Melania Trump

Melania Trump was born Melanija Knavs (Melania Knauss) on April 26, 1970 in Sevnica, Slovenia. As a child, Melania was encouraged by her parents to take her education seriously; often studying for hours at a time. When she was 16 years old, Melania began modeling professionally. Two years later, she was signed with a Milan modeling agency, and began dividing her time between photo shoots in Paris, Milan, and New York. By this time, Melania was also a University graduate, having already obtained her degree in design and architecture before she left Slovenia.

In 1999, the 29-year-old model met real estate tycoon Donald Trump at a fashion event. The model began dating the money mogul, 24 years her senior; and on January 22, 2005 the couple tied the knot in Palm Beach, Florida. The wedding became the elite social event of the year, and featured the bride in a $200,000 dress.

The power couple have raised their profile in recent years with the popularity of Trump’s hit reality show, The Apprentice, in which Melania occasionally appears as the gracious host of their opulent Trump Tower loft. The Trumps also caused a media sensation when they appeared together on the Howard Stern show, speaking candidly about their sex life.

Since her arrival in the U.S. and her marriage to Trump, Melania has appeared in various television commercials, served as one of the celebrity judges of the Miss USA Pageant, and guest-hosted on The View, alongside Barbara Walters, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Joy Behar. She has also been active in New York’s social scene; serving as Honorary Chairwoman for the Martha Graham Dance Company; as well as the Valentino Show in Palm Beach for the Boy's Club of New York.

Considered a super model in Europe, over the course of her modeling career, Melania appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, British GQ, Ocean Drive, Avenue, In Style, New York Magazine, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Allure, Self, Glamour, Vanity Fair, and Elle.

On March 20, 2006 Melania gave birth to Trump’s fifth child, a boy named Barron William Trump. Later that year, in December 2006, Melania stood behind her man by getting behind his very public feud with The View talk-show host, Rosie ODonnell. After O’Donnell impersonated Trump on the show, as well as questioning his morals and expressing an open dislike for him, Melania joined Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, in publicly defending him against Rosie’s comments. Melanie told Good Day L.A. that she felt Rosie has: "anger inside and she needs to work on that in herself," as well as warning her; "She should read his [Trump’s] book. In every book he say, if somebody attack you, you attack them ten times harder..."