Melania Trump

Melania Trump (born Melanija Knavs; April 26, 1970) is a Slovenian-American former model who served as the first lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of President Donald Trump.

She is the first naturalized citizen to become first lady and the second foreign-born first lady after Louisa Adams.

She is also the second Catholic first lady after Jacqueline Kennedy.

Melanija Knavs was born in Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) where she began working as a fashion model at the age of 16.

Melanija Knavs was born in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia, now part of present-day Slovenia, on April 26, 1970.

Her father Viktor Knavs first worked as a chauffeur, and he eventually sold car parts for a state-owned vehicle manufacturer as he made connections with the communist party.

Her mother Amalija worked as a patternmaker at the children's clothing manufacturer Jutranjka in Sevnica.

In Sevnica, the family lived in the state-run housing complex Naselje Heroja Maroka.

She has an older sister, Ines, and an older half-brother from her father's previous relationship, Denis Cigelnjak, whom she reportedly has never met.

Her father denied paternity of the boy, even after it was confirmed by a paternity test.

Knauss's father was in the League of Communists of Slovenia, which espoused a policy of state atheism.

As was common, however, he had his daughters secretly baptized as Catholic.

The family was well-off relative to most who lived in communist societies, and they frequently went on vacations to other parts of Europe.

Their apartment was decorated with brightly colored walls, which was a major departure from other apartments in the country.

As a child, Knavs and other children of workers at the factory participated in fashion shows that featured children's clothing.

Textiles were Sevnica's primary industry, and students were excused from school to participate in the shows.

From a young age, Knavs expressed an interest in fashion, and she began customizing and sewing her own clothes.

She developed a skill for it by watching her mother work.

Knavs did well in school, where she was appointed school treasurer.

When Knavs was a teenager, she moved with her family to a two-story house in Sevnica.

From her youth in Slovenia, Knavs was influenced by the United States: she described the presidency of Ronald Reagan as the beginning of a new era in her own country, and the debut of CNN International in 1985 gave her family access to American media.

She changed the spelling of her name to Melania Knauss, and she traveled to Milan and Paris to seek modeling work until she met Paolo Zampolli, who hired her and sponsored her immigration to the United States in 1996.

She continued working as a model in Manhattan, where Zampolli introduced her to the real estate developer Donald Trump in 1998.

They began dating, and she began adjusting to a more lavish lifestyle.

He worked to get her more modeling jobs, and she supported him during his 2000 presidential campaign.

Melania and Donald Trump married in 2005, and they had a son, Barron Trump, the following year.

She dedicated most of her time to Barron during his infancy, spending less time working or accompanying her husband at events.

She started her own jewelry brand, Melania, in 2009.

After encouraging Donald to run for president in the 2016 presidential election, Melania only made rare campaign appearances, opting to help Donald strategize over the phone.

She received major press coverage during the campaign when erotic photos from her modeling years were uncovered and published, and again when a speech she gave at the 2016 Republican National Convention was found to be plagiarized from a similar speech by Michelle Obama.

In the month leading up to the election, she was forced to respond to the Access Hollywood tape that had caused a scandal for her husband.

Trump stayed in Manhattan for the first months of her tenure as first lady, allowing Barron to finish school and allowing Melania to negotiate her prenuptial agreement.

Her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump fulfilled some of the first lady's traditional duties, causing a rivalry between the two.

She kept to minimal activity after moving into the White House, often staying in the residence instead of her office in the East Wing, and she held fewer events than previous first ladies.

2018 saw several challenges for Melania, including allegations of extramarital affairs by her husband, surgery for kidney disease, and a tour of Africa that was overshadowed by scandals.

Trump prioritized children's issues during her tenure as first lady, launching the Be Best campaign to promote children's welfare and making many visits to children's hospitals.

She opposed her husband's family separation policy and convinced him to end the practice.

She was a close advisor to her husband, being the only person from whom he accepted frank advice, and he frequently asked her opinion.

In the final months of her tenure, Trump endorsed her husband's false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

She has stayed out of public view since leaving the White House.