Melania Trump’s Parents Reportedly Just Became US Citizens

Think you know everything about Donald Trump‘s wife, Melania Trump? Think again! Everyone is very curious about the First Lady — especially when it comes to her family and who Melania’s parents are. Scroll down for the answer and to see more fascinating facts about her!

Who are Melania’s parents?

Melania Trump’s mother is Amalija Knavs, 73, and her father is Viktor Knavs, 74, making the Knavs patriarch only two and a half years older than his son-in-law. According to Bojan Požar’s Melania Trump – The Inside Story, although Viktor was a member of the Communist Party during her youth, Melania’s family was not a part of the Slovenian elite.

                            Melania’s parents in June 2017. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

During her upbringing, Melania’s parents managed car and motorcycle dealerships for a state-owned vehicle manufacturer, meaning that while her parents were not poor by any means, they weren’t rich either. Amalija also previously worked as a pattern-maker at a children’s clothing manufacturer.

Are Melania Trump’s parents US citizens? Where do they live now?

According to the Associated Press, Melania Trump’s parents became naturalized US citizens on Thursday, Aug. 9 during a private ceremony at a federal building in NYC (Donald and Melania were not present). 

The couples’ lawyer, Michael Wildes, allegedly told reporters outside the event that Amalija and Viktor’s process was “no different” than anyone else’s, according to People. 

In February, Wildes also reported both Viktor and Amalija were, “lawfully admitted to the US as permanent residents,” meaning that while they had obtained their green cards to live in the country legally, they weren’t naturalized citizens until yesterday. 

It’s unclear how long they’ve been living in the US, but the country’s law requires you to live in the country for five years before applying for citizenship. 

                             Melania’s parents with Barron in 2009. (Photo Credit: Twitter)

After relocating from Sevnica, Slovenia following Melania’s marriage, Melania’s parents lived alongside the future First Couple in their NYC penthouse at Trump Tower to be close to their daughter and grandson, Barron Trump.

With the Trumps now living in the White House, many are wondering, where are Melania Trump’s parents living? Although the family had previously lived together, the couple has reportedly not moved into the White House with their daughter and her family. After all, it’s likely there’s enough room for them in the Trump Tower penthouse given the First Family’s absence.

What languages does Melania speak?

The First Lady speaks five languages fluently: her native Slovenian, English, Italian, French, and German. It’s a skillset she’s apparently passed on to son Barron. According to the First Lady, Barron is fluent in both English and Slovenian, having taught him Slovenian to help connect him to his heritage, as well as to communicate with Melania’s parents. While traveling overseas, Melania has put her multilingual knowledge to good use as First Lady, especially during her visits to various children’s hospitals.

Does Melania Trump have siblings?

Yes! Melania has an older sister named Ines Knauss who used to reside alongside the First Family at Trump Tower while they were still living there. Little is known about Ines other than that the fact that she is an artist (as evidenced by this sketch Melania shared on her Twitter), she served as Melania’s maid-of-honor at her wedding to Trump, and she runs a pretty interesting Facebook page where you can find her posting some sweet throwbacks of her famous little sister.

  A rare sighting of Melania’s sister Ines (far left), at a 2005 benefit at the Trump Mar-a-Lago estate. 

                                                  (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Melania also has an older half-brother named Denis Cigelnjak, allegedly the result of an affair of her father’s. She has reportedly never met him.

Where was Melania born?

Melania — whose birth name is Melanija Knavs — was born on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto in the southeast of Slovenia, which was then part of Yugoslavia during the reign of dictator Josip Broz Tito. The Knavs family later moved to Sevnica, Slovenia where the future First Lady spent her formative years. She would later move to Ljubljana, Slovenia to pursue a degree in architecture and design before pausing her studies to advance her modeling career in Milan.

           Melania Trump’s childhood home in Sevnica, Slovenia. (Photo Source: Splash News)

How did Melania meet Donald?

Melania started modeling at the age of five and began doing TV commercials at age 16. By age 18, she signed with a modeling agency in Milan, Italy and in 1996 she relocated to New York to further her modeling career. She later gained US citizenship in 2006.

In September 1998, Melania met her future-husband Donald at a NY Fashion Week party. They later became engaged in 2004 and tied the knot at Donald’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, FL on Jan. 22, 2005. In March 2006, the couple welcomed their only child — son Barron Trump — together.

                 Donald, Melania, and Barron in January 2017. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

What religion is Melania Trump?

Although raised in Communist Slovenia where religion was frowned upon, Melania Trump was reportedly secretly baptized into the Roman Catholic Church as a child, making her the first Catholic First Lady since Jackie Kennedy. Though a Catholic, Melania wed Donald Trump at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea, less than ten minutes from the Trump Mar-a-Lago estate.

   The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. (Source: Getty Images)

In her third Instagram post as FLOTUS, Melania shared a photo of the Episcopal church, adding complexity to the question of her religious beliefs. She wrote, “Proud to share part of my family history with Mrs. Abe [the wife of Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe] at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea where @POTUS & I were married, where we celebrate and we pray‬.”

How tall is Melania?

                       Donald and Melania in Oct. 2017. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

At 5’11”, the former model is almost as tall as her husband, Donald Trump, whose height is reportedly 6’2″. Although it’s typically hard to spot thanks to Melania’s preference for heels, the above photo helps illustrate their height difference perfectly.