The popularity ratings of the first African-American first Lady put her ahead of all of her predecessors including Hillary Clinton, who began her eight-year stay in the White House with a 44-percent popularity score, Laura Bush with 30 percent and Nancy Reagan with 28 percent.
Her youthful, striking looks and dynamism, coupled with the fact that she understands what it means to be a working mother, juggling family life with a successful career, makes it easy for many women to relate to her.
"If you think of the stereotypes of black women, they are either bossy and emasculating or sexually promiscuous, and Michelle Obama is neither of those," said Andra Gillespie, a sociology professor at Emory University in the southern state of Georgia.
"A woman who has an accessible beauty, is considered feminine and lady-like, has a husband and has kept him for more than 15 years and a husband who clearly loves her -- people are not used to seeing black women in that position," she said.
Dubbed "my rock" by her proud husband, Michelle Obama is also seen as living proof that the American dream is accessible to anyone.