Elegant with a dazzling smile, Melania Trump was at her husband’s side in New York early Wednesday when he declared victory in the US presidential election.
The 46-year-old native Slovenian brings poise and glamor to the presidency of her husband and is set to become the country’s first foreign-born First Lady in two centuries.
She has maintained a low-key presence throughout the long and grueling campaign, during which she tried to humanize her husband, 24 years her elder.
Born Melanija Knavs in Slovenia — then part of Yugoslavia — to a fashion-industry mother and a car-salesman father, she studied design and architecture before leaving for Milan and Paris to launch her modelling career.
That brought her to the United States in 1996, where two years later she met Trump. She later became his third wife.
At the convention, she said becoming a US citizen, in 2006, was “the greatest privilege on planet earth.”
Her American experience has certainly been far removed from that of the average immigrant.
Her Twitter account — inactive since Trump declared his candidacy — reflects the privileged lifestyle of a jet-setter traveling between a lavish New York apartment and residences in Florida.
She has tweeted photographs from high-society gatherings and major sporting events, as well as recollections of her red-carpet saunters and charity functions. In each image, Melania appears impeccably dressed.
When Donald and Melania married in January 2005 in Florida, the cost of her Dior dress was estimated at $200,000.
Among the invited celebrities was Hillary Clinton, the defeated Democratic presidential candidate.
Initially, Melania did not seem to be entirely on board with the idea of her husband running for president.
Trump once said Melania would have been content as the wife of a billionaire businessman and reality TV star.
“She said, ‘We have such a great life. Why do you want to do this?’” Trump told The Washington Post.
Melania will be America’s first foreign-born First Lady since Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, who was president from 1825-1829. Adams was born in England.

Source: Arab News