Melania Trump, a life in pictures: From modeling to motherhood to first lady
Married to President Donald Trump since 2005, the first lady got her start modeling when she was a teenager — and more than 25 years later, she's still in the public eye.
Below are some quick facts about Melania Trump, from modeling to motherhood to first lady.
Slovenian model Melania Trump was born April 26, 1970.
Married to billionaire Donald Trump, Melania Trump began her modeling career at age 16 and moved to New York in 1996. The couple met in 1998, became engaged in 2004 and married in 2005.
All of this was before Trump became the 45th and 47th president of the United States, before Melania became a mom to Barron Trump (Trump's youngest child of five), and before Mar-a-Lago, site of the billionaire's wedding reception, became known as the Southern White House when Trump was in office.
Trump makes 'I do' a doozy! Wedding to Melania Knauss was so full of lights & cameras, Shannon Donnelly reports
Then Melania Knauss (Melania Knauss was a name change and her original name is Melanija Knavs), the Slovenian "began modeling at age 16, and two years later she signed on with an agency in Milan. She enrolled at the University of Ljubljana but dropped out after one year to pursue her modeling career," according to the Melania Trump bio on biography.com.
In her early days of modeling, the site states, Melania Trump worked in Milan and Paris, before moving to New York in 1996. She met her future husband Donald Trump two years later, at a New York fashion party.
Melania often appeared on 'The Apprentice' with Donald Trump when he was host of the reality TV show on NBC. She also accompanied Trump to lavish parties at his private club, Mar-a-Lago.
Melania Knauss appeared on the covers of Harper's Bazaar (Bulgaria edition), Vanity Fair (Italy edition), GQ (for which she posed nude in January 2000) and she appeared in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
The Trumps became engaged in 2004 and married Jan. 25, 2005, in Palm Beach, Florida. Their reception was held at the 'Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom' at Mar-a-Lago, which is less than 3 miles from wedding venue Bethesda-By-the-Sea Episcopal Church. The ballroom cost $35 million and was built in a Versailles-inspired Louis XIV style, including several Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.
In 2006, Donald Trump became a father for the fifth time when his third wife Melania Trump gave birth to Barron Trump on March 20, 2006, in Manhattan, New York.
Melania Trump raised Barron Trump for much of his childhood at Trump Tower in Manhattan and at Donald Trump's private estate, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
When Donald Trump moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as president in 2017, Melania Trump and Barron Trump stayed in New York so Barron could finish up his school year. Barron and Melania Trump remained in New York for the first five months of the Trump administration.
During his term as president from 2017 to 2021, Trump, Melania and Barron also stayed at Mar-a-Lago during Palm Beach's "social season," roughly from October through April. It became known as the Winter White House or the Southern White House. While Trump used his New York City address as his main residency for years, he made Mar-a-Lago his primary residency in 2019. After Donald Trump relocated with Melania and Barron to Palm Beach, Florida, in 2019, his adult children and their families followed suit.
Melania Trump was the first lady of the U.S. from 2017 to 2021.
After Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, 2024, he was sworn in for a second time Jan. 20, 2025, or Inauguration Day, as the 47th president of the United States. Melania Trump became the first lady for a second time.
They do! Memories of Donald & Melania Trump's wedding in Palm Beach, reception at Mar-a-Lago
The photo galleries below show photos of Melania Trump when she was known as Melania Knauss, when she was dating or engaged to Donald Trump, before he became president, when she was pregnant with Barron Trump, and photos of her time in the White House and after.
Contributing: Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Melania Trump: Photos from Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to the White House
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