Former President Barack Obama has kept busy since he left office.
From impromptu family vacations to court-mandated jury duty, the 63-year-old has led a pretty ordinary life in the years following his departure from the White House.
Other than a few appearances on the Harris-Walz campaign trail and funeral services for former President Jimmy Carter, Obama continues to keep his sight set on opportunities in media and entertainment. He, like other executive branch alumni, signed a deal with Los Angeles-based marketing firm Creative Artists Agency after his political tenure.
Obama and wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, founded Higher Ground in 2018, a production company committed to telling “powerful stories that entertain, inform, and inspire — while elevating new and diverse voices in the entertainment industry.”
Obama is also the author of three New York Times best-selling books, including the memoir “A Promised Land,” released in November 2020 and “Renegades,” released in October 2021. Obama routinely shares recommendations for books, movies and music on social media.
“He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Michelle. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha,” a bio from Barack Obama Books reads.
See what the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize recipient has been up to since leaving the White House in January 2017.
Barack Obama photobombs cherry blossom photoshoot
A cherry blossom photoshoot went south when Obama, unknowingly, stepped into the frame.
The former Illinois senator photobombed Virginia toddlers Preston and Belle while he was out for an early morning stroll around Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Falls Church resident Portia Moore told USA TODAY that she did not notice the 44th president passing by until her husband pointed him out.
“Once their shoot is all done, I was like, ‘Jamie, what did you say?’ He was like ‘That’s President Obama over there,’ and I was like ‘Oh my goodness,'” Moore told USA TODAY Wednesday. “I was like, ‘You should’ve grabbed me and made more of a big deal about it.'”
Photographer Briana Inell also did not notice Obama until her clients’ grandparents pointed out the Secret Service walking behind a familiar face.
“We asked them ‘Um…was that Obama who walked by???’ And they said yeah it was!” Inell wrote on Instagram. “So then I went through the photos on my camera card to see if I caught and to my surprise, I DID! And then me and my clients’ were like, how do we even continue our shoot now?!??”
Obama even responded to the photobomb on Instagram, commenting under Inell’s post: “Preston and Belle, I hope you enjoyed peak bloom! My bad for stepping into the shot.”
Moore said image will sit right at the center of a six-by-two grid framed at their home in Falls Church, about 10 miles from DC.
See Barack Obama’s life post-presidency in pictures
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY