We’ve discussed it time and time again: in today’s age of multimedia saturation, becoming a national president makes a person into a de facto celebrity. For example, Barack Obama was a rockstar of a president, and Donald Trump is more famous now as president than he ever was as a businessman or TV show host. That fame extends to these presidents’ spouses, which is how both Michelle Obama and Melania Trump became household names.
This phenomenon isn’t limited to America, as Brigitte Macron experienced firsthand. Becoming France’s First Lady made her into an overnight icon, and it also changed her in several key ways. Fortunately, these changes were for the better, which is how she became one of the country’s most celebrated leaders.
What kind of changes are we talking about? Keep reading to discover all the powerful ways becoming France’s First Lady changed Brigitte Macron!
She never liked the title
There are some First Ladies who step into the role so effortlessly that they make it look downright easy. The same can’t be said for Brigitte Macron, though. Over the years, she has been remarkably frank about how it wasn’t easy for her to transition into the role of a public figure. In an interview with Elle, she admitted that the experience “made me dizzy” and that she didn’t even like the title “First Lady” because “That’s an American expression, and there’s nothing about it that works for me.”
She went on to describe how weird it was to even be called First Lady by others. “When I hear it, I always want to look over my shoulder—who are you talking about?” Obviously, she eventually settled into the role quite nicely. But in a bit of true humility, she admitted that she always thinks of herself as simply Brigitte Macron rather than First Lady.
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A surprise return to teaching
Becoming France’s First Lady meant that Brigitte Macron automatically had something in common with Jill Biden. It turns out they have something else in common, though: a passion for teaching. While Joe Biden was serving as president, Jill found the time to keep teaching at Delaware Technical & Community College. Macron was actually a teacher when she met her future husband (he was one of her students!), and after becoming First Lady, she created an educational initiative and took personal care to make it grow.
In 2018, she launched the Institute of Vocations for Employment, a special initiative designed to help adults escape long-term unemployment. Brigitte Macron clearly believes deeply in their mission: on occasion, she has personally taught classes, like when she taught a literature and culture class to Clichy-sous-Bois in 2019. This isn’t as intensive as Jill Biden’s regular teaching gig was, but it still shows just how devoted Macron is to improving the lives of French citizens.
Brigitte Macron: surprise fashion tastemaker
In America, there’s a surprisingly long history of First Ladies being fashion tastemakers for the country. For example, Hillary Clinton helped make pantsuits into an icon of feminist independence. Decades later, former model Melania Trump’s taste in clothing arguably helped to create a de facto look for famous MAGA women. Meanwhile, in France, Brigitte Macron became a tastemaker mostly by sporting clothes made by the country’s most famous designers, including Louis Vuitton.
She has been very practical about her fashion tastes; when Elle asked about how she felt about media coverage of what she wore, she replied with a breezy question of her own: “If it’s good for French fashion, why not?” In fact, Macron leaned into her fashion influencer role so firmly that she became buddy-buddy with Louise Vuitton’s creative director and had killer looks crafted by famous designer Olivier Rousteing.
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Making a shocking cameo in Emily In Paris
Early on, Brigitte Macron had serious trouble coming to grips with her role as a public figure. Eventually, she got over that and embraced her opportunity to be a kind of cultural ambassador for France. That was never quite as clear as when she made a 2024 cameo in an episode of the popular Netflix television show Emily In Paris. She met the cast back in 2022 and really hit it off, and that laid the groundwork for her getting an official cameo in the show a couple of years later.
The cameo itself was quite cute, with the titular Emily character running into Macron at a restaurant. This causes the younger woman to fangirl, telling the First Lady about how much she loves France. Without missing a beat, Macron responds with the same warmth that she often responds to actual French citizens: “And my country loves you, Emily.”
Speaking of fangirling, another reason this cameo happened in the first place is that Brigitte Macron already loved Emily in Paris. It probably helps that her name got dropped in the first season, which the French First Lady got a real kick out of!