Melania, born as Melanija Knavs, is the current First Lady of the United States. The Slovenian-American was born on 26th April 1970 and she is married to President Donald Trump. She is best known for becoming a famous model in Europe before coming to the United States. When her husband won the presidential election in November 2016, she soon moved into the White House with her only son, Barron Trump.
Let’s take a look at 9 of the most interesting facts about Melania Trump.
Melania Trump Facts
1. Melania Trump started modelling when she was just five years old.
Ever since Melania was young, she has enjoyed modelling. She first began modelling clothing from the age of 5. At this age, she participated in her first catwalk in fashion shows for a children’s clothing brand. This was because her mother, Amalija Ulcnik, worked for a clothing factory creating patterns. Thus, the children of the workers took part in fashion shows to demonstrate the clothing they had helped to design.
2. She quit design school to become a model full-time.
Melania Trump did not start out as a full-time model when she was a teenager. An interesting fact about Melania Trump is that she attended the Secondary School of Design and Photography in Ljubljana. She then went on to study architecture and design at the local University of Ljubljana. However, she only stayed in higher education for one year. In 1992, when she was 18 years old, she took part in the Look of the Year contest, which was held by Jana Magazine. The top three contestants would win an international modelling contract. She finished second in the contest. She went on to sign for a modelling agency that was based in Milan, Italy. This was the beginning of her successful modelling career.
3. Melania Trump decided to Germanize her name.
Of course, Melania Trump was born and raised in Slovenia. Her name was actually Melanija Knavs. But when her career started to take off and she wanted to become an international model, she made the decision to Germanize her name. In other words, she took her born name and translated it into German. She believed that this would help her international career and make it easier to understand. So, her name became Melania Knauss, which is the first name she is still called by today.
4. Melania Trump was a famous model who appeared in Vogue and Vanity Fair.
An interesting fact about Melania Trump is that she had a very successful career as a model. She worked in Milan and Paris in her early days. She also went on to walk on runway shows across Europe. This was before signing for a model agency in New York. Her modelling career reached new heights when she came to the USA on a visa. She went on to have cover shoots with Vogue, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine and In Style Weddings. One of her biggest successes was a swimsuit edition that was featured in Sports Illustrated. She even featured for a Camel cigarette advert that was shown in Times Square.
5. She met Donald Trump in 1998 at a party.
Melania met her husband in 1998. They were both attending a Fashion Week party and began talking. Soon after this, they began dating. At the time, Donald Trump was in the middle of divorcing Marla Maples, his second wife. They dated for many years before becoming engaged in 2004. Not long after this, they were married. Their wedding ceremony was national news and took place on 22nd January 2005. Their high-profile relationship may have helped to boost her modelling career.
6. Although she is known for being a model, Melania Trump was also a businesswoman.
Most people will know Melania Trump as being a famous model. However, she used her reputation to get into business. For example, in 2010, Melania launched her own jewelry line. This was called Melania Timepieces. Her jewelry was offered for sale on QVC and was moderately successful. In 2013, she also began working with skincare, which used caviar. Her next business venture was called Melania Skin Care Collection. It was available in select high-end stores. While neither company is still functioning, they did bring her thousands of dollars.
7. Trump has always helped good causes and been involved with charities.
Melania Trump has been an active part of the community and has helped many charities over the years. This includes becoming the Goodwill Ambassador for American Red Cross in 2005 and she worked with this charity for four years. Other good causes she has dedicated time to include National Child Abuse Prevention month and National Love Our Children Day. In addition, she was the chairwoman for the American Heart Association in 2010. They managed to raise $1.77 million that would be used towards further research. During her time in the White House, she has met many families involved in mass shootings and natural disasters.
8. Melania Trump is only the second First Lady to be born in another country.
Over the years, most of the First Ladies of the United States have been born and raised in the country. But there are only two women in American history that have not. Melania Trump is one of them, as well as Louisa Catherine Johnson, who was the wife of President John Quincy Adams. Melania was born in Slovenia and grew up in Sevnica. The only reason she came to the USA was because of her modelling.An interesting fact about Melania Trump is that she is the only First Lady to have grown up in a Communist country.
9. Melania Trump knows the most languages than any other First Lady.
Melania Trump is the only First Lady that her first language is not English. However, she actually speaks more languages than any of her predecessors in the White House. Of course, being from Solvenia, she speaks Slovenian. She is also fluent in English, French and Italian, which means she has an advantage with oversea trips. In addition, it is believed that Melania can also speak some Serbo-Croatian and German.
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