We think we know everything about Donald Trump, but do we know anything about his wife, Melania? Here are some key facts on Mrs. Trump, our next First Lady of the United States.
Mrs. Trump was born in Yugoslavia (now known as Slovenia) on April 26, 1970. Mrs. Trump will be the second foreign-born First Lady of the United States (second to Louisa Adams). Mrs. Trump was born with the name Melanija Knavs, but changed it to Melania Knauss. She is known for her modeling career, starting in Slovenia at 16, and then signing with a modeling agency in Milan, Italy. Mrs. Trump attended University of Ljubljana for a year before dropping out to pursue modeling. In 1992, Mrs. Trump was the runner up in a magazine’s “Look of the Year” contest, promising her an international modeling contract.
Mrs. Trump first moved to the U.S. in 1996 on one-year work visas, but made New York her permanent address in 2001 after gaining a green card. When first moving to New York, Mrs. Trump hoped to make money in the modeling industry. At first, Mrs. Trump made very little in the modeling industry due to lack of legal permission to work in the U.S. She became a U.S. citizen in 2006.
Mrs. Trump met her now-husband, Donald, at a Fashion Week party in 1998. Mr. Trump was then separated from ex-wife Marla Maples. On first meeting him, Mrs. Trump was reluctant on giving Mr. Trump her telephone number. Melania broke things off with him after a few short months, but they ended up reconciling things and dating once again. Mr. Trump proposed to her in 2004, and they married on Jan. 22, 2005. The 46-year-old has one son with Mr. Trump, a 10-year-old boy named Barron.
Mrs. Trump can speak six languages fluently: Italian, English, French, German, Serbo-Croatian, and her native language, Slovene. She will also become one of the tallest First Ladies at 5’11″, tying with Michelle Obama and Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Trump hopes to deal with cyberbullying, especially among children, as First Lady.
Melania Trump will be residing in the White House starting Jan. 20, 2017.