being strict. Yeah, yeah. Bethan, I know we've talked a little bit about, you know, activism. And particularly, I know you wrote a letter in 2013 to the industry. I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about that. Because I remember the wave that went through when that happened. And 2013, because the industry had sort of like lost its way, where you didn't see for a long time, for 10 years, say, models of color.

I had to use the model industry. I used that, and it was like a tool in my chest, the model. And it was just when you, I was a model, and you saw it was normal to be one of girls' color. But then at some given point, it just disappeared, 96, after the Black Girls Coalition, where we had the Black Girls Coalition. In 1996, Eastern Europe had opened up, and people started to go there, you know, scouts, and model agencies were being told, you cannot, you know,

we're just not interested in black girls, no blacks, no ethnics, no blacks, no ethics. So whatever model models that the agencies had, they'd have to say to someone during the season, I'm sorry, but other than that, you're seeing black girls this season. We're not seeing black boys that season. And so at this given point, you know, you say, Listen, we have not been down this road.

We had already conquered that. So now it's going like getting whitewashed. And I just had to do like a data, checking how many models were being used by each agency to prove it. And then really hit the international market, which would be New York, London, Milan, and also Paris. And I wrote, I named all these houses that were guilty, basically that no matter what the intention is, if you continue to use one or no or two models of color per season, no matter your intent, the results is racism. And to say that to an industry that would never think they're racist,

but they're just busy, frolicking with trend, really upset. I knew in my heart I believe that they weren't racist. I believe they were just bold-faced ignorant. And ignorant to me, ignorance is much worse than racism to me. So I wrote the letter and sent it out and then everyone started to scramble. It made a huge difference. I remember.

It was a C-change. It changed to everything. And my point is I was trying not only to change my industry, but once we could put those images back into place, it would change all industries. And it has. Well, this is why history and understanding how we got where we are is so important, right?

Because some would label that as DEI, as affirmative action, right? When the truth is, is that a lot of the fighting for equity and equality and inclusion is about the fact that DEI was happening in the reverse, that there was a lot of blackballing happening throughout the country. It's the history of America. You know, you can't join this union unless you were of this ethnicity. You don't get this opportunity because of the color of your skin, which means that a lot of the opportunities were, earned without merit. It was earned because others were excluded and there wasn't real clear competition. The best people weren't always getting the job if you had to be the son of somebody,

the daughter of somebody. That was the history. And now to hear people criticizing DEI, I mean, it's almost like, okay, we like affirmative action as long as it benefits us. But if it's going to bring too many immigrants and people with different skin colors into the fold. Now we're going to go after it. Hi, I'm Carl Ray, and I'm Michelle Obama's longtime makeup artist. I've been on so many of these sets, but I'm so excited to be in front of the camera. I've really made my career through word of mouth. That's partly how I ended up doing makeup for Michelle Obama. When I was a young makeup artist, I went down to the Four Seasons Hotel and asked if they were hiring. The owner of the salon came out and met me for tea, and after our conversation, she hired me on the

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So if you're a makeup artist like me, you can now list your business on Airbnb at Airbnb.com slash services. Hey, everybody. Craig Robinson here. Amazon has everything for everyone on your lists, like my sister Michelle. Now, let me tell you, shopping for her has always been a thing. When we were kids, she'd circle everything she wanted in the Christmas catalog. But now it's impossible to find something for her other than books. She doesn't even wear those little fluffy slippers that everybody likes. But now, with Amazon,

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But knowing this kind of history in the modeling industry, that's important. But it's also important to elevate it to where we are now. And that's why I've made it that way. Jane, this funds for you. So since the 70s, you've been a very loud activist and willing to fight and sometimes get arrested. For major political and civil rights issues, do you still see yourself as that person today? And how has your activism changed? I want to talk about how activism has changed me.

I don't feel like I really came into being until 1970 when I decided, because I lived in France, I was married to a Frenchman. I came back here because I couldn't protest in France. It didn't feel right. And I met people that were different than any people I had ever met. Oh, so? Yeah. Well, I remember there was a woman that ran a GI coffee house in Colleen, Texas.

And, you know, sometimes you find something that you didn't know you were missing. You didn't know what existed. The way she was with me and with the GIs was. was different than any people I'd ever met. It was like looking at the world we were fighting for through a keyhole. And that's the team I want to be on. And I like to talk about that because the way she was with me is the way we have to be with the millions of people

who are going to be hurt by what's happening now. And what was that way? Yeah, I'm curious. How was she with you? It had nothing to do with what I looked like. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was famous. Barbarella had come out. She wanted to know, because I was being sent on to the base to leaflet for a rally that was

kind of, she wanted to how I felt. What do you think? She asked my opinion. Nobody had ever asked my opinion about things like that. I was so new. She treated me with respect, but she treated the GIs that way too. And I saw this. She just showed up in a very human way, and I hadn't experienced it before.

And that says something about the life I was living. It was quite hedonistic and superficial. And I had avoided dealing with real things because I knew once I knew I'd never turn back. There you go. Yeah. And I just, this is the way we have to be. You know, the cliche is, be the change you're seeking, and she was. And that's the way we have to be.

What do you think is missing in terms of courage? because it takes a certain level of courage to leave a life of safety, even though it wasn't perfect. You know, you were able to live in a bubble of sort of... Well, my dad, see, my dad, I grew up with Tom Jod. I grew up with Graves of Wrath and 12 Angry Men. Yes, yes. Expulsion to that.

You know, I was writing my autobiography one day. The phone rang. It was Yolanta King. It was Martin Luther King's daughter, Yolanda. And I don't remember. remember why she was calling, but since I was writing, I said, Yolanda, when you were growing up, did Martin Luther King bount you on his knee and talked you about values and how to live life? And she said, no. I said, no, and my dad didn't either. But you had his sermons. And I had my father's

films. And so that kind of was like fertilizer in my soul. And so when I started meeting these new kinds of people, it's like I didn't want to go back. Number one and number two, they thought, oh, she's a white, privileged girl. You know, give her a little hard time and she'll cave. That's right. That's right. I was getting up the whole thing. The more they attacked me.

But also the other important thing is I was never alone. I was part of a movement. Yes, that's what we have to do now. We have to rebuild movement of resistance along the lines of CNN, creative, nonviolent, non-conforming. Yes. Is there anything that scared you when you're younger but no longer scares you? The thing that always scared me was intimacy. Oh, interesting.

I've been under bombs. I've been, you know, I've had all kinds of things. But emotional intimacy has always been hard because I didn't experience it growing up. It's hard. That scares me. And today's two? I don't know because it all only with men. I'm fine with women.

He's not with anybody. I'm fine. I'm single now. You could be intimate with yourself now. You could be intimate with you. Thank you. Yes. There's a door.

No, it's a whole other thing. No, that's a good one. Michelle, I have the same question for you. Is there anything that scared you when you were younger but doesn't scare you anymore? Oh, yeah. There are tons of things, you know, the dark, the boogeyman, all the missed and scary things. So you don't see scary films? I don't like scary films.

I do not. I mean, the last, well, yeah. I think I saw the exorcist a little too young, and I was like, this isn't fun. Or jaws. All of that. It's just not fun, not fun. The thing that scares me now, maybe I'm flipping the question, you know, regular life, regular little things, failure doesn't scare me. But nowadays, it's our lack of willingness to understand.

understand context, to understand history, and to learn from our history. You know, we are moving in a direction. We are going backward to a time when mistakes were made and things were bad. But history taught us that we don't want to go there. People weren't happier. You know, we weren't safer. Things weren't more affordable. You weren't rich suddenly, because, you know, there were no immigrants, you know. Fairness, you know, giving people a living wage, making sure every person in this world has a stake in the bigger picture. Like, that keeps us safe, you know?

Making sure people have jobs and they can pay their bills, you know. All of that matters. Like, there was a time of courage. Yeah. You guys lived through a time of, of people really tapping into some courage, and especially people who have nothing to lose. If you're already rich,

if you have some kind of grounding, if you are old enough to be able to lose, like I wonder what's missing that we need inside of ourselves to get us to a place to want to organize and to, you know, sort of recapture. And I'm just curious to hear anything. You know, in the 50s, my father was part of the Committee for the First Amendment that was resisting McCarthyism and the House on American Activities Committee. We launched the Committee for the First Amendment.

The minute we went public, oh, my God, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people from the entertainment industry signed up. I mean, it's wild. It's wilder than I expected. People are ready, I think. Well, that's great. I think that's good to hear because that's my fear. It's like what we didn't have fear about before seems like will we have the power to do now? Something to act fast.

Yes, exactly. You know, like before, yeah, I remember saying, I'll die for my people, you know, take me, not my people. You know, being real gangst in the street and wanted to fight, you know, be down with the Panthers and do everything we can. can do, what can we do? Like you said, the lack of fear. And now I see at this stage of my life, I'm thinking, glad I got my permanent residency in Mexico. You know, you start thinking, you don't want to be the one the chicken out because you're never with that person, you know. But this is never like we've ever seen before. So I'm thinking, well, who's going to really come with it? How can we sneak and win, you know, that kind of thing? So that's some of my

stuff now. I'm thinking about that in my mind. What we're up against, though, it's so, it's dangerous but it's also empty. It's hollow, so it's weak. And if we can get solidarity, strengthen numbers, and make it look as ridiculous

as it really is, we win. We just have to do it quickly. Yeah, you have to move fast. Because it's being moved very quickly. Very quickly. Well, and on the issue of aging, and the next chapter,

I'm working on the balance of leading, but making real space for the next generation of leaders. Because I also think that we do need to get the next generation really geared up and ready because these are truly their battles. You know, it's going to be the world they inherit. Most of us know, I think I'm on the tangent of having experience the country at not its best. I think I'm of the rare generation where we benefited from all that struggle, but we weren't really in it. But I knew enough in history, my grandparents were alive.

You know, you still knew people who went through it. That was alive. The consequences were real and in your face. So that's why I think it's important for, as you age, for us to be intentional about making room. You know, we've got to have a plan in this next chapter to move out of the seats to let the next generation lead. And sometimes you have to let them lead, whether they know all the answers or not. Because when are you ready to lead? Like, we didn't know we were ready.

I mean, we're in the White House. We were in our 40s. We had little kids. I mean, I was like, Barack, are you sure you want to do this? You didn't know? No, no. You never, I don't think you ever know that you're ready to lead. I think you just have to start doing it.

It's the same thing with the letters. What did you say? It's the same thing with me writing those letters. Oh, yeah. The same thing, knowing that I'm getting ready now, even though I believe that I was the one to do it, because other people thought I was the only one. who could do it, you still sit there and you take four out, four years before you make that move

because should I, this is going to be, this is going to be something. And I was so clear about it. And I knew I had to believe in the industry in order to do it. Because if I thought I had to fight, I don't know if I would have done it. But I knew how ignorant they were. I just knew that I need to educate. The whole point that you educate people along the way. And that, that's the thing that was so important. Education. Well, we just all have to get really brave. We have to get, that's right. I always refer to, we've all seen the documentaries, the march on this, in Selma, the bridge,

the batons and the dogs, South Africa, all over the world. And probably like me, asked, would I have been brave enough to do that? And we don't have to ask anymore. This is it. This is it. Right now, we are in our documentary moment. And we either are brave enough or we're going to lose. But I think we're brave enough.

we're brave enough. Did you expect to be still doing this kind of level of activism at this age? Like, did you ever think you... I didn't expect anything. I thought I'd be dead at 30s. I thought I had nothing to offer. No, I just slowly came into... But I'm, because I'm surrounded by people who've been doing it longer than me, and they give me courage and strength. I'm not alone. It makes... We have to not be alone anymore. You know, ever since the 80s, individualism has been raised up as to... This is what we're going for, each person for himself. Our democracy won't survive if it's each person for himself.

We have to totally smash that. We have to start thinking about the public good, the public sphere. We have to unite across sectors. And that's what has to happen. I think generationally something that has changed to answer my question about courage. You remind me, Jane, of the isolation and the end. the focus on individuality that I think is crippling. And I think technology, our heavy reliance on social media, our phones, young people have become

content in thinking that they can be happy all on their own. And it's easy to do that. Because guess what? It's hard to come out. It's hard to be together. I think it's harder for a certain generation to do that now. But I think, you know, what I've learned is. in these many years, just as you've learned, Jane,

and I know you have two Beth-Anne, is that we don't do anything on our own. That that's not, you know, that individuality isn't a virtue, you know, standing on just on your own and getting to a place I got here on my own. That seems like a sad way to get anywhere. Plus, they don't even go to movies.

Yeah. It's true. I can't get myself for a movie. I cannot. I can get them to watch a movie. television show, but I cannot get them to watch. Yeah, that's very true. They really won't even go into a movie theater where you do have a feeling of being with others

naturally. They said, no, I got it. I got it right here. And I think that, for me, I think it helps in my feeling of longevity, my heartiness at this stage in life is that, you know, whether it's fashion or hair or dyeing my hair or staying in shape or eating right, it's mostly community. Yes, it. Yeah, it's mostly having a big, broad set of people who I count on that I feel nurtured by.

And while eight years in the White House were depleting in one way, it was also reinforcing. Because it was eight years of connecting to this country. That's a nice note to end on. I will say this has been deeply inspiring for me. I came in here with totally different expectations. and I'm moved. It was really special. So thank you for having me.

This is really special for me as well. Thank you all for taking time out of your lives. I mean, this is one of my dream conversations. It really is. And it has lived up to every expectation. Let me just tell you, when I grow up, I want to be like you both. And you as well, Jenna, coming up, baby, you're the baby. I'm only four years younger than you.

But that's a baby. I'm calling you the baby. Because I'm the baby. I'll never happen. I'll stay with you in that. I really want to say that too. I am so grateful. As you've said, being loved, whether it be your male friends or your female friends,

having that respect and honor from so many, it's been like a chariot for me. But I think what's important for these conversations is that there are going to be a lot of women of all ages and men, too, that are going to hear this. And it's about sharing. and the level of vulnerability that everyone displayed here. This is, to me, this is like a ministry of conversation, you know, because people will look and say, well, if these women think this way, feel this way, have lived this long or growing this way,

then there's still important. Yeah. There's still important. I quote Jane often, like I said about, like even about, you never feel old if you're not sick. You know, that's so true, though. When you start feeling sick and you fall, into that. And I'm really grateful for this conversation too because no one thinks to have them.

Yeah. Well, thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. Well done. You guys. All right. Tequila, tequila. Tequila.