Melania Trump

Melania Knauss Trump, born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, is a Slovenian and American former model who serves as the first lady of the United States, a position she previously held from 2017 to 2021. She is married to Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States. In her presidential role, she holds several historical distinctions: she is the first naturalized citizen and first non-native English speaker to serve as first lady, the second foreign-born first lady after Louisa Adams, the second Roman Catholic first lady after Jacqueline Kennedy, and the second to hold the position nonconsecutively after Frances Cleveland.

Trump was raised in Sevnica, Slovenia, which was then part of Yugoslavia. Her father worked as a chauffeur and car parts salesman, while her mother worked as a patternmaker at a clothing manufacturer. As a child, she participated in local fashion shows featuring children's apparel and learned to design and sew her own clothes. At age fifteen, she began attending the Secondary School for Design and Photography in Ljubljana. She later enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture and Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, though she left after a few months to pursue her fashion career.

Discovered at age sixteen by photographer Stane Jerko, she took on the alternate name spelling Melania Knauss and sought modeling opportunities across Europe, working for fashion houses in Milan and Paris. In 1996, Metropolitan Models co-owner Paolo Zampolli sponsored her immigration to the United States, where she established her career in Manhattan. She appeared in prominent commercial campaigns and national print advertisements, securing an EB-1 visa in 2001 and gaining permanent residency.

In September 1998, Zampolli introduced Knauss to real estate developer Donald Trump. The couple began dating and married in 2005, giving birth to their son, Barron Trump, in 2006. In addition to her modeling work, she launched her own jewelry brand, Melania, in 2009. She supported her husband's political efforts, offering strategic counsel during his successful 2016 campaign for the presidency.

During her initial tenure as first lady from 2017 to 2021, Trump focused heavily on youth initiatives, launching the Be Best campaign to advocate for children's welfare and visiting pediatric hospitals. She also acted as an advisor to the president, influencing policy decisions to end administrative family separations and prohibit fruit-flavored electronic cigarette cartridges.

Following the end of her husband's first presidential administration in 2021, Trump largely maintained a low public profile. She assumed the role of first lady of the United States once again in 2025.