Ivana Trump

Ivana Trump (née Zelníčková) was a former model, businesswoman and media personality. Ivana was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia, and was a competitive skier in her youth. She earned a master’s degree in physical education from Charles University in Prague. In the early 1970s, she emigrated from communist Czechoslovakia, living in Canada before moving to the United States.

Ivana began modeling in Canada and New York, where she gained attention in the fashion scene. She first met Donald Trump while modeling in New York, and the pair tied the knot in 1977. She later took on a major role in the Trump Organization, helping oversee operations of properties like the Plaza Hotel and Trump’s casinos as a senior executive, which established her as a prominent socialite throughout the 1980s.

Following the couple’s highly publicized split in 1990, she launched her own lines of clothing and beauty products. She has also authored several books including The Best Is Yet to Come (1995), which detailed her life following the divorce.

From 1995 to 2010, she ran the Globe column “Ask Ivana.” She also went on to appear on television, including cameos in The First Wives Club (1996) and on Celebrity Big Brother.

The socialite was married four times. She shared children Donald Trump Jr. (born in 1977), Ivanka Trump (born in 1981) and Eric Trump (born in 1984) with Donald. She later wed Riccardo Mazzucchelli from 1995 to 1997 and Rossano Rubicondi from 2008 to 2009.

Ivana Trump died on July 14, 2022, at age 73 after suffering blunt force trauma from falling down the stairs of her home. Officials ruled her death accidental.