Ivana Trump, a gorgeous Czech American entrepreneur whose high-profile marriage to Donald J. Trump in the 1980s positioned them as one of the era's classic New York power couples, passed away on Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was in her 73rd year.
Mr. Trump made the announcement of her passing in a message that was published on Truth Social, the conservative social media site that he established.
According to two law enforcement sources who are familiar with the situation and have information about the investigation, the New York City police are looking into whether or not Ms. Trump went down the stairs of her apartment on the Upper East Side.
One of the authorities reported that there were no indications of a break-in at the residence and that it seemed as though the death was the result of an accident. The office of the city's chief medical examiner has confirmed that an investigation will be conducted into the end, according to a representative for the agency.
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During their marriage, Melania Trump garnered almost as much attention from the media as her husband, Donald Trump. Together, they helped define the 1980s as an era of garish excess among the elite, an image that Mr. Trump used to fuel his turn as an outsized television personality before his quest for the White House in 2016.
In the New York tabloid press, where she was a regular and noisy presence, Melania Trump gave her husband the title “The Donald,” rechristening him as “The Donald.” That “in fifty years, we will be the Rockefellers” was something she and her husband used to talk about.
Regarding the city's wealthy elite, Ms. Trump was seen as more charming and refined than her husband, which helped open doors for Mr. Trump to enter these exclusive social circles.
Though he boasted about his economic acumen, Donald Trump's wife, Melania, was instrumental in helping him start and grow his real estate empire shortly after they married in 1977.
She and her husband worked together on several of Donald Trump's early landmark projects, including the construction of the Trump Tower in Manhattan and the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J. She was known for her attention to detail and workaholism.
She oversaw the Plaza Hotel, one of Trump's treasured assets, and served as the company's vice president of interior design. All the while, she was raising their three children.
The divorce of Donald and Ivana Trump in 1990 was the subject of weeks of tabloid speculation, thanks partly to Mr. Trump's extramarital romance with Marla Maples, whom he eventually married.
Ms. Trump accused him of rape in a deposition, although she subsequently clarified that she didn't intend the phrase literally when she uttered it. “The First Wives Club” was out in 1996, and it had a cameo appearance by Ms. Trump, who urges a group of dissatisfied divorced ladies, “Don't get furious, grab everything!”
She also put her business acumen to good use. She created her apparel, jewelry, and cosmetics brand, which she sold on television networks, including the Home Shopping Network and QVC, under her name.
The Best Is Yet to Come: Coping With Divorce and Enjoying Life Again” (1995) and “Raising Trump” (2017), a memoir about her marriage to Mr. Trump, are two of her many writing credits.
Family members made a statement on Facebook saying, “Our mother was an exceptional woman—a powerhouse in business, a world-class athlete, a dazzling beauty and compassionate mother and friend,” in the wake of her passing.
“She was a fantastic and beautiful and remarkable woman who had a wonderful and inspiring life,” tweeted Mr. Trump on his social media site. “Rest in peace, Ivana!” he said.
When Ivana Marie Zelnickova was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, on February 20, 1949, it is today known as Zlin, a city in the Czech Republic. Marie (Francova) Zelnickova Zelnickova grew up with an electrical engineer father, Milos Zelnacek, and a telephone operator mother, Marie Zelnickova.
She had an athletically talented childhood and participated in the Czech Junior National Skiing Team, allowing her to explore some of the worlds outside her little village. No evidence supports Mr. Trump's claim that she was an alternate for the Czech Olympic ski team.
She earned her master's degree in physical education from Charles University in Prague in 1972. During the Cold War, she married an Austrian ski instructor, Alfred Winklmayr, to get an Austrian passport and relocate to Canada.
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“The marriage was dissolved” in 1973,” she stated, claiming they never lived together.
She was a model and ski instructor during the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Canada. Trump, who was just 29 years old when he first met her at a New York banquet, was beginning his journey to the top of Manhattan real estate.
Norman Vincent Peale, the novelist and Protestant pastor, conducted their wedding less than a year later. The Commodore Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, next to Grand Central Terminal, was one of Mr. Trump's first significant enterprises.
While pursuing her interior design license at the time, Mrs. Trump plunged right in with him. Before her death in 1988, she informed Vanity Fair that she was responsible for “every cushion, every table and chair, and every brass column.”
Once the Grand Hyatt reopened in 1980, it became an iconic symbol of the Trump era, a time of tremendous growth and material extravagance.
It wasn't long until Ivana became an equal, if not a visible, partner in Trump's company. Even while she stated that her husband was in charge, it was evident that she was one of his closest confidantes, counseling him on his choice to open a casino in Atlantic City. She emphasized opulence: She picked Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue, for its pink marble and shining brass.
She exerted even more significant influence over the Trump family as it grew. She boasted about Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric in the preface of “Raising Trump,” and she didn't hold back on who did what in their upbringing.
She wrote, “I take full responsibility for raising such wonderful children.” Before our divorce, I was solely responsible for parenting our children, and I now have sole custody of them.”
In terms of academics, extracurricular activities, and travel, as well as child care and stipends, I was in charge. The completed result, I told my ex-husband, was here when they all graduated from college. After this, you have the opportunity to take the lead.”
The pair exploited their fortune to dominate New York's social scene, yet they ended up on TVs and books far from Midtown's towers. As a result, they were the subject of many tabloid stories, magazine articles and even parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
When Ivana Marie Zelnickova was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, on February 20, 1949, it is today known as Zlin, a city in the Czech Republic. Marie (Francova) Zelnickova Zelnickova grew up with an electrical engineer father, Milos Zelnacek, and a telephone operator mother, Marie Zelnickova.
She had an athletically talented childhood and participated in the Czech Junior National Skiing Team, allowing her to explore some of the worlds outside her little village. No evidence supports Mr. Trump's claim that she was an alternate for the Czech Olympic ski team.
She earned her master's degree in physical education from Charles University in Prague in 1972.
During the Cold War, she married an Austrian ski instructor, Alfred Winklmayr, to get an Austrian passport and relocate to Canada. “The marriage was dissolved” in 1973,” she stated, claiming they never lived together.
The Commodore Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, next to Grand Central Terminal, was one of Mr. Trump's first major enterprises. While pursuing her interior design licence at the time, Mrs. Trump plunged right in with him. Before her death in 1988, she informed Vanity Fair that she was responsible for “every cushion, every table and chair and every brass column.”
Once the Grand Hyatt reopened in 1980, it became an iconic symbol of the Trump era, a time of great growth and material extravagance.
It wasn't long until Ivana became an equal, if not a visible partner in Trump's company. Even while she stated that her husband was in charge, it was evident that she was one of his closest confidantes, counseling him on his choice to open a casino in Atlantic City. She emphasized opulence: She picked Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue, for its pink marble and shining brass.
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She exerted even greater influence over the Trump family as it grew. She boasted about Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric in the preface of “Raising Trump,” and she didn't hold back on who did what in their upbringing.
She wrote, “I take full responsibility for raising such wonderful children.” Prior to our divorce, I was solely responsible for parenting our children, and I now have sole custody of them.”
In terms of academics, extracurricular activities, and travel, as well as child care and stipends, I was in charge. The completed result, I told my ex-husband, was here when they all graduated from college. After this, you have the opportunity to take the lead.”
The pair exploited their fortune to dominate New York's social scene, yet they ended up on TVs and in books far from Midtown's towers. As a result, they were the subject of many tabloid stories, magazine articles and even parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
