Michelle Obama overtakes Hillary Clinton to become America's most admired woman

Hillary Clinton has topped the list 22 times including the past 17 years in a row.

WASHINGTON: They are not in the White House anymore, but their popularity is nowhere close to the end. Former First Lady Michelle Obama has been named America's most admired woman, according to a Gallup poll published on Thursday. Former president Barack Obama was named the man Americans admire most for the 11th year in a row, Gallup said.

By taking the top spot, Michelle has dethroned former First Lady Hillary Clinton from the position after 17 years. Hillary, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and a former US senator and secretary of state, has topped the list 22 times including the past 17 years in a row. Fifteen per cent of the 1,025 Americans polled said the woman they admire most is Michelle Obama, who is currently on a tour promoting her book "Becoming." 

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey was second with five per cent followed by Hillary Clinton and First Lady Melania Trump with four per cent. Nineteen per cent of those polled said Barack Obama was the man they admired most.

As per the survey, President Donald Trump finished second for the fourth year in a row. With 13 per cent, Trump was followed by former president George W Bush and Pope Francis, who were tied with two per cent.

Gallup said the survey conducted December 3-12 had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. The company has conducted the annual poll every year since 1946 with the exception of 1976.