Melania and Donald Trump married in 2005 -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
(Reach Publishing Services Limited)
Many may be unaware of First Lady Melania Trump’s modest origins in Slovenia.
Before the 55-year-old pursued modeling or met Donald Trump in New York City, the First Lady grew up in a small industrial community. Born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, Melania was raised in the peaceful shoe-manufacturing town of Sevnica, Slovenia, situated along the Sava River. The FLOTUS became a US citizen by naturalization in 2006.
Melania moved to Manhattan in 1996, where she met her husband and future President of the United States, though one astrologer believes the couple may be facing ‘marital problems’ after 20 years of marriage.
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Sevnica’s tranquil rural landscape features a shoe-shaped monument by the river that pays tribute to the town’s manufacturing history. Melania’s mother, Amalija Knavs, worked at a state-run textile factory, while her father, Viktor Knavs, sold cars and managed operations for a state-run automotive company in Slovenia. The pair wed in 1966. Amalija died in January 2024, aged 79.
Melania’s childhood residence, located on Ribniki Street, was a modest dwelling on a tree-lined road, according to The New Yorker. Their flat featured unusually decorated rooms with brightly colored walls. During her teenage years, she moved with her family to a two-story residence in Sevnica.
Born in Slovenia, Melania Trump was raised in the town of Sevnica -Credit:Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Melanija has an elder sister, Ines, and an elder half-brother from her father’s prior relationship, Denis Cigelnjak, whom she reportedly has never met. Her father rejected paternity of Denis despite confirmation through a paternity test, reports the Irish Star.
Melania’s early interest in fashion stemmed from the glossy publications her mother brought home. As a youngster, like other children of factory employees, she took part in fashion presentations showcasing children’s apparel.
The apartment block where Melania Trump lived as a child -Credit:Jack Taylor/Getty Images
She started taking modeling seriously after a brief stint studying Architecture and Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, departing after just a few months without earning her degree.
At sixteen, Melania was spotted by Slovenian fashion photographer Stane Jerko following her appearance in a school-organized fashion show.
She quickly began working across Europe on modeling jobs, including one in which she played the first female president of the United States in 1993, before relocating to Manhattan in 1996.
A former home of Melania Trump, where she lived with her parents after they moved -Credit:Jack Taylor/Getty Image
Two years after that, she encountered her future husband, Donald Trump. The pair married in January 2005 and welcomed their first child together the following year, son Barron Trump.
In 2019, a wooden sculpture celebrating Melania was erected in the countryside around Sevnica. Crafted from a linden-tree stump, it showed her wearing the pale blue dress she wore at the 2017 inauguration.
The sculpture was torched in July 2020 and later replaced with a life-size bronze alternative in September. This bronze sculpture, positioned near Sevnica in the village of Rožno, was ultimately cut off at the ankles and taken away in May 2025, prompting Slovenian police to open an investigation into its disappearance.
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