(RepublicanDaily.org) – Former first lady Melania Trump’s mother, Amalija Knavs, has passed away at the age of 78.
Trump’s spouse made the announcement herself on social media.
In a tweet, Melania described her mother as a “strong woman” who always possessed “grace, warmth, and dignity.”
The former first lady did not indicate the cause of her mother’s death.
Former president Donald Trump also expressed sadness at his “incredible” and “great and beautiful” mother-in-law’s passing, posting on Truth Social, “This is a very sad night for the entire Trump family!!!”
Born in 1945 in communist Slovenia, Amalija Knavs and her husband, Viktor, had Melania in 1970.
Melania, who went to high school in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. She began modelling at the age of sixteen, and adopted the alternative spelling of her last name, Knauss. She began by posing for Stane Jerko, a Slovenian photographer. By eighteen she was signed to a modeling agency in Milan, Italy. Melania met Trump, who was then a successful real-estate entrepreneur, in 1998, two years after she moved to New York City in 1996 to level up her modeling career. She and Trump began dating shortly after, while Trump was in the middle of his divorce proceedings with Marla Maples, his second wife. They had a child, Barron, in 2006.
Melania’s parents became U.S. citizens in 2018 during the term of then-president Trump. They spent most of their time living in Mar-A-Lago, according to reports.
At the beginning of the year, Trump acknowledged that Melania was indeed absent from his family get-togethers during the holidays. He explained that she was at the time assisting her mother, who was suffering from a “very tough” illness.
People Magazine reported that despite her high-profile status, Melania maintained a close relationship with her parents. She continues to be close to her father, who is now 79. Amalija was also close to her grandson, Barron.
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