US First Lady Michelle Obama’s new hairdo is now official – in the official White House portrait.

The first lady’s new fringe, or bangs in American parlance, have caused waves since she first sported the new style just before last month’s second inauguration of her husband, President Barack Obama.

The official portrait that debuted Wednesday features Michelle Obama in the White House Green Room smiling in a navy dress and pearls, and sporting her new hairstyle.

“This is my mid-life crisis, the bangs. I couldn’t get a sports car.

They won’t let me bungee jump.

So instead, I cut my bangs,” she joked in an interview that aired earlier in the day on the Rachael Ray talk show.

- Sapa