Ivanka Trump Biography

She may be set for the inheritance of a lifetime, but this heiress isn’t resting on her laurels. Ivanka Trump was born on October 30, 1981, in New York City. While attending private school, Ivanka’s parents, Donald Trump and Ivana Trump, wanted to instill a sense of work ethic in their daughter, and paid for her tuition only. Ivanka needed to take up a job to pay for her personal expenses, and at five feet, ten inches, she decided to turn to modeling. Ivanka landed her first magazine cover in 1997, on an issue of Seventeen. That same year, she also hosted the Miss Teen USA Pageant. From there, Trump went on to model for such brands as Versace, Marc Bouwer, Tommy Hilfiger, and Sassoon Jeans.

With a lucrative modeling career on the side, Ivanka continued to pursue education full-time. After two years at Georgetown University, she transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in economics in 2004.

In 2003, Ivanka was featured in the documentary Born Rich, which chronicled the experiences of young heirs and heiresses. The documentary showed that Ivanka was an articulate and dignified young businesswoman, and set her apart from her contemporary American heiresses such as Paris Hilton. On the topic of affluence in America, Ivanka has stated, "There's this ugly sense of entitlement that some people seem to have. I know all of those people, but they aren't necessarily my great friends. People complain about how the media creates your reputation, but I think you can control it more than people take credit for. I like to have fun with my friends and go out at night, but you're not going to find me dancing on top of tables or see me trashed outside of Bungalow 8."

In 2006, Ivanka filled in for Carolyn Kepcher on season five of her father's popular reality series, The Apprentice. Both she and her brother, Donald Jr., have since appeared on many episodes of the show as their father’s most trusted right-hand man and woman. Ivanka has also appeared as a guest-judge on another reality series, Project Runway, hosted by Heidi Klum.

Ivanka has been romantically linked to such high-profile celebrities as Lance Armstrong and Topher Grace. In the September 2006 issue of Stuff magazine, Ivanka revealed some of her star crushes, describing Joaquin Phoenix as a "big celebrity crush," and Christian Bale as "a sort of Adonis."

In recent years, Ivanka has backed her father in some of his many public feuds with other celebrities, including Martha Stewart, whose own Apprentice show flopped following her release from prison. Ivanka claimed that Stewart "didn’t take responsibility for her show’s failure." When her father was involved in a public spat with Rosie O’Donnell, Ivanka stood by her father again, commenting that O’Donnell has been "bullying people for a long time."

As Vice President of Real Estate Development at the Trump Organization, a typical business week for Ivanka includes traveling to real estate development sites in such locations as Chicago, Las Vegas, India, Hawaii, and Tokyo.

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