Here is a look at the life of Melania Trump, wife of 45th US President Donald Trump.
Personal:
Birth date: April 26, 1970
Birth place: Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
Birth name: Melanija Knavs
Father: Viktor Knavs
Mother: Amalija (Ulcnik) Knavs
Marriage: Donald Trump (January 22, 2005-present)
Children: Barron
Education: University of Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
Other Facts:
Changed the spelling of her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss while modeling professionally.
Speaks six languages: Slovenian, French, Serbian, German, Italian and English.
She will be just the second foreign-born first lady in US history, after Louisa Adams, the English-born wife of sixth US president John Quincy Adams, who served from 1825 to 1829.
Became a model in Yugoslavia at the age of 16.
She has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vanity Fair and Sports Illustrated.
Timeline:
1996 – Moves to the United States, heading to New York to work for ID Models.
1998 – Meets Donald Trump at a party at the Kit Kat Club in New York.
2000 – Appears in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
March 19, 2001 – Obtains her green card.
July 2006 – Becomes a US citizen.
2010 – Launches her jewelry line, Melania Timepieces and Jewelry, on QVC.
April 2013 – Launches a caviar-based skincare line, Melania Caviar Complexe C6.
July 18, 2016 – Parts of her campaign speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention are alleged to have been plagiarized from a speech delivered by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. A speechwriter working for Donald Trump’s company later assumes responsibility for the similarities in the passages in the two speeches.
September 1, 2016 – Files a defamation lawsuit against British newspaper The Daily Mail and the US-based blog Tarpley accusing them of publishing claims that she was an escort in the 1990s. The Daily Mail and Tarpley both issue retractions.
November 3, 2016 – During a campaign speech in Philadelphia, Trump announces she intends to make ending social media bullying her focus as First Lady.
November 20, 2016 – Donald Trump confirms he will live in the White House as president, but says Melania and their son, Barron, will remain in New York initially, so that Barron can finish out the year at the same school.
January 20, 2017 – Becomes the First Lady of the United States.
February 2, 2017 – A Maryland judge dismisses Trump’s defamation lawsuit against British newspaper The Daily Mail on jurisdictional grounds. Last week, it was ruled that Trump’s lawsuit against blogger Webster Griffin Tarpley will move forward.
February 6, 2017 – Trump’s lawyers refile the defamation lawsuit against British newspaper The Daily Mail. This time it is filed in the Supreme Court of New York where its publisher, Mail Media Inc., has offices.
February 7, 2017 – Trump’s defamation lawsuit against blogger Webster Griffin Tarpley is settled.
April 12, 2017 – Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Daily Mail and Mail Online is settled for $2.9 million.
September 23, 2017 – Trump arrives in Canada for her first solo foreign trip as first lady, traveling to Toronto to lead the US delegation to the Invictus Games. She meets with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Great Britain’s Prince Harry, before attending the opening ceremony of the Paralympic-style games.