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Melania Knauss; April
26, 1970) is a jewelry and watch designer and former model.[3] She
is married to American billionaire real estate developer and 2016 U.S.
presidential candidate Donald Trump.[4] Born
in Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), she
became a permanent resident of the United States in 2001 and acquired
citizenship in 2006.[5]
Knauss
was born in Sevnica, in Slovenia's Lower Sava Valley (then part of Yugoslavia) on April 26, 1970. Her father,
Viktor Knavs, who managed car and motorcycle dealerships,[6] was
from the nearby town of Radeče; her mother, Amalija, a fashion
designer,[6] came
from a village in the area surrounding Sevnica, within the confines ofSevnica Castle.[7] She
has an older sister, Ines.[8]
Knauss
grew up in a modest apartment in
a concrete housing block.[1] When
she was a teenager, the family moved to a two-story house near Sevnica.[9] She
began her modeling career at age 16, and at age 18 signed with a modeling agency in Milan,Italy.[10] She
is fluent in Slovenian, English, French, Serbian, and German.[11]
After moving to New York City in 1996,[23] Knauss met Donald Trump at a Fashion Weekparty in New York City in September
1998.[1][18] Their relationship gained notoriety
after a 1999 interview on The Howard Stern Show,[17] and additional publicity after the
2004 launch of Trump's successful business-oriented reality television show, The Apprentice. Donald Trump described
their long courtship in 2005: "We literally have never had an argument,
forget about the word 'fight' ... We just are very compatible. We get along."[18]
After becoming engaged in 2004, Donald Trump and Melania
Knauss were married on January 22, 2005, at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, followed by a reception in
the 17,000-sq.-ft. ballroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.[24]
In 2006, Melania gave birth to a son named Barron William Trump.[10] Donald
suggested his first name, and Melania his middle name.[26] As
an infant, Barron reportedly occupied his own floor in the Trumps' apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan, but often slept in a crib in his
parents' bedroom.[26] He
plays golf with his father, and is reported to be equally fluent in English and Slovenian,[27] while
also speaking French.[6] He
is said to like wearing a suit and tie, and Melania's nickname for him is
"Mini-Donald".[6]
Melania and Donald are often seen and photographed
together at New York City society events and receptions.[28][29][30] Television
personality Barbara Walters, impressed with Melania's
intelligence when she met her, has said of her: "Maybe because she's so
pretty, we don't expect her to be as smart as she is."[31]
She has been associated with various
charity events, including of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.[21][22] She
was Honorary Chairwoman for Martha Graham Dance Company in April 2005; is an
active member of the Police Athletic League, which honored her
with Woman of The Year 2006; has been an Honorary Chairwoman for The Boy's Club
of New York for five consecutive years; and in 2005, The American Red Cross awarded her with the
title of Goodwill Ambassador.[10] In
2008, she rang the closing bell atNASDAQ to commemorate the
Fifth Annual National Love Our Children Day and the beginning of National Child
Abuse Prevention month.[6]
In 2015, asked about her husband's presidential campaign,
Melania said, "I encouraged him because I know what he will do and what he
can do for America. He loves the American people and he wants to help them."[31] When
asked by The New York Times what her role would be if Trump were to
become president, Melania replied: “I would be very traditional. Like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy. I would support him.”[6]
