15 Things YOU DIDN’T KNOW About Melania Trump!
Amazing facts you didn’t know about Melania Trump! From her relationship with president Donald Trump to her career as a top fashion model to her exchanges with Michelle Obama
15. Where She’s From
Born Melanija Knavs in the Slovenian city of Novo Mesto in 1... moreAmazing facts you didn’t know about Melania Trump! From her relationship with president Donald Trump to her career as a top fashion model to her exchanges with Michelle Obama
15. Where She’s From
Born Melanija Knavs in the Slovenian city of Novo Mesto in 1970 (when the region was still Yugoslavia), First Lady of the United States Melania Trump was the youngest in a family of four. Her parents, Viktor and Amelia Knavs, oversaw a state-owned car and motorcycle dealership. They lived in a small townhouse with Melania and her older sister Ines. She is only the second first lady to originate from a foreign country. (The first was John Quincy Adams’s wife, Louisa Adams, who was English). And thus far, Melania is the only first lady raised in a communist nation.
14. How She Got Started
Introduced to the catwalk at the age of 5, Melania developed an interest in fashion as an art form early on. Her first appearance in a televised advertisement came when she was 16. Soon after, she met and worked with photographer Stane Jerko, who secured her professional representation through an agency after she turned 18. She subsequently found work all over Europe and changed her name to Melania Knauss.
13. Her Arrival in the United States
After an early departure from the University of Ljubljana, where she had studied architecture for a year, Melania moved to New York City in 1996. With the help of Metropolitan Models co-owner Paolo Zampolli, she secured an apartment in Union Square, a space she shared with another fashion photographer, Matthew Atanian, who told Vanity Fair in 2017 that Melania displayed tremendous discipline when it came to her professional pursuits and personal health. She sustained herself entirely on a fruit and vegetable diet, and even wore ankle weights around the house to maintain her fitness. When she rarely ventured out to socialize, it was for dinner dates with older men, from which she would always return before midnight. Over the next ten years, Melania was featured in Elle, Self and Allure, with cover appearances for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.
12. How She Met The Donald
It was during Fashion Week 1998, at a party thrown by their mutual friend Paolo Zampolli, that Donald and Melania Trump first met. Despite being on a date with a Norwegian cosmetics heiress, Donald approached the 28-year-old eastern European and requested her number. In the years that followed, she proudly told friends that she got his number instead. She then let him wait a few days before calling. They had their first date soon afterward at Moomba NYC, which was a favorite hang-out spot for New York’s rich and famous until it closed in 2001. He proposed to her in 2004 at the Met Gala.
11. Her Star-Studded Wedding
With a guest list that included Tony Bennett, Elton John, Billy Joel, Shaquille O’Neal, Heidi Klum, Katie Couric, and even the Clintons, the Trumps’ 2005 wedding was an event to remember. After seven years together, Donald and Melania were married in an Anglican service. A reception followed at Trump’s now-famous Mar-a-Lago country club. The future first lady wore a $100,000 Christian Dior gown, which took over 500 hours to embroider. She is Donald’s third wife; his first two were Ivana Zelnickova and Marla Maples. less
Posted July 9, 2017
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