Melania Trump is the wife of Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States. She served as First Lady from 2017 to 2021. She is only the second First Lady to be born outside of the United States.
Early Life
Melania Trump was born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. Her father operated a used car dealership, while her mother worked for a children’s clothing maker. Melania began modeling as a teen, eventually turning it into a career. After working in Milan and Paris, Melania moved to New York to pursue modeling in 1996.
Marriage to Donald Trump
In September 1998, Melania met Donald Trump at a party, and the two soon began dating. Melania and Donald were married on January 22, 2005, at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. The reception was held in the ballroom at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
On March 20, 2006, the couple’s only child, Barron William Trump, was born. She became an American naturalized citizen the same year.
In 2015, real estate developer and reality television star Donald Trump made his entry into politics with his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Melania, while supportive, preferred to stay out of the spotlight. She did, however, deliver a speech at the 2016 Republican Convention and accompanied her husband on the campaign trail.
First Lady of the United States
Donald Trump won the 2016 election, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton. When her husband was sworn in as President, Melania Trump became the first foreign-born First Lady since John Quincy Adams’s wife, Louisa. She was also the first whose native language is not English.
During her time in the White House, Melania remained focused on her son, Baron. She delayed moving to the White House after her husband was sworn in so Baron could finish out the school year in New York.
Melania also focused her agenda as First Lady on issues impacting children. In 2018, she announced BE BEST, an awareness campaign that strives to promote a world for children based on healthy living, kindness, and respect. As described in her official White House biography initiative consists of three pillars: well-being, including the social and emotional health of children; social media, focusing on understanding its positive as well as negative effects on children; and opioid abuse, striving to protect the most vulnerable from the effects of drug abuse while educating people of all ages about the detrimental effects of opioids.
Since leaving the White House, Melania Trump has kept a low profile, returning to her notoriously private life.
