Melania Trump (before marriage Knavs) is a Slovenian and American fashion model, entrepreneur, jeweler, 45th and 47th First Lady of the United States.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on April 26, 1970 in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia.
Her father, Viktor Knavs, started out as a chauffeur, and her mother, Amalia Knavs, worked as a fashion designer at the Jutranjka children’s clothing factory in Sevnice. The family had two children: Melania and her older sister Ines.
In childhood, the future First Lady of the United States of America (USA) participated in fashion shows, where children’s clothing was presented.
At the age of 15, she began studying at the High School of Design and Photography in Ljubljana. After the first year, Ines moved to the capital with her sister.
At the age of 19, she graduated from school and entered the University of Ljubljana at the Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Geodetic Engineering, planning to continue her education in the direction of “design”. However, after a few months she left her studies.
Career
At the age of 16, Knavs was noticed by Slovenian photographer Stane Jerko, after which she began a modeling career and took the stage name Melania Knauss.
In 1992, she took second place in the Jana Magazine Look of the Year competition, which opened the way for her to an international contract. After that, she worked as a model in Milan and Paris.
In 1995, she met Paolo Zampalli, co-owner of the Metropolitan Models agency and a friend of her future husband Donald Trump. It was then that she was invited to move to the United States.
The following year, she went to New York. Her first major work was a Camel commercial, shot by photographer Ellen von Unwerth and placed in Times Square.
In 1998, Knaves personally met Donald Trump during Fashion Week at a party at the Kit Kat Club. At that time, she was 28 years old, and Trump was 52. The future president of the United States was still married to Marla Maples, although they lived separately. Over time, their relationship became public, especially after the launch of the show “The Apprentice” and appearances on “The Howard Stern Show”.
During the same period, Knavs worked in New York as a model. She has participated in photo shoots for many influential publications: GQ, as well as for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, In Style, Vanity Fair, Elle, Glamour, Allure.
In 2000, her photo was featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
In 2001, she had a cameo role in the film “Exemplary Male”.
In 2010, Knavs launched her own collection of jewelry and watches “Melania Timepieces & Jewelry”.
On January 20, 2017, she became the First Lady of the United States, after Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
In 2024, she presented the memoir “Melania”. In the book, she described the attempt on her husband’s life, his reaction to the results of the 2020 elections, the search of Mar-a-Lago, and also expressed her own vision of topics related to women’s rights.
On January 20, 2025, during the 60th inauguration of the President of the United States , Trump became the second First Lady in the history of the country to hold this role twice, but not in a row. The first was Frances Cleveland, wife of President Grover Cleveland.
First Lady
On January 20, 2017, she assumed the status of First Lady of the United States. She became the second woman of foreign descent in this position after Louise Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams.
After Trump’s inauguration, Melania lived for some time in New York in Trump Tower with her son Barron. She stayed there until the end of his school year. She moved to the White House on June 11.
On March 8, the White House held an official event for the first time – a lunch for International Women’s Day. During the meeting, she told the participants about her own experience as an immigrant and her work to support gender equality in the United States and abroad
On December 26, she asked to cut down a two-hundred-year-old magnolia in the southern part of the White House territory. The tree, planted in 1828 by US President Andrew Jackson, was in disrepair.
On April 23, 2018, she joined the preparation of the first state dinner of the Trump administration, organized on the occasion of the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.
In early May, she announced the launch of the “Be Best” initiative, which was aimed at informing children about the problems of modern life.
In the same month, she underwent a procedure for embolization of renal vessels. The intervention was successful, without complications.
At the end of June, she visited a detention center for migrant children in Arizona and took part in a seminar on illegal immigration.
In October, she made a five-day trip to Africa. She paid attention to the topics of nature protection, as well as issues related to children and families. During the tour, she visited Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt.
On January 19, 2019, The Daily Telegraph published an article claiming that Melania allegedly did not have any notable professional success before her marriage to Trump. A week later, the publication apologized and agreed to pay compensation to the First Lady of the United States and cover legal costs due to the distortion of facts about her life.
After the shooting in El Paso on August 3, 2019, which killed 23 people, Melania visited a local hospital with Trump.
On October 1, 2020, it became known that she and her husband had tested positive for coronavirus.
On April 26, 2025, she accompanied her husband during the farewell ceremony for Pope Francis.
She also supported the adoption of the Take It Down Act, which equates the publication of intimate deepfakes without a person’s consent with federal crimes. On May 19, 2025, she attended the signing ceremony.
Marital Status
In January 2005, Melania married Trump. The ceremony was held in Palm Beach, Florida.
In March 2006, the couple had a son, Barron William Trump.
