The Gist

• Michelle Obama turned 62 years old on January 17, and on January 20 thanked well-wishers for their birthday messages from the weekend prior.

• Wearing a chic casual ensemble, it turned out to be the same outfit the former First Lady also wore for a surprise appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.

• In the episode, which aired on January 21, Obama spoke about being judged for her appearance over any of her other accomplishments.

Michelle Obama, who just turned 62 years old on January 17, is, in her own words, “as vibrant as I’ve ever been.”

On January 20, the former First Lady took to Instagram to give thanks for all of the well-wishes she received for her birthday, sharing a photo of herself in a striped button-down shirt tucked into dark jeans, a red vest atop her button-down held together with a silver fastener. She accessorized with a stack of bracelets on her left wrist, earrings, and a dark-colored manicure. Perhaps the most telling accessory she wore in the photo shared Tuesday, though, was the smile across her face.

“I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for sharing such incredibly sweet and thoughtful birthday messages over the weekend!” Obama wrote. “Your kindness—in every post, text, and call—truly made my day. Feeling so grateful and loved as I start this next year of life.♥?”

One of the messages Obama received on social media was from her husband, former President Barack Obama, who wrote in an Instagram post, “Happy birthday to the woman who lights up every room she walks into. I love you, Miche.”

In a surprise twist, the same outfit Obama wore in her Instagram post ended up being what she wore on her January 21 appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, where Obama spoke about being scrutinized for her image both throughout her career and throughout her time as First Lady.

“The top of the article would be [what] she was wearing, not my education, not my professional career, but it started with appearance,” Obama said of media coverage when she was First Lady from 2009 to 2017. “It was clear that, oh my God, you don’t know anything about what I did before I came here.”

“I mean, I practiced law,” she continued. “I was an assistant to the mayor in Chicago. I ran a nonprofit. That quickly, my shoes become the most important thing about me. We have to think a lot more, to strike that balance and to be thoughtful about what messages we’re sending, giving, receiving.” She added, “When you get the power, when you’re the boss, when you’re running your own thing, let’s just not become female versions of the thing that was broken. Are you building the world that you told your little girl existed?”

Obama also spoke to those “young women,” telling them to “keep climbing” and saying, “We need you and know that you may come up short, but keep going.”

Obama previously told People of her 60s that it has been “a wonderful time,” adding, “This is the first time in my life when every decision I make is for me.”

“Fundamentally, I’m the same person,” Obama continued. “But with each decade, I’ve grown wiser. I think I’ve become more confident about who I am. This version of Michelle probably cares less about what other people think.”