NEW YORK — First lady Michelle Obama shares a chill-out playlist, a few family photos and a chat with actress Meryl Streep as guest editor of the July-August issue of More magazine.
“There was a lot of laughter in the room,” said Susan Pocharski, entertainment director of the women’s magazine, who moderated their recent conversation. “They were both incredibly down to earth, real, thoughtful (and) they care about the same issues that every other woman thinks about, which is how to balance work and family and how to make an impact in the world.”
Streep and Obama have forged a strong path for themselves and their children. Streep, a three-time Academy Award winner, has a record 19 Oscar nominations. Her films include “Mamma Mia” and “Sophie’s Choice.” Obama, a Harvard-trained lawyer, has tackled issues such as nutrition and support for military families.
Both said they hope to have as much effect on their children’s lives as their mothers had on them.
“My mentor was my mother,” Streep said during their conversation. “She was a mentor because she said to me, ‘Meryl, you’re capable. You’re so great.’ She was saying, ‘You can do whatever you put your mind to. If you’re lazy, you’re not going to get it done. But if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.’ And I believed her. And she said it from the time I was little. And that made me arrogant.”
They also discussed education, how to make change and what they hope their legacy will be.
“If I point to anything that makes me who I am, it’s that I have a whole lot of common sense,” Obama said. “I’ve got a good mind and a good ability to read people and situations. A lot of that is because that’s who my mother is.”
On newsstands Tuesday, the issue also includes Obama’s review of “The Light of the World,” a memoir written by friend and poet Elizabeth Alexander. It will be Obama’s third More cover.
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