Melania Trump is back in the White House as America’s first lady for a second time — but her life and legacy go beyond her duties as the commander-in-chief’s wife.
She made a name for herself even before she met President Donald Trump, when she stepped foot on United States soil at age 26.
Born Melania Knauss, she came to America from Slovenia in 1996 with “youthful confidence.”
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“As an adult, there comes a moment when you become solely responsible for the life you lead,” she writes in her bestselling memoir, “Melania.”
“You must take charge, embrace that responsibility, and become the architect of your own future.”
The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump was captured on Jan. 21, 2025, in the Yellow Oval Room of the residence by esteemed photographer Régine Mahaux. (White House)
Two years after living in Manhattan, the future Mrs. Trump met the real-estate mogul, Donald J. Trump, at a party while she was still deep into her modeling career.
“He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him,” the first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
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“I said, ‘I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.’ I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me — if it was a business number, ‘What is this? I’m not doing business with you.’”
The future president gave her all of his phone numbers, from numbers at Mar-a-Lago to his New York home — and within a week, she gave him a ring.
Melania Knaus moved to America when she was only 26 years old and started a career in the modeling industry. (Diane Freed)
The Trumps are pictured early on in their relationship. “I was struck by his energy… He has an amazing sense of vitality,” Melania Trump said in a magazine interview about her then-future husband. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
American socialite Mary Trump spent time with her son, real estate developer Donald Trump, and his then-girlfriend, former model Melania Knauss, as they posed together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 27, 2000. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
“I was struck by his energy… He has an amazing sense of vitality,” Melania Trump told the magazine.
The next few years involved the finalization of Trump’s second divorce and a brief split between the happy couple, but they eventually reunited, she has said in interviews.
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In 2004, Trump proposed to the future first lady at one of the biggest nights in New York City: the Met Gala.
The next year, the Trumps said “I do” at a most luxurious wedding, which was publicly described as being fit for royalty — from the stunning gown worn by the bride to the exquisite reception at Mar-a-Lago.
The couple is shown celebrating with friends on New Year’s Eve before they were married on Jan. 22, 2005. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Melania Trump waves after marrying Donald Trump at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda by-the-Sea in West Palm Beach, on Jan. 22, 2005. (Jeffrey Langlois/Palm Beach Daily News/Imagn)
While the $100,000 Christian Dior wedding gown, 10,000 flowers on display and chefs serving caviar with Cristal champagne may have been highlights of the evening, Melania Trump said she felt like any other bride when she walked down the aisle.
“Although my wedding was grand in scale … what I felt in my heart was what every other bride feels on her special day. The pressure to ensure everything went smoothly was certainly real, but ultimately, my primary focus was celebrating Donald and my love and commitment, surrounded by my loved ones,” she wrote in her memoir.
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On March 20, 2006, the first lady gave birth to the couple’s son, Barron William Trump.
In the midst of raising Barron, she continued to find other ways work, inorder to set a good example for her son.
Melania Trump, young Barron Trump and Donald Trump attend the 16th Annual Bunny Hop at FAO Schwartz to benefit the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2007. (Peter Kramer/Getty Images for MSKCC)
Melania Trump and son Barron Trump are shown at the 19th annual Bunny Hop hosted by the Associates Committee of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center at FAO Schwarz 2010. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
The Trumps with young son Barron on Nov. 30, 2011, in New York City. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for NBC)
The couple during the 13th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in 2011, co-hosted by Chopard – Arrivals at Pacific Design Center in L.A. (Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage)
“It’s very important that we show our children that we are working, too. To give them an example [of] how life is,” she said in an exclusive interview with “Fox & Friends.”
“That they see us as productive. We have ideas and these ideas come to life,” she said.
After 10 years of raising her son, being the wife of a business mogul and working on her own endeavors, a new title was added to her long list of achievements: first lady of the United States.
She said she had no idea she would become a prominent figure in the political spotlight when she came to America.
“I think nothing prepared me more to be first lady in front of the world than the fashion industry… It’s glamorous, but it’s at the same time very tough,” Melania Trump shared in her interview with “Fox & Friends.”
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk in the inaugural parade on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C., after he was sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. (Kevin Dietsch – Pool/Getty Images)
The president and first lady pose for a photo as they visit members of the military at a dining hall at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Dec. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Melania Trump visits the Children’s Inn at National Institutes of Health on Valentine’s Day on on Feb. 14, 2020, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The first lady is shown next to the front cover of her new book, a “deeply personal and reflective journey for me,” she wrote in it. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images;Amazon)
“Everybody judges you, [looks] at you a certain way … It can be a mean world as well. So nothing prepared me more for this world than fashion. It gives you a thick skin.”
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During her time as first lady, she has been an avid supporter of America’s military, saying, “Supporting our military is a fundamental belief of mine,” Fox News Digital previously reported.
President-elect Donald Trump kisses Melania Trump as he arrives for the inauguration ceremony before he is sworn in as 47th president in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS)
The Trumps attend the Commander-In-Chief Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. President Trump was elected as the nation’s 47th president on Nov. 5, 2024 — only the second president ever to serve two non-consecutive terms. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Barron Trump, youngest child of the president, gestures during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20, 2025, in D.C. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Her love and respect for this country was also clearly on display as she worked to preserve the executive mansion, seeing it as her way of “contributing something lasting and beautiful to the American people, transcending politics and partisanship.”
Melania Trump recently visited a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, while President Trump spoke about hurricane relief. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Melania Trump and the president on a visit to California on Jan. 24, 2025, to see the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Having already served the country in this role, she knows what is expected of a first lady.
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That previous experience is an advantage she will be able to use for the next four years.
From model to first lady, Melania Trump is back in the White House. (Getty Images; White House)
“I have much more experience, much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get,” she told “Fox & Friends.”
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She has an understanding of this role and said she’s filled with great pride — writing in her memoir that she has a “stronger sense of duty to use my platform as first lady for good.”
