Melania Trump (born Melanija
Knavs or in
Biography
Born in Yugoslavia, in an area now a
part of the Republic of Slovenia, in
1974, Melania Knauss grew up in a
comfortable but overprotective
household. Her Austrian father and
Slovenian mother wished to make sure
their daughter was well-educated so that
wherever she ended up in life, she'd be
well placed to succeed. This translated
into many hours of study for the young
Knauss; as a child, her head was
frequently buried in a book.
As
Melania
Knauss blossomed into a stunning
young lady, she realized that another
asset, besides the mind, could be
utilized to succeed. Knauss had
developed a curvaceous body to match her
beautiful face. Out of high school and
in the process of becoming a
quadrilingual -- she learned English on
top of Eastern Europe dialects -- she
tried her hand at modeling in her
homeland.
After Melania put in a lot of hard work
and received little in terms of pay or
job opportunities in return, she decided
to travel to the United States to see
how things would work out. She was bent
on establishing herself as a successful
and unique model, confident she could
woo designers and magazines with both
her body and wit.
In the late
Her luck would change in 1999, however.
At a red-carpet fashion event, Knauss
met billionaire developer
Donald Trump.
He was just coming off his
well-documented divorce from Marla
Maples and was on the rebound. Despite
their age difference, the two hit it
off. The relationship bloomed slowly,
partly because Trump wished to give the
media some time to stop gabbing about
his most recent failed marriage.
Just when news was breaking that "The
Donald" was dating a stunning Slovenian,
Knauss shot a pictorial for Allure
magazine. She then became a frequent
newsmaker after her developer boyfriend
announced his interests in running for
the Reform Party presidential
nomination. As Trump toured the country
spreading his political mandate, Knauss,
naturally, received most of the
attention while at his side.
Together, they were interviewed on The
Howard Stern Radio Show during Trump's
campaign and announced to the world they
were happy and, to the delight of gossip
columnists, quite naughty. After the
interview, news spread quickly of
Knauss's penchant for s--ual wickedness.
British GQ picked up on this and had her
pose n--- in Trump's private jet for
their January 2000 cover.
Though the attention over Trump's
presidential bid died down, Knauss
continued to get attention. Between
features in Celebrity Sleuth (as the 9th
S--iest Woman of 2001), Ocean Drive and
Country Living, she was recognized as a
true New York socialite, appearing at
the city's most popular fashion shows,
celebrity parties and five-star
restaurants. Though it was reported that
in 2000, Trump and Knauss had broken up,
both now contend the rocky period in
their relationship was short-lived.
Soon, with her rich boyfriend still
firmly in the picture, magazines FHM and
Front came calling for small, but very
memorable, spreads. Knauss also worked
for jeweler Charles & Covard, appearing
in print ads in Vogue and Vanity Fair.
In 2003, having now moved into the
multi-million dollar penthouse atop
Trump Tower, Melania became a celebrity
judge for the Miss USA Pageant, which
Donald Trump owns. Speaking of Trump, he
proposed to Melania in April of 2004.
Melania has done less and less modeling
work, concentrating instead on simply
living the high life. She continues to
be a constant in the New York social
scene, appearing at the 2004 Academy
Awards and on The Apprentice, Trump's
reality TV series.
On January 22, 2005, Melania and The
Donald tied the knot in Palm Beach,
Florida, in what was likely one of the
most expensive ceremonies of the decade.
On March 20, 2006 Melania gave birth to a boy, whom she and Donald named Barron William Trump. Trump made the announcement on the Don Imus Show: "Everyone's perfect," Trump said in a telephone interview on MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning," about 20 minutes after the arrival of his fifth child. Trump said the new baby was already making him feel younger.