Meet Craig Robinson: Michelle Obama’s brother and NABC executive director
Craig Malcolm Robinson is a former college basketball coach, basketball executive, and broadcaster. He is currently the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Craig is widely recognised as the older brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Craig Robinson and his sister, Michelle Obama, grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and he famously introduced her to Barack Obama.
- Craig is a former head men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University and Brown University.
- He was a star forward at Princeton University in the early 1980s and a bond trader in the 1990s.
- The NABC executive director has been married twice and has four children.
Profile summary
Full name | Craig Malcolm Robinson |
Date of birth | 21 April 1962 |
Age | 63 years old (as of 2025) |
Place of birth | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Current residence | United States |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | African-American |
Father | Fraser C. Robinson III |
Mother | Marian Shields Robinson |
Siblings | Michelle Obama |
Marital status | Married |
Wife | Kelly McCrum |
Children | Avery, Leslie, Austin, Aaron |
School | Mount Carmel High School |
University | Princeton University, University of Chicago Booth School of Business |
Craig Robinson’s early life and background
Craig Robinson was born on 21 April 1962 in Illinois, United States. He is an American national of African-American heritage. Craig currently resides in Mequon, Wisconsin, United States.
Meet Craig Robinson’s parents, Marian and Fraser Robinson
His parents are Fraser Robinson, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian Robinson, a secretary at a catalogue store. His father had multiple sclerosis, which eventually required him to use crutches, but he remained a strong, thoughtful presence in Craig’s life.
Craig Robinson has often spoken about how his parents shaped his values and outlook on life. Reflecting on the lessons they passed down, he told the Washington Examiner in 2010:
I was fortunate to have parents who taught their children to work hard, to be good citizens.
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Craig Robinson is the older brother of Michelle Obama
The American college basketball coach grew up alongside his younger sister, Michelle, in a small house on the South Side of Chicago. Michelle is two years younger than Craig, born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on 17 January 1964.
Craig maintains a very close relationship with his sister and brother-in-law. When Michelle first started dating Barack Obama, she asked Craig to play basketball with him to size up his character on the court. Craig was a visible surrogate during Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, and even walked Michelle down the aisle at her wedding after their father died in 1991.
Craig Robinson and Michelle recently co-hosted a podcast together called IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, discussing topics related to family, values, and their upbringing.
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In her own memoir, Becoming, Michelle wrote a message to her older sibling, stating,
You have been my protector since the day I was born. You have made me laugh more than any other person on this earth. You are the best brother a sister could ask for, a loving and caring son, husband and father.
In a December 2022 interview with ABC 7 Chicago, Michelle reflected on her humble upbringing and the lessons she and Craig learned from their parents.
We were poor. We lived in a small house, but what they gave us was a feeling of importance, a belief that our voices mattered at a very young age, a sense of understanding, of pushing through, and resilience.
Craig Robinson’s educational background
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Craig Robinson attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and graduated in 1979. He later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Princeton University in 1983. The basketball coach also completed an MBA in Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1992.
What does Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig, do for a living?
Craig Robinson has had a diverse career spanning professional basketball, finance, coaching, sports administration, and broadcasting. He began his basketball career at Princeton University, where he was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983 and played professionally in the U.K. for the Manchester Giants.
Source: Getty Images
Craig also reportedly used to work out with Michael Jordan as a practice player. After his professional playing career, he worked in finance for firms including Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Loop Capital Markets. He left his lucrative banking career to return to basketball coaching, serving as an assistant basketball coach at Northwestern University. He told Inc. magazine in May 2011.
My business success, albeit good — in fact, maybe even grand by some measures — wasn’t bringing me the kind of pleasure and joy that I felt when I was coaching,
Craig served as the head coach at Brown University from 2006 to 2008. He then coached Oregon State University until 2014, and was the fourth-winningest coach in the team’s history, as documented by ESPN.
Michelle Obama’s brother also served as the vice president of player and organisational development for the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks. Since 2020, Craig has been the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), where he focuses on coaching standards and student-athlete well-being.
Who is Craig Robinson’s wife?
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Craig Robinson’s wife is Kelly McCrum Robinson, a former education administrator at Brown University. The two first met on the night of the NCAA March Madness Final Four in 2001. Craig and Kelly tied the knot in 2006, and they share two sons, Austin, born in 2010 and Aaron, born in 2012.
Craig Robinson was previously married to Janis Robinson, with whom he had two children: a son named Avery, born in 1992 and a daughter named Leslie, born in 1996. Leslie followed in her father’s footsteps and became a standout women’s basketball player at Princeton, later drafted into the WNBA.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Michelle Obama’s brother?
Craig and his wife, Kelly, have been in the news recently regarding a lawsuit they filed against the University School of Milwaukee, the private school their sons attended, over allegations of racial bias. They have since settled the matter.
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Did Michelle Obama have a twin brother?
Michelle Obama does not have a twin brother. She has one older brother, Craig Robinson.
Is Michelle Obama’s brother an actor?
Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother, is not an actor; he is a college basketball coach, executive, and broadcaster.
Who was Craig Robinson’s first wife?
Craig Robinson’s first wife was Janis Robinson, whom he married in 1988, and they divorced around 2000.
How many children does Craig Robinson have?
Craig Robinson has four kids: Avery and Leslie from his first marriage, and Austin and Aaron from his current marriage to Kelly McCrum Robinson.
Conclusion
Craig Robinson has built a strong and successful career of his own, beyond being known as Michelle Obama’s older brother. A multi-talented professional, his career has spanned from a high-earning finance executive to a Division I head basketball coach. He is the current executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
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