Melania Trump is set to become First Lady for a second time – a far cry from her humble upbringing in a small town in Slovenia.
From the daughter of a car salesman and a textile factory worker living in the sleepy industrial town of Sevnica to the wife of a billionaire businessman and two-time president, Melania’s journey is nothing short of rags to riches.
As Donald Trump is sworn in as president for a second term on January 20, Melania has shared she will be in Washington, DC as needed – splitting her time between New York, where her son Barron Trump is a student at New York University, and Palm Beach in Florida.
‘I will be in the White House. When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach,’ she told Ainsley Earhardt on Fox & Friends.
‘My first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on January 20, you serve the country.’
Before she married the then-real estate developer and Celebrity Apprentice star in 2005, and gave birth to their only child Barron in 2006, Melania broke apart from her childhood in a communist state to become a successful fashion model in New York.
Now, FEMAIL has recapped Melania’s transition from her humble beginnings to her rise to the White House.
The First Lady hails from a sleepy industrial town in formerly communist Eastern Europe
Melania was born Melanija Knavs in Novo Mesto, Slovenia on April 26, 1970. She spent much of her childhood in Sevnica, a small town along the Sava River near the border of Croatia with a current population of 17,611 people.
Sevnica (seen), a small Slovenian town along the Sava River near the border of Croatia, was home to Melania Trump throughout her childhood and early teenage years
At just five years old, Melania was recruited to model in the the catalogues of the clothing manufacturer that employed her mother. She’s seen modeling the clothes as a child (center)
Her mother Amalija (left) and her father Viktor (right), seen at the White House in 2018, worked at a clothing manufacturer and a car dealership, respectively
When Melania was born, Slovenia was a part of the communist country Yugoslavia under President Josip Tito, before Slovenia declared its independence in 1991.
According to the Slovenia States Archives, her father Viktor was listed as a Communist Party member. However, the former first lady denied that her father was a communist in her memoir released in October, simply titled Melania.
She attacked descriptions of her father as a communist, saying it was ‘not reflective of his political beliefs’ and party membership was ‘mandatory.’
‘His Communist Party affiliation was a mandatory induction, as the party had implemented an automatic monthly disbursement of a portion of his salary,’ she claimed.
A source previously told the Daily Mail that Viktor’s party membership helped his family get special treatment in the town, like earning ‘higher positions’ and solid employment.
‘Victor was in the Party which helped you to get government jobs or higher positions,’ the source said.
It was not clear whether Viktor was ‘a true believer’ in communism, the source acknowledged, adding: ‘Maybe he was just being pragmatic. Being in the Party made things a bit easier and meant he could help his family.’
Her father worked as a chauffeur before becoming an auto salesman, with a family collection of cars including ‘Ford Mustangs, German BMWs, and a Ford Cougar XR-7, alongside a collection of prestigious Mercedes Benzes.’
When Melania was born, Slovenia was a part of the communist country Yugoslavia under President Josip Tito, before declaring its independence in 1991
Melania lived with her parents and her sister Ines in a block of Communist-era apartments (seen)
Sevnica (seen) is known for its furniture and clothing manufacturing industry, as well as its annual salami festival
Meanwhile, Amalija worked as a patternmaker at the state-owned children’s clothing manufacturer Jutranjka, which was the town’s best employer with 1,200 workers. Not only was Sevnica known for its furniture and clothing factories, but the town is also famous for its annual salami festival.
Additional attractions in the riverside town include Grad Sevnica, a 12th-century castle situated atop a hill overlooking the Lower Sava Valley and the surrounding countryside, and a war memorial showing how the town has been affected by the tides of European history.
Melania says she ‘never felt isolated or limited in my experiences’ despite communist upbringing
In her memoir, Melania recalled an incident in 1978 when ‘agents’ searched the house looking for ‘evidence of criminal activity’ after a neighbor reported that ‘there was something suspicious about my father’s lifestyle.’
A ‘neighbor, perhaps, or a colleague or even a supposed friend’ had flagged to the authorities her father’s fleet of cars.
‘My father was never found guilty of a crime and was never imprisoned,’ she wrote.
Melania wrote of her Eastern European upbringing that she ‘never felt isolated or limited in my experiences.’
‘Countless stories about my childhood have been published, yet they often miss the mark, painting a bleak and inaccurate picture of my upbringing,’ she wrote. ‘In truth, my childhood was filled with happiness, beauty and positivity, far from the typical narrative of a girl raised in a communist society.’
Sevnica’s Savo Kladnik Elementary School (seen), where Melania attended before transferring to a technical school in Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana
Grad Sevnica (seen), a 12th-century castle situated atop a hill overlooking the Lower Sava Valley and the surrounding countryside, is one of the main attractions in Sevnica
As a child, Melania lived with her parents and her sister, Ines, in a block of Communist-era apartments and attended Sevnica’s Savo Kladnik Elementary School.
Her childhood neighbor and friend Mirjana Jelancic, who is now the headteacher at the primary school in Slovenia which they both attended, previously told the Daily Mail about Melania: ‘She loved everything to do with art and design. She would renovate old things to make them like new, such as old baskets. Her family put them in the living room with flowers in.’
Melania had a particular interest in fashion at a young age. Her mother would come back from business trips to Milan and Paris with tales that would inspire Melania to make her own name in fashion.
‘She had a strong personality. She would not be the first with an opinion, but she was intelligent and wise. She grew up in a society when there was not so much freedom. She knew that there was a bigger world out there because her mother had gone to fashion shows as part of her work,’ Jelancic said.
‘She wanted something more from life, but she never told me that she wanted to be a model. She liked knitting and making clothes.’
Melania breaks away from small Slovenian town to pursue bigger dreams in fashion and modeling
When Melania was 10, her family was able to afford to move from the apartment complex and build their own two-story house. The soon-to-be model went on to attend the Secondary School for Design and Photography in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, which was about a one and a half-hour train ride from Sevnica.
As a result, her father Viktor saved money so that the family could rent a flat in Ljubjana and let the girls attend the technical high school there.
In 1987, a 17-year-old Melania was discovered by Slovenian fashion photographer Stane Jerko at a modeling contest, where he asked if he could take some pictures of her.
‘I saw this tall girl with long hair and long legs so immediately introduced myself. She was a little self-conscious when I first photographed her, but she learned very quickly and relaxed,’ he once told the Daily Mail.
Melania and her family move from Communist-era apartments to two-story home (seen) in Sevnica, where her parents continued to live for decades
Sevnica Castle (upper left) is currently home to a museum and gallery collection, permanent and temporary exhibitions, the annual Sevnica Castle Festival, festive rooms, a chapel, park, vineyard, souvenir shop and cafe
Today, Sevnica – which sits along the Sava River – has a population of 17,611 people
Although she was accepted into the University of Ljubljana to study architecture, she abandoned the degree and moved to Milan where she met New York agent Paolo Zampolli – the matchmaker who introduced her to Donald.
Melania remains close to her parents after moving to the United States in 1996
While Amalija and Viktor kept their home in Sevnica, they began to split their time between Slovenia and the US after Melania and Donald welcomed their son in 2006.
Neighbors insisted to the Daily Mail in 2015 – when Donald ran his first campaign for president – that the couple had remained ‘modest, and were not the kind of people to brag.’
It was said that Amalija loved to cook Slovenian food for her grandson and spoke to him in Slovenian so that he could learn his mother’s native language.
Throughout Donald’s first presidency, Amalija and Viktor were spotted alongside their daughter and son-in-law numerous times at the White House, at Trump Tower, and in Mar-a-Lago.
They were also often seen traveling with the couple and accompanied them to many big political events, like the 2020 Republican National Convention. They became official US citizens in August 2018.
In January last year, Amalija died at the age of 78 after an undisclosed illness. ‘It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother, Amalija,’ she said in a statement at the time.
‘Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity. She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law. We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.’
Melania moved to New York City in 1996 and married real estate developer Donald Trump in 2005
The political couple welcomed their first child together, son Barron (right), in 2006. The president is also a father to four other children from his previous two marriages
Melania says she will be in Washington, DC as needed for her husband’s second term in the White House
The former president also shared a tribute to Amalija, writing: ‘This is a very sad night for the entire Trump family.
‘Melania’s great and beautiful mother, Amalija, has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky. She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words.’
Despite Melania’s ascent to fame and fortune, she has continued to credit her ‘hardworking’ parents with helping her achieve her success.
‘My parents worked very hard to ensure our family could not only live and prosper in America, but also contribute to a nation that allows for people to arrive with a dream and make it reality,’ she once said during a speech.
‘I want to take the moment to thank my mother and father for all that they have done for our family. It is because of you that I am standing here today.’
She also told GQ in 2016: ‘My parents are both hardworking. They’re both very smart and very capable.
‘They grew up in totally different environments, but they have the same values, they have the same tradition.’
First Lady’s home country of Slovenia previously paid tribute to its most famous resident
Although Melania became a United States citizen in 2006, her home country has continued to pay tribute to its former resident.
A life-sized, wooden sculpture of Melania (seen) was erected in 2019 near her hometown of Sevnica
The sculpture was replaced by a bronze replica (seen) in 2020 after an unknown arsonist set fire to the wooden figure
In 2019, a life-sized, wooden sculpture of Melania was erected in Rozno, Slovenia, near her hometown of Sevnica.
The sculpture was created by local craftsman Ales Zupevc and commissioned by American artist Brad Downey, showing the figure dressed in the same color Melania wore during her husband’s inauguration in 2017.
The artwork aimed to highlight Melania’s status as an immigrant married to an anti-immigration president.
However, the wooden statue was later set on fire in July 2020 and replaced with a bronze replica.
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Publish date : 2025-01-20 05:00:00
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