Melania Trump, born on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), was the First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021, married to the 45th president, Donald Trump. She was the second foreign-born First Lady, after Louisa Adams.
Melanija Knavs grew up in Sevnica, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia). Her father was a car salesman, and her mother worked in textiles. She studied at the University of Ljubljana for a year before leaving to become a model. She achieved success in Slovenia and later in Milan and Paris under the name Melania Knauss. In 1996, Paolo Zampolli’s modeling agency brought her to New York. Her career included magazine covers and a 2000 appearance in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition.
Melania met Donald Trump in 1998 at a New York fashion party while he was still married to Marla Maples, whom he divorced in 1999. After a lengthy courtship, they married on January 22, 2005, in Palm Beach, Florida, marking Trump’s third marriage and her first. Hillary Clinton was among the wedding guests. In 2006, she gave birth to Barron William Trump and became a U.S. citizen. During this period, she continued modeling occasionally, marketed a jewelry line via QVC, and developed caviar-based skincare products.
In 2015, Donald Trump announced his presidential bid, making immigration a key issue, which led to scrutiny of Melania’s immigration history and allegations of her working in the U.S. before obtaining a visa. She had a low-profile campaign role but spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Her speech was later found to contain similar lines to a speech by Michelle Obama. Melania stayed mostly out of the spotlight until defending Donald Trump against sexual assault allegations weeks before the election. Donald Trump won the presidency on November 8, 2016, taking office on January 20, 2017.
Melania did not initially move into the White House, waiting until June after her son finished the school year. In 2018, she launched the Be Best initiative, aimed at children’s welfare, including ending cyberbullying. During the 2020 reelection campaign, she had a limited role but spoke at the Republican National Convention in August. She and the president contracted COVID-19 in October but recovered. Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden on November 3, 2020, and contested the results. Following the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, Melania condemned the violence and criticized personal attacks against her. She did not host the traditional meeting with incoming First Lady Jill Biden before leaving the White House on January 20, 2021.