All About Michelle Obama's Brother (and Fellow Podcast Host!) Craig Robinson

Mar. 15, 2025

Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on ‘Good Morning America’ on November 13, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.Photo:Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Michelle Obamaand her brother,Craig Robinson, have always leaned on each other.

The former first lady and the sports executive grew up in Illinois with their late parents, momMarian Shields Robinsonand fatherFraser C. Robinson III. (Fraser died at age 55 of complications from multiple sclerosis in 1991, and Mariandied “peacefully"at 86 in 2024.)

Over the years, Michelle has shared details about her childhood with Craig, including in her memoirBecomingand on social media. In a September 2019 poston Instagram, she reflected on their humbling beginnings.

“When I think back to my childhood, I remember moments like this with my brother Craig,” she captioned a photo of them as kids. “We grew up on the South Side of Chicago, in a diverse and changing neighborhood, hanging out with friends from all backgrounds.”

Now, the siblings are embarking on a new creative venture together. The two are joining forces fortheir weekly podcast,IMO With Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson,which premiered on March 12.

Here’s everything to know about Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson.

He is two years older than Michelle

Michelle Obama and brother, Craig Robinson.Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty

Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty

Craig Malcolm Robinson was born on April 21, 1962 — about two years before Michelle’s arrival on Jan. 17, 1964.

Speaking toABC 7 Chicagoin December 2022, Michelle recounted their modest childhood and what she and Craig took away from their parents.

“We were poor. We lived in a small house, but what they gave us was a feeling of importance, a belief that our voices mattered at a very young age, a sense of understanding, of pushing through, resilience,” she said.

He made history at Princeton University

Craig Robinson, brother of First Lady Michelle Obama.Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Craig was a star athlete in high school who was offered full scholarships to several colleges across the United States, including Princeton University. Still, he considered turning down the prestigious opportunity because of the cost. Craig ultimately chose to go to Princeton after his dad talked him out of it.

“If you pick your school based on how much we have to pay, I’d be very disappointed,” Craig recounted his dad saying in a November 2017 interview withGraham Bensinger.

Craig went on to become the fourth all-time leading scorer in Princeton basketball history, a title he has held for 40 years, perThe Daily Princetonian.

Michelle followed in her big brother’s footsteps and graduated from Princeton in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, though she didn’t play basketball.

He left a lucrative banking career to be a basketball coach

Craig Robinson head basketball coach at Oregon State University poses for a photo on July 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.Melissa Golden/Bloomberg via Getty

Melissa Golden/Bloomberg via Getty

Craig later earned his master’s in finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and started a prosperous investment banking career with Morgan Stanley. He also coached youth and high school basketball on the side.

Though he made great money, he wasn’t fulfilled in his career; in 1999, Craig left banking to be an assistant basketball coach at Northwestern University, taking a 90% pay cut for the new role.

From 2006 to 2008, Craig was head coach at Brown University. He then coached the Oregon State Beavers until 2014 — and was the fourth-winningest coach in the team’s history,according to ESPN. That same year, Oregon State released Craig from his contract, and he was hired as a college basketball analystfor ESPNU.

In 2016, theMilwaukee Bucks hired Craigas vice president of player and organizational development. After one year in the role, he left Milwaukee to take a similar job with the New York Knicks, and he credited his background in banking for some of his success.

“I think there’s an analytical bend to this game that people are now just sort of paying attention to over the last 10 years,” he toldAndscapein May 2018. “Anytime there’s stats involved, you will attract guys who are more quantitative and more analytically inclined, like people who used to work in banking.”

Craigexited his rolewith the Knicks in 2020 to become executive director of theNational Association of Basketball Coaches, where he works today.

He is a husband and a father to four kids

Craig Robinson and his wife Kelly arrive at a State Dinner at the White House on August 2, 2016 in Washington. D.C.YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty

YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty

Craig was previously married to his first wife, Janis Robinson, and they welcomed two children together: son Avery and daughter Leslie.

After they split in 2000,Craig met his second wife, Kelly McCrum, on the night of the NCAA March Madness Final Four the following year. Craig and Kelly later married in 2006. The pair share two sons, Austin and Aaron.

While the sports executive has kept details of his relationships and kids out of the spotlight, one of his children has taken after him on the basketball court. Craig’s daughter Leslie attended Princeton University and played basketball for the Tigers.

In 2018, Leslie became the first woman from an Ivy League to be drafted into theWNBAin two decades, and the news surprised her and her entire family — except for one of her brothers.

“It was happy, excited, and surprised all at once,” Craig told the outlet. “The only one that truly thought that Leslie was going to get drafted was her 8-year-old brother. I am so proud of her.”

Leslie played for the New York Liberty and overseas in Germany and Sweden. She later became a coach, like her father, for Milwaukee’s Chapman Basketball Academy and the University School of Milwaukee, according to herLinkedIn. She then worked as an associate producer on theESPN docuseries37 Wordsand has since shifted her focus to finance.

He knew that Barack was a good match for Michelle

Michelle Obama and brother, Craig Robinson.Rick Friedman/Corbis/Getty

Rick Friedman/Corbis/Getty

Since they were young, Michelle and Craig have remained close, and his presence has left a lasting impact on her.

“For a girl to have strong men in her life, like I had, a father who loved me, a brother who adored me and cared for me, [it] made me stronger,” Michelle said onGood Morning Americain April 2022.

After their father died in 1991, Craig served as a father figure to Michelle, even walking her down the aisle at her wedding to former PresidentBarack Obama.

According to the former first lady’s memoirBecoming, when she began dating Barack, she asked Craig to invite him to play basketball. Craig explained to theNew York Postthat their dad always said basketball was a good way to judge someone’s character, so he obliged.

The two hit it off after shooting hoops together, thanks to Barack’s playing style.

“I realized he wasn’t selfish, he wasn’t greedy. He showed character on the court,” Craig said. “He called fouls and gave up fouls. You have to trust the guys you’re playing with in pickup, they’ll make the right call. He did all of that.”

He continued, “I was able to get back to her and say, ‘He seems like a pretty good guy.’ The best thing about it, I told her, is he didn’t just pass me the ball because he was dating my sister.”

He launched a podcast with Michelle

Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson speak to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit at Illinois Institute of Technology on October 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson/Getty

Scott Olson/Getty

In the years since Michelle was first thrust into the public eye, she has involved Craig in different chapters of life, from having him introduce her at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 to the personal anecdotes in her written work.

Now, Michelle and Craig are collaborating on their joint podcast show titledIMO With Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson. While announcing the project, the siblings revealed that they wanted to encourage open lines of communication in an ever-changing world.

“My brother Craig and I launched theIMOpodcast to create a space for people to come as they are, ask honest questions, give their opinions, and have thoughtful conversations about life,” she said in a statement.

Michelle continued, “There is no single way to deal with the challenges we may be facing — whether it’s family, faith, or our personal relationships — but taking the time to open up and talk about these issues can provide hope."

source: people.com