Melania Trump – Britannica
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Melania Trump is a dual citizen of Slovenia and the United States. She was born Melanija Knavs (Melania Knauss) in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) in 1970. In 1996 she moved to the United States for her modeling career. After a long courtship, she married Donald Trump in 2005, and the following year she became a U.S. citizen. In 2018 her parents also became U.S. citizens through family-based immigration, a path to citizenship called “chain migration” by critics.
According to various reports, Melania Trump is 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall.
Melania Trump was born Melanija Knavs in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) in 1970. Her father sold cars, and her mother worked in the textile industry. She attended the University of Ljubljana for one year before leaving to pursue a career in modeling. She found success, first in Slovenia and later—under the name Melania Knauss—in Milan and Paris. In 1996 she moved to the United States to continue her modeling career. She married Donald Trump in 2005.
Melania Trump was working as a model when she met Donald Trump in 1998. The couple married in 2005 and had a son, Barron Trump, four years later. During this time Melania Trump continued her career. In addition to occasionally modeling, she marketed a line of jewelry sold by the QVC company and developed a line of caviar-based skin care products. In 2025 she launched the production company Muse Films. Its first project was the documentary Melania, which was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios for $40 million; the deal also included a future docuseries. It is considered one of the largest deals for a documentary.
Melania Trump (born April 26, 1970, Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia [now in Slovenia]) is a Slovenian American former fashion model who served as first lady of the United States during the administrations (2017–21; 2025– ) of her husband, Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th U.S. president. Melania Trump is only the second foreign-born first lady, after Louisa Adams.
Melanija Knavs grew up in Sevnica, Yugoslavia (now in Slovenia), where her father sold cars and her mother worked in the textile industry. She attended the University of Ljubljana for one year before leaving to pursue a career in modeling. She found success, first in Slovenia and later—under the name Melania Knauss—in Milan and Paris. In 1996 she was brought to New York by Paolo Zampolli’s modeling agency. In the course of her career she appeared on the covers of several magazines, and in 2000 she modeled for Sports Illustrated’s popular swimsuit edition.
Knauss first met Trump in 1998 at a fashion industry party in New York City. He was then married to Marla Maples, whom he was to divorce in 1999. After a long courtship, Trump and Knauss were married on January 22, 2005, at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It was his third marriage and her first. One of the guests at the wedding was Hillary Clinton. In 2006 Melania Trump gave birth to Barron William Trump, her first child and her husband’s fifth. In that year she also became a U.S. citizen. During this time, Melania Trump continued her career. In addition to occasionally modeling, she marketed a line of jewelry sold by the QVC company and developed a line of caviar-based skin care products.
In 2015 Donald Trump announced that he was entering the U.S. presidential race. When he made immigration a central issue, the details of Melania Trump’s own immigration history were scrutinized, including allegations that she worked in the United States before acquiring the appropriate visa. Although Melania Trump did not take a prominent role in the campaign, she spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2016. Her speech initially drew praise but was later revealed to contain sentences and phrases similar to those spoken by Michelle Obama eight years previously. A speechwriter apologized for the seeming plagiarism. Melania Trump subsequently maintained a low profile until several weeks before the election, when she defended her husband after a series of women accused him of sexual assault and harassment. On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, defeating Clinton; he took office on January 20, 2017.
Melania Trump initially made few appearances as first lady, and she did not move into the White House until June, after her son finished the school year. However, in 2018 she launched the Be Best initiative, which focused on children. Its main objectives included ending cyberbullying. During her husband’s reelection campaign in 2020, Melania Trump took a limited role, though she spoke at the Republican National Convention in August. Two months later both she and the president tested positive for COVID-19, but both recovered.
On November 3, 2020, Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden, though he contested the results, alleging voter fraud. On January 6, 2021, his supporters attacked the Capitol as Congress was meeting to certify Biden’s victory. Several days later Melania Trump released a statement in which she condemned the violence and complained about “unwarranted personal attacks” against her. Breaking from tradition, she did not host a “tea and tour” with incoming first lady Jill Biden before Donald Trump left office on January 20.
Melania Trump was largely out of the public eye in the years after leaving the White House. In 2022 Donald Trump announced that he was running for president, and she appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where he was officially selected as the party’s nominee. However, she did not speak at the event. Later that year she released the memoir Melania. In November 2024 Donald Trump was reelected president, and the couple returned to the White House in January 2025.
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In November 2025 Melania Trump announced the launch of her production company, Muse Films. Its first project was the documentary Melania (2026), which was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios for $40 million; the deal also included a future docuseries. It was one of the largest deals for a documentary.
In April 2026, Melania Trump delivered a rare public address from the White House to deny “lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein.” The first lady’s statement, in which she denied being a “victim” of the convicted sex offender, also denied having any knowledge of crimes committed by Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. She acknowledged that she and her husband attended social events with Epstein and Maxwell and that she exchanged emails with Maxwell which she described as “trivial.” There are numerous photographs of the two couples together, including at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate but she also addressed what she called the “numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now.” The first lady called on Congress to hold hearings to allow the survivors of Epstein’s abuse to testify on the record.