Melania Trump (born Melanija Knavs,  germanized to Melania Knauss; April 26, 1970)  is a former Slovenian-American socialite and model who had served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Melania was the first woman to serve as First Lady of the United States as an immigrant born outside of the United States.

In 2016, Trump was campaigning for her husband to become the next President of the United States when she became scrutinized when giving a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention that was allegedly very similar to one that former First Lady Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Marriage to Donald Trump 
In September 1998, she met real estate mogul Donald Trump at a party at the Times Square nightclub the Kit Kat Club (now the Stephen Sondheim Theatre).

After becoming engaged in 2004, Melanija Knavs married Donald Trump in an Anglican service on January 22, 2005 in Palm Beach, Florida, followed by a reception in the ballroom at her husband's Mar-a-Lago estate.

On March 20, 2006, she gave birth to their son, Barron William Trump. She suggested his middle name, while her husband suggested his given name.

First Lady of the United States 
She assumed the role and duties of First Lady of the United States on January 20, 2017. She continued living in New York City at the Trump Tower with her son, Barron, until the end of his 2016–2017 school year at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School. They moved into the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2017.

The first White House event she hosted was a luncheon for International Women's Day on March 8, 2017. She spoke to an audience of women about her life as a female immigrant, and about working towards gender equality both domestically and abroad, noting the role of education as a tool against gender inequality.

On January 30, 2018, on the night of the State of the Union address, she broke with tradition by riding in a separate car in the Presidential motorcade with her guests, rather than riding with her husband in the presidential limousine.

On March 13, 2018, Melania Trump scheduled a March 20 meeting with policy executives from technology companies, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Snap, and Twitter, to address online harassment and internet safety, with a particular focus on how those issues affect children.

On April 21, 2018, Trump attended the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush. Trump arranged for the attendance of two White House private residence staffers who had been close to Bush.

Vogue has compared Trump's wardrobe as First Lady to that of Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, noting that she prefers "strongly tailored pieces" in bold colors and almost exclusively wears high-end designers.

In May 2018, Trump successfully underwent kidney surgery at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Personal life
Trump's native language is Slovene. She also speaks Serbo-Croatian and English. In a May 2017 interview with Greta van Susteren, Trump said that she spoke English, French, Italian, and German.

Trump is a Roman Catholic, making her the first Catholic to live in the White House since President John F. Kennedy and the second first lady to be Catholic, following Jackie Kennedy.

On October 1, 2020, Trump and her husband tested positive for COVID-19.

References

Other websites 

 Melania's official website
 
 

1970 births
Trump family
Living people
American models
American Roman Catholics
People from New York City
American philanthropists
American activists
First Ladies of the United States
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Slovenian people