Melanija Knavs was born in the small town of Sevnica in 1970. As she was growing up, she was spotted by a photographer working for a Slovenian women’s magazine. At his suggestion, she decided to pursue a modeling career; she knew that modelling promised a far better financial future than what was available to her back home and a chance to travel the world. In her twenties, Knavs worked in Milan, Paris, and New York. She appeared at a number of fashion shows and graced the covers of prestigious magazines, from Vogue to British GQ. She even appeared in commercials for Panasonic. But it was at a fashion show in 1999 when she met the man -- 24 years her senior -- who would make her internationally famous.

The man who noticed Knavs at the New York even was none other than Donald Trump, the flamboyant real estate developer and media personality. He says that Knavs played hard-to-get; she says it was love at first sight. In any case, the two fell in love and got married in 2005. Melanija Knavs from the Slovenian countryside became known to the world as Melania Trump.

Melania Trump gained access to immense riches of one of America’s wealthiest men. (Her engagement ring along had cost $1.5 million). Still, she was determined to pursue a career of her own. Even though she has largely retired from modeling, she has launched a line of jewelry for the QVC home shopping channel. Last year, she unveiled a skin care collection bearing her name.

In recent years, Melania Trump has been a mainstay of U.S. television, from the popular talk show The View, to her husband’s reality The Apprentice. She continues to appear on the cover of various magazines, promotes several charities, and is one of the most recognizable celebrity wives anywhere.

Despite her busy schedule, Melania Trump has also found time to raise a family. In 2006, she gave birth to Barron William Trump, and famously announced his arrival live on the radio just 20 minutes later. She made sure that Barron learned Slovenian in addition to English, and he now speaks both languages fluently. His bilingualism serves as a reminder of Melania Trump’s origins in an unassuming small town in a sleepy part of Slovenia, so far from New York’s cosmopolitan glamor.