Melania Trump is a Slovenian and American former model who has been the first lady of the United States since 2025 as the wife of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th presidents of the United States. She previously held the role from 2017 to 2021.

Modeling and marriage to Donald Trump

Melanija Knavs grew up in Sevnica, Yugoslavia (now in Slovenia), where her father sold cars and her mother worked in the textile industry. She attended the University of Ljubljana for one year before leaving to pursue a career in modeling. She found success, first in Slovenia and later under the name Melania Knauss in Milan and Paris. In 1996, she was brought to New York by Paolo Zampolli’s modeling agency. In the course of her career, she appeared on the covers of several magazines, and in 2000 she modeled for Sports Illustrated’s popular swimsuit edition.

Knauss first met Trump in 1998 at a fashion industry party in New York City. He was then married to Marla Maples, whom he was to divorce in 1999. After a long courtship, Trump and Knauss were married on January 22, 2005, at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It was his third marriage and her first. One of the guests at the wedding was Hillary Clinton. In 2006, Melania Trump gave birth to Barron William Trump, her first child and her husband’s fifth. In that year she also became a U.S. citizen. During this time, Melania Trump continued her career. In addition to occasionally modeling, she marketed a line of jewelry sold by the QVC company and developed a line of caviar-based skin care products.

First lady

Melania Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, 2017. In 2015, Donald Trump announced that he was entering the U.S. presidential race. When he made immigration a central issue, the details of Melania Trump’s own immigration history were scrutinized, including allegations that she worked in the United States before acquiring the appropriate visa. Although Melania Trump did not take a prominent role in the campaign, she spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2016. Her speech initially drew praise but was later revealed to contain sentences and phrases similar to those spoken by Michelle Obama eight years previously. A speechwriter apologized for the seeming plagiarism. Melania Trump subsequently maintained a low profile until several weeks before the election, when she defended her husband after a series of women accused him of sexual assault and harassment. On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, defeating Clinton; he took office on January 20, 2017.