Michelle Obama Gives 'Black-ish' Star Yara Shahidi's College Career a Boost in a Major Way

Former FLOTUS Michelle Obama gave 'Black-ish' star Yara Shahidi a huge boost ahead of her college career.

March 13, 2017

Black-ish star Yara Shahidi got some help from former First Lady Michelle Obama on the nerve-racking college application process. In a recent interview with W Magazine, the 17-year-old actress opened up about the pre-college support she's received from Obama and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.

"She is very amazing and such a supporter, which is something very surreal to say," Shahidi said of Obama, who did her a serious solid by writing a college recommendation letter. According to Shahidi, the former FLOTUS also helped out before her AP exams by giving her a "go get 'em, tiger" back-rub. Barris, she added, has also been "super supportive" of her higher education plans.

In an interview with People last October, Shahidi—who plays Zoey Johnson on the hit ABC series—expounded on her college plans and revealed she wanted to defer "at least" a year before diving in. "I know when Malia Obama announced [she was deferring], she got a lot of slack, but I feel like what's interesting is I know so many people that are deferring," she said at the time. "It's more than to just roam around or just sit down and stare at a wall, but it will also give me an opportunity to work." Shahidi toldW she plans to double-major in sociology and African American studies.

Michelle and Barack Obama previously hit People with a list of their favorite movies and TV shows back in 2015. While Barack said his favorite show that year was Cinemax's gritty hospital drama The Knick, Michelle gave the honors to Black-ish.