Melania Trump

Melania Trump (née Knauss, born Melanija Knavs,Germanized to Melania Knauss; April 26, 1970) is a jewelry and watch designer and former model. She is married to American billionaire real estate developer and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Born in Slovenia, Knauss-Trump became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006.

Early life

Knauss was born in Sevnica, in Slovenia's Lower Sava Valley (then part of Yugoslavia) in 1970. Her father, Viktor Knavs, who managed car and motorcycle dealerships, was from the nearby town of Radeče; her mother, Amalija, a fashion designer, came from a village in the area surrounding Sevnica, within the confines of Sevnica Castle. Knauss grew up in a modest apartment in a concrete housing block. She began her modeling career at age 16, and at age 18 signed with a modeling agency in Milan. She is fluent in English, French, Slovenian, Serbian, and German.

Career

Modeling career

After studying design and architecture at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, Knauss worked as a model for major fashion houses in Milan and Paris before relocating to New York City in 1996. Working with photographers including Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, and Mario Testino, Knauss subsequently appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Ocean Drive, In Style, New York Magazine, Avenue, Allure, Vanity Fair, Self, Glamour, GQ, Elle, FHM, and was featured as a bikini model in the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. As a model, she was associated with several well-known modeling agencies, including Donald Trump's Trump Model Management.