‘We need to be very vigilant who comes into the country’: Melania Trump’s ethnicity, confirmed

Trump’s first week in office has been… eventful. The President has issued some disheartening executive orders, including mandating only two genders be recognized, and declaring a state of emergency at the Mexican border. 

However, some orders affecting immigration have stood out as interesting considering that Trump’s wife, Melania Trump is an immigrant. Millions of people have already pointed fingers at the hypocritical withdrawal of what has benefitted not just Melania, but her family members as well. Here’s everything you need to know about Melania Trump’s ethnicity. 

What is Melania Trump’s ethnicity?

Melania Trump, formerly Melanija Knavs, is the third and current wife of President Donald Trump. She is a former model and now spends her time working with various charitable causes. But none of that is the burning question on many minds. People want to know where Melania Trump is originally from, and what her ethnic makeup is. 

Melania Trump was born in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia, which is now part of Slovenia. Her parents, Viktor and Amalija were both working-class Slovenians. From a young age, Melania helped out at the children’s clothing factory her mother worked at, developing an interest in fashion. She started making her own clothes, and would enter them in competitions. She attended the Secondary School for Design and Photography in Ljubljana where she honed her skills, and began modeling as a teenager. 

How did Melania Trump become an American citizen? 

Alhough she initially wanted to be a fashion designer, Melania Trump found her calling in modeling. She was discovered when she was 16 years old by a photographer named Stane Jerko and found quick success in modeling. A few years into her career, she changed the spelling of her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss, and began getting international jobs. 

Melania was very influenced by American culture growing up. Biographies about her, such as Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography by Kate Bennett and The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump by Mary Jordan both discuss the impact American politics and fashion had on a young Melania. Despite her fascination with the U.S. she was based in Paris for some years after her modeling career kicked off. That was where she met Paolo Zampolli, the owner of Metropolitan Models, who ended up changing her life. 

Not only did Zampolli encourage her to move to the United States, he was also friends with Donald Trump and would even eventually introduce the two. Melania signed with Metropolitan Models and Zampolli helped her settle in Manhattan, finding her an apartment, a housemate, and work opportunities. 

After being introduced to Trump in 1998, they began dating on and off. Melania continued to work as a model, eventually getting her green card in 2001. The couple got married in 2005, and while Melania now has a persona of being an aloof First Lady, she’s always been involved in and supportive of her husband’s political career. In a 2018 interview with ABC above, Melania shared that while she disagrees with some of her husband’s approaches, she believes in his policies. “We need to be very vigilant who comes into the country,” she said. “We need to vet them.”

Ironically, the same chain immigration policy that Trump has been vocal against, was what Melania herself used to bring her parents over to the United States. She is the first First Lady to become a citizen by naturalization and still holds on to her Slovenian nationality as well, and even taught her son Barron the language.