Former First Lady Michelle Obama is as popular as ever, and a recent poll has pretty much confirmed her as the most admired woman in the world, dethroning previous title-holder Angelina Jolie, who ranked third this year. The second spot belongs to TV mogul Oprah Winfrey, while Queen Elizabeth II and actress Emma Watson took the fourth and fifth ranks respectively.
An international poll
The poll, conducted by YouGov.com, surveyed 42,000 people in 41 different countries to determine the most admired 20 men and 20 women in the world, by asking participants a simple question: “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?” As far as these types of polls go, this one was pretty huge in terms of sheer numbers, so it’s safe to say the results are actually significant.
As for the men, Michelle’s husband and former President Barack Obama was voted the second most-admired man in the world, right behind Bill Gates. International action star Jackie Chan got the number three spot, followed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and billionaire businessman Jack Ma. So, yeah: the Obamas sure are ruling the international scene in terms of popularity.
Everyone’s a fan
And it’s not just YouGov that confirms the Obamas as the most admired couple in the world. Gallup got the same result last year, with Michelle Obama beating Hillary Clinton for the first time since the latter became the dominating name for over 15 years. On the men’s side, Obama unsurprisingly won the Gallup top spot in 2018, as he has been doing for the past 11 consecutive years.
It’s been over two years since the Obamas left the White House, but their fame and relevance hasn’t dwindled in the slightest. On the contrary—the more the likes of Donald Trump keep polarizing the nation and escalating racism, the more we all miss Michelle and Barack. On top of that, the couple has found ways to keep themselves actively engaged with the current world. Last year, for example, they signed a deal with Netflix to produce films and series over the next few years through their production company, Higher Ground Productions. Michelle has also published a massively successful memoir called Becoming, which has already sold over 10 million copies—making it one of the best selling memoirs of all time.
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