If you’ve read Michelle Obama’s 2018 memoir Becoming, you will undoubtedly remember Melissa Winter, Michelle’s Chief of Staff. But for viewers of the Netflix’s documentary about Michelle’s Becoming book tour, Melissa’s appearance might come as a surprise.
In Becoming, Melissa appears prominently as one of the coordinators of Michelle’s book tour, but not as much detail is given about who Melissa Winter is in relation to Michelle and the Obamas.
So who is Melissa Winter? What is her role in Michelle’s life since leaving The White House in 2017?
Here’s everything you need to know about the Chief of Staff and her relationship to the former FLOTUS.
Who is Melissa Winter?
Melissa Winter was born on November 16th, 1967 in Chicago, making her 52 years old. Her family later moved to La Jolla, California where she grew up.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in History from Skimore College in 1989, Melissa landed herself a job working as the executive assistant for Rep. Norman Y. Mineta. She worked for Mineta from 1989 to 1997 before commencing a role as the executive assistant for Senator Joseph Lieberman. Melissa worked for Lieberman from 1997 to 2007 before moving over to the Obama campaign.
Melissa began her work with Michelle Obama when Barack was running for President in 2007.
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Melissa and Michelle: Work to friendship
During Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign, Michelle was often at the forefront; passionately and intelligently speaking at events, Americans loved Michelle instantly, almost as much as they did Barack. People were casting their vote for the Obama duo in a way many had not seen before with POTUS and FLOTUS candidates.
But with the positives came the negatives; it didn’t take long before Michelle received an onslaught of sexist, offensive, and more often than not, racist abuse.
As a result, Michelle decided she needed her own team to protect herself in the public eye. Melissa Winter was her first hire as a political aide.
Following the Obama’s successful campaign, Melissa was appointed as Michelle’s Chief of Staff from January 2009.
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Where is Melissa Winter now?
When Barack and Michelle Obama handed over their duties as President and First Lady of the United States to the Trumps in 2017, Michelle did not want to sever her working relationship with Melissa. So they chose not to.
Melissa has continued to work as Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff, even though they are no longer in The White House. With a working relationship that has now blossomed into a friendship over the past decade, it’s not hard to see why.
Their closeness is shown in the Netflix documentary, as Mel often tears up at Michelle’s book tour, proud of her best friend’s success.
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