- published: 19 Jul 2016
- views: 665999
Melania Trump (née Knauss, born Melanija Knavs,Germanized to Melania Knauss; April 26, 1970) is a jewelry and watch designer and former model. She is married to American billionaire real estate developer and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Born in Slovenia, Knauss-Trump became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006.
Knauss was born in Sevnica, in Slovenia's Lower Sava Valley (then part of Yugoslavia) in 1970. Her father, Viktor Knavs, who managed car and motorcycle dealerships, was from the nearby town of Radeče; her mother, Amalija, a fashion designer, came from a village in the area surrounding Sevnica, within the confines of Sevnica Castle. Knauss grew up in a modest apartment in a concrete housing block. She began her modeling career at age 16, and at age 18 signed with a modeling agency in Milan. She is fluent in English, French, Slovenian, Serbian, and German.
After studying design and architecture at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, Knauss worked as a model for major fashion houses in Milan and Paris before relocating to New York City in 1996. Working with photographers including Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, and Mario Testino, Knauss subsequently appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Ocean Drive, In Style, New York Magazine, Avenue, Allure, Vanity Fair, Self, Glamour, GQ, Elle, FHM, and was featured as a bikini model in the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. As a model, she was associated with several well-known modeling agencies, including Donald Trump's Trump Model Management.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and writer. She is married to the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, she is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and spent the early part of her legal career working at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met Barack. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, Obama helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid. She delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. She and her husband have two daughters together. She has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating.