Her aspirations began early, in a town that was unable to accommodate them. Soon, a fortuitous meeting led to runways both nearby and far away. She quit her job to take on a completely different public position years later.
Melania Trump’s early modelling images have reignited her curiosity about her changing looks over time. Online users widely shared the pictures, prompting comparisons between Melania Trump’s appearance then and now. Her narrative begins in a small community, distant from the world she would eventually inhabit.
Born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, a hamlet in what was then Yugoslavia, Melania Trump is the first lady of the United States. She grew up in Sevnica, a small industrial town on the Sava River that is well-known for its apartment buildings from the Communist era and manufacturing chimneys.
Her family lived in one of the beautifully painted buildings that housed her primary school. Before working as a driver for a local mayor and then the director of a government-owned textile business, her father, Viktor Knavs, was a car salesman.
Her mother, Amalija, worked in the same field, designing clothes for a company. Public records classified Viktor as a Communist Party member, but a campaign representative later said he had never actively participated in the party.
Former classmates and childhood acquaintances recall Melania as quiet, polite, and focused on her studies. Mirjana Jelancic, a school friend who later became the headmistress of their school, described her as “an excellent student, very organised and disciplined, with very decent manners.”
She added that Melania never used foul language and rarely raised her voice. Melania had a keen interest in fashion even as a young child. She originally aspired to be a designer and frequently repurposed old garments to create new looks.
