Michelle Obama paid an emotional tribute on Instagram to her mother Marian Robinson, in honor of her 80th birthday

Michelle Obama Shares Moving Tribute to Her Mom on Her Birthday: 'You Are My Rock'

Michelle Obama paid tribute to her mother Marian Robinson in honor of her 80th birthday.

The proud daughter shared a beautiful childhood throwback photo of her with her mother on Instagram late Saturday.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

In the caption for the closeup photo, Obama praised her mother, saying that she is her “rock.”

“Happy Birthday Mom! Your unconditional love has made me who I am today. You are my rock. My ❤️,” the former first lady wrote. “I’ll always be your Miche. I love you.”

The former first mother-in-law has also been vocal about her admiration for her daughter, complimenting her daughter’s “grace” as a first lady.

“I never doubted that she could do this. She is doing it with such grace and dignity,” the Chicago native said in an interview with Essence back in 2009. “So I am just proud. I just hope she does what she wants to do.”

RELATED VIDEO: Michelle Obama on The View

In that interview, Obama also opened up about her mother’s role in her upbringing.

“She completely underestimates her role in who I am. She always says, “You came here that way, I just stayed out of your way.” That’s not how I saw it. My mom is an incredibly intelligent and insightful person about life in general,” Obama said.

“From the time we could talk, she talked to us endlessly about any and everything with a level of openness and fearlessness that made us believe that we were bright enough to engage with an adult, that we were worthy enough to ask questions and to get really serious answers—and she did it with a level of humor.”

Image zoom Kevin Winter/Getty

FROM PEN: People at the White House: The Final Interview with The Obamas

Since leaving the White House, Mrs. Obama has been keeping busy with award ceremonies, potential million dollar book deals and interviews. She was recently seen at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, where she honored the late Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

She also took the stage at the Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s 30th anniversary celebration, where she spoke about some of the difficulties she faced as the country’s first black first lady.

“The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut,” she said, according to the Denver Post. “Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won’t see me for what I am because of my skin color.”