Melania Trump is the former First Lady of the United States, having served from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of former president Donald Trump.
She was born Melanija Knavs in Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) in 1970 and began a successful modeling career at age 16.
Melania moved to the United States in 1996 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006.
As First Lady, she focused her efforts on issues affecting children, including well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse.
Melania launched the BE BEST awareness campaign in 2018 to address these concerns.
She also traveled both domestically and internationally to meet with students and medical professionals on these topics.
Melania was known for keeping a low profile compared to previous First Ladies, spending much of her time in the private White House quarters.
Siblings
Melania has one sister, Ines Knauss, who is also a former model. Not much is publicly known about Ines, as she has largely avoided the spotlight.
She also has a brother named Denis Cigelnjak.
Melania’s parents are Viktor Knavs and Amalija Ulčnik.
Viktor was a car and motorcycle dealer, while Amalija worked at a textile factory. The family lived in a modest apartment in Sevnica, Slovenia when Melania was growing up.
Melania has kept her family life very private, especially her relationship with her parents and sister.
She has said that her parents instilled strong values in her from a young age, including the importance of hard work and education.
Melania’s family reportedly still lives in Slovenia.
Profession
Melania began modeling at the young age of 16, signing with a modeling agency in Milan, Italy when she was 18 years old.
In the early years of her career, she modeled for fashion houses and designers in Milan and Paris.
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In 1996, Melania moved to New York City to further her modeling career.
In New York, she continued to work with top photographers and appeared on the covers of high-profile magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, GQ and Sports Illustrated.
Though she was not considered a “supermodel,” Melania was described as a “captivating presence” in front of the camera.
It was through her modeling work that Melania met her future husband, Donald Trump, at a fashion event in 1998.
Melania and Donald Trump dated for several years before marrying in 2005.
Melania’s modeling career and background were often highlighted during her time as First Lady from 2017-2021.
Personal life
Melania is married to Donald Trump. The two met at a fashion event in New York City in 1998 and began dating shortly after.
They were married in 2005 at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.
Together, Melania and Donald have one child – their son, Barron Trump, who was born in 2006.
Barron was the youngest child to live in the White House since the Kennedy administration.
Prior to marrying Donald Trump, Melania was married to Slovenian businessman Rihard Knauss from 1995 to 1999.
However, she did not have any children from that previous marriage.
As First Lady from 2017-2021, Melania was known to keep a relatively low profile compared to previous First Ladies.
She focused much of her efforts on initiatives related to the well-being of children, including her Be Best campaign which addressed issues like opioid abuse and online safety.
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