Melania Trump is unique in a world where celebrity frequently changes public figures because she has always maintained a certain level of mystery. Social media is flooded with comparisons between “then” and “now” as interest in her early modeling days resurfaces. In addition to her looks, people are drawn to her metamorphosis from a young girl from a sleepy Yugoslavian town to the future First Lady of the United States.
Her story is one of remarkable consistency as well as reinvention. Melania has maintained her composure, focus, and fierce privacy despite decades of celebrity, her marriage to one of the most divisive political figures, and the spotlight of the White House.
However, what does the beginning of this journey tell us about the woman who bears the name?
She was raised in Sevnica, which was then a part of Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), after being born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in the town of Novo Mesto. Far removed from the glamour of Paris, Milan, or New York, Sevnica was a small, industrial town dotted with textile factories and concrete buildings.
High-ranking factory directors were once chauffeured by Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, a car dealer. An early link in Melania’s future fashion-forward fabric was her mother, Amalija, who was a patternmaker for a children’s clothing company.
She was raised close to her school in a small apartment complex. Mirjana Jelancic, a former headmistress and childhood friend, recalls her as “polite, quiet, and incredibly focused.”
She had very good manners and was an excellent student. She didn’t ever raise her voice. Jelancic said, “She always carried herself with grace.”
Melania stood out even as a teenager—not out of conceit, but because of her vision. She aspired to be a fashion designer and frequently redesigned vintage apparel. At one point, Jelancic remarked, “Sevnica was too small for her.”
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