Melania Trump grew up in the small town of Sevnica, Slovenia, the daughter of a car dealer and a pattern maker who spent her days sewing clothes for the family by hand. At 17, everything changed when Slovenian photographer Stane Jerko spotted her leaning against a fence outside a fashion show.
“She was tall and slim, long hair and long legs, and that’s why I found her suitable to be a photo model,” Jerko told Voice of America. “I noticed not just her good looks but also, even though it may sound strange, her inner energy.”
Melania was shy at first, but quickly grew comfortable in front of the camera.
“She was shy and reserved at first, not wanting to open herself up. But she quickly got into it and began asking questions,” Jerko recalled.
One detail from those early photos stood out for an unexpected reason.
“I didn’t have shoes for her because she had very big feet. The other models had smaller feet,” Jerko explained.
By 18, Melania had signed with a modeling agency in Milan, swapping her Slovenian name for the more international Melania Knauss. She modeled across Milan and Paris for years, before making a bold decision in her mid twenties, moving to New York City at 26, an age considered “old” in a modeling world dominated by teenagers.
“She wasn’t the most expensive model, but she was a high end model,” her former agent, Irene Marie, said in an interview with Tatler. “What I particularly liked about Melania was that she wasn’t part of the nightlife scene. She had a reputation for being serious and focused.”
That reputation paid off. Melania’s face soon appeared on billboards across Times Square, launching a career that would eventually take her from the runways of Europe to the White House.
From a small town in Slovenia to one of the most recognized faces in the world, Melania has always said her story is proof that the American dream is still very much alive.
