What to know about Melania Trump’s life, career, and marriage to Donald Trump

• Former first lady Melania Trump has remained an enigmatic figure since Donald Trump entered politics.
• Born in Slovenia, she moved to the US for her modeling career and became a naturalized citizen.
• She focused on children’s health with her Be Best campaign, but has made few campaign appearances.

Former first lady Melania Trump has remained an enigmatic figure since her husband, former President Donald Trump, launched his political career.

Born in Slovenia, she moved to the US to pursue modeling and made history as the first naturalized citizen to become first lady. During her time in the White House, she focused on children’s health and well-being with her Be Best initiative and sparked controversy with her fashion statements.

A self-described “private person,” she has rarely campaigned or granted interviews.

Here’s a look at Melania Trump’s life, career, and marriage to Donald Trump.

Melania Trump’s early life and upbringing

Melania Trump, 54, was born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, which was then part of Yugoslavia. Her mother, Amalija Knavs, worked in the fashion industry as a patternmaker at a textile factory. Her father, Viktor Knavs, was a car salesman. She has one sister, Ines Knauss, and a half-brother, Denis Cigelnjak.

Melania Trump has said that she speaks English, Italian, French, and German in addition to her native Slovenian.

Melania Trump’s modeling career

At 5 feet 11 inches tall, Melania Trump was scouted by photographer Stane Jerko in Slovenia in 1987. She dropped out of architecture school to pursue modeling, appearing on runways in Paris and Milan before moving to the US on a tourist visa in 1996.

Melania Trump posed nude for photos that appeared in a French edition of GQ in 1996. The New York Post resurfaced the photos in 2016 during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. She also posed nude on Donald Trump’s Boeing 727 private plane for GQ in 2000. That same year, she appeared in the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

In a post on X in 2024, Melania Trump said that she stands proudly behind her nude modeling work, calling it a “celebration of the human form.”

“Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration,” she said. “We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.”

Melania Trump’s citizenship and immigration

Melania Trump became a naturalized US citizen in 2006 and is the first naturalized citizen to serve as first lady of the United States.

Speaking at a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in a rare public appearance in 2023, she recalled navigating a “labyrinth” of paperwork while obtaining her worker visa and becoming a US citizen.

Melania Trump is the second first lady to be born outside the US. The first was Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of President John Quincy Adams.

When Melania Trump met Donald Trump

Melania and Donald Trump met in 1998 when she was 28 years old at a party thrown by their mutual friend, Paolo Zampolli. At the time, Donald Trump was separated from his second wife, Marla Maples. Their divorce was finalized in 1999.

The couple briefly broke up in 2000 but reconciled a few months later. Donald Trump proposed in 2004 with a 15-carat, $1.5 million engagement ring.

Melania Trump’s marriage to Donald Trump

Melania Trump and Donald Trump’s wedding took place on January 22, 2005.

The ceremony was held at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, and Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club hosted the reception. Melania Trump’s wedding dress was designed by Christian Dior and embellished with 1,500 crystals and pearls.

They welcomed a son, Barron Trump, in 2006.

Adult film star Stormy Daniels said that she had an affair with Donald Trump after Melania Trump gave birth in 2006. In the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment made to Daniels 11 days before the 2016 election. Donald Trump has denied ever having an affair with Daniels.

After The Wall Street Journal broke the news of the alleged affair in 2018, Melania Trump retreated from public appearances. She canceled a trip to Davos, Switzerland, that she was scheduled to make with Donald Trump and flew to Mar-a-Lago instead. She also did not acknowledge their wedding anniversary or Valentine’s Day on social media as she had in past years. Upon returning to the White House, the Trumps broke protocol by arriving separately to board Marine One.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who was friends with Melania Trump for 15 years, told Page Six that silence is the former first lady’s “weapon of choice and her protective armor.”

Melania Trump’s time as first lady

Melania Trump largely remained away from the campaign trail during Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential run, but caused controversy when she appeared to copy parts of her speech at the Republican National Convention from Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.

She continued to keep a low profile when Donald Trump was elected to the White House, staying behind in New York City with their son, Barron, so that he could finish the school year.

As first lady, Melania Trump spearheaded Be Best, a campaign focused on promoting children’s health and well-being, combating online bullying, and educating communities about opioid addiction. She also visited Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Egypt on a solo trip focused on children’s health in 2018.

She often appeared in sunglasses that obscured much of her face, sparking an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that she had a body double who would stand in for her at events. Melania Trump’s then-spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, debunked the theory, and Donald Trump slammed reports about the rumors, saying that “fake news” was “only getting more deranged with time!”

Melania Trump occasionally wore outfits that proved controversial. In 2017, she wore a $51,500 Dolce & Gabbana jacket at the G7 Summit in Italy that garnered criticism for its steep price tag. She was also criticized for wearing Manolo Blahnik pumps to board Marine One on her way to visit sites impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

In 2018, Melania Trump attracted more controversy when she flew to Texas to visit children at a government immigration facility while wearing a Zara jacket that read “I really don’t care, do U?”

Grisham told Business Insider at the time, “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message.”

Months later, Melania Trump told ABC News that the message was directed at “the left-wing media who are criticizing me,” which she said may make her the “most bullied person in the world.”

Melania Trump’s post-White House life

Donald Trump and Melania Trump skipped President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and moved back to Mar-a-Lago. The Palm Beach club remained her primary residence, though she made occasional visits to Trump Tower in New York City.

She attended Donald Trump’s presidential campaign launch event in 2022, but did not join her husband at most campaign stops and rallies.

Donald Trump addressed Melania Trump’s absence on “Meet the Press” in 2023, telling moderator Kristen Welker, “She’s a private person, a great person, a very confident person, and she loves our country very much.”

“And honestly, I like to keep her away from it,” he said of the campaign trail. “It’s so nasty and so mean.”

In 2023, she attended Rosalynn Carter’s funeral along with former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama.

In a rare joint appearance, she accompanied Donald Trump to vote in Florida’s 2024 primary election.

Melania Trump attended the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention and joined Donald Trump onstage after his address, but did not give a speech herself.

She did not appear in the courtroom during Donald Trump’s hush-money trial.

Melania Trump’s memoir, titled “Melania,” is due to be released on October 8, 2024.

“As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentation, I feel a responsibility to clarify the facts,” she said in a post on X.

Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s net worth

Melania Trump’s individual net worth is unclear, but Donald Trump was worth an estimated $3.9 billion as of October 2024, according to Forbes.