For someone married to the most polarizing man in the country, Melania Trump avoids the spotlight surprisingly well. Here’s what the world knows about one of the most interesting First Ladies to ever step foot in the White House.
Born in then-Yugoslavia in 1970, Melanija Knavs walked her first catwalk at just 5-years-old. She got her start in fashion thanks to her mom, Amalija Ulčnik, who developed patterns for a clothing factory. Melania’s seen here (second from the right) modeling some of the company’s products in 1977.
After a year of architecture classes at the local university, Melania started modeling full-time. She Germanized her name to Melania Knauss and worked in Milan and Paris until an agency owner (and friend of Donald Trump) brought her to New York. She later appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
The couple reconciled within six months, and got engaged in 2004. Their winter wedding in Florida featured a star-studded guest list (including Katie Couric, Heidi Klum, Shaq, Barbara Walters, Simon Cowell, Billy Joel and yes, the Clintons), as well as a $200,000 Dior dress that reportedly took over 1,000 hours to make.
Despite her glamorous lifestyle, Melania believes in being a hands-on parent when it comes to raising her son Barron. “I don’t have a nanny,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2016. “I have a chef, and I have my assistant, and that’s it. I do it myself. You know, those hours with your child are really important ones.”
After her visit to the Vatican, Melania’s spokeswoman confirmed the First Lady practices Catholicism. She was apparently secretly baptized as a child, because the League of Communists of Slovenia controlled the country at the time.
Louisa Adams, the wife of sixth president John Quincy Adams, was born in London. Melania became a permanent resident of the U.S in 2001, and a citizen in 2006.
Per tradition, it begins with the same letter as her husband’s alias, Mogul. Other First Ladies have gone by Renaissance (Michelle Obama), Tempo (Laura Bush) and Evergreen (Hillary Clinton).
Given her former career, you would think Melania took the top spot but her 5-foot-11 frame actually stands even with Michelle Obama and Eleanor Roosevelt, according to CBS. She holds others superlatives though, like the first naturalized U.S. citizen to become First Lady and the only one born in a communist country.
