China Trip Offers Rare Glimpse of First Grandmother Marian Robinson
Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, travels the world with first family.
ByABC News
March 25, 2014, 2:00 AM
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, center left, her daughters Malia, right, Sasha, left, Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson, second left, pose for photos with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center right, and his wife Peng Liyuan, second right, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, March 21, 2014.
Andy Wong/AP Photo
March 25, 2014— -- She is rarely seen, but Marian Robinson, mother of first lady Michelle Obama, is a major presence in the Obama household.
On this year's spring break trip to China, Robinson accompanied her daughter and granddaughters Sasha and Malia on the soft-power diplomatic mission.
Back in 2008, Robinson was a somewhat reluctant transplant to the White House.
Actually, her son, Craig Robinson, described her as having been dragged "kicking and screaming" into the presidential fishbowl.
Friends and family told the Chicago Tribune that Robinson, now 76, simply preferred to live in her own home and away from the constant media attention.
Since then, however, she has been something of a second mother to her grandchildren and has managed to stay far from the media spotlight that the other Obama family members often live in.
Occasionally, however, you can spot her when she accompanies the first family on foreign trips like the one they took to Africa last year, and she can be seen at White House Christmas events, and at the occasional college basketball game to watch son Craig coach the Oregon State team.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, front left, her daughters Sasha, front right, Malia, right in the back, and Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson, left in the back, arrive at Capital International Airport in Beijing, March 20, 2014. Michelle Obama has arrived in Beijing with her mother and daughters to kick off a seven-day, three-city tour where she will focus on education and cultural exchange.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, second from left, applauds as she and her daughters Malia, third from left, Sasha, fourth from left, and her mother Marian Robinson, second from right, watch a Peking opera performance with a group of American schoolchildren who are visiting China during their spring break, at the Summer Palace in Beijing, March 22, 2014.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, second from left, her daughters Sasha, left, Malia, second from right, and her mother Marian Robinson, right, watch a performance on the top of an ancient city wall in Xi'an, in northwestern China's Shaanxi province, March 24, 2014.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, center, looks at a terracotta warrior as she visits Qinshihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum with her daughters, Malia, right, and Sasha, second right, and her mother, Marian Shields Robinson, second left, in Xi'an, in northwestern China's Shaanxi province, March 24, 2014.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, center left, her daughters Malia, right, Sasha, left, Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson, second left, pose for photos with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center right, and his wife Peng Liyuan, second right, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, March 21, 2014.
