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<\/p>\nMelania Trump may be one of the most recognizable names on the planet \u2014 a model, a First Lady, and the wife of business tycoon and president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
But when it comes to her personal life, she plays things very close to the chest.<\/p>\n
Unlike many public figures, Melania has often chosen privacy over attention.<\/p>\n
That quiet lifestyle extends to her son Barron \u2014 and perhaps most intriguingly, to her older sister, Ines Knauss. While Melania has been in the global spotlight for decades, Ines has remained virtually unseen \u2014 but she may be the closest person in Melania\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
What few people realize is just how deep the sisters\u2019 bond runs.<\/p>\n
Small-town roots and a stylish start
\nMelania and Ines were both born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, and raised in the quiet railway town of Sevnica. Their father, Viktor, worked as a car mechanic and chauffeur, while their mother, Amalija, was a pattern-maker at a clothing factory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up with a beautiful family and had a wonderful childhood,\u201d Melania once said. \u201cMy mother and father taught us the importance of education, hard work and family.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Their parents worked hard but made time to give their daughters a worldly upbringing. They took the girls on vacations to France, Italy, and Germany \u2014 and even today, the family still owns a home in Slovenia that they return to a few times a year.<\/p>\n
Fashion was always in the background. Amalija often designed and sewed clothes for her daughters, helping them look polished from a young age. As Melania grew older, she even started designing some of her own outfits.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was very pretty,\u201d said Tom\u0161i\u010d, a local hospital administrator in Sevnica. \u201cShe was always very fancy.\u201d (Melania donated $25,000 to the hospital after marrying Donald Trump.)<\/p>\n
The model and the designer
\nAt just 16, Melania was discovered by fashion photographer Stane Jerko. He spotted her by chance after a fashion show in Ljubljana.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the staircase at the entrance, I saw this girl,\u201d Jerko recalled. \u201cShe was tall, slim, with long hair. I told her who I was, what I did, and why I would photograph her.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1992, Ines Knauss began her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts at Edward Kardelj University in Ljubljana.<\/p>\n
Around this time, Melania credits her sister with giving her a life-changing piece of advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cInes\u2026 told me about a Slovenian modeling competition called the \u2018Look of the Year,\u2019 hosted by Jana magazine. The winner would earn a contract with Metropolitan Model Agency, a respected Paris-based agency.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ines encouraged me to send in my photos. \u2018No one looks like you,\u2019 she said.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year later, Melania left the University of Ljubljana to pursue modeling full-time. She signed with a modeling agency in Milan and quickly began building her career \u2014 without any of the party-girl drama that might come with that world.<\/p>\n
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\u201cShe kept to herself, she was a loner,\u201d Jerko said. \u201cAfter a shoot or a catwalk, she went home, not out. She didn\u2019t want to waste time partying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ines wasn\u2019t far behind. While Melania was in front of the camera, Ines was behind the scenes, hoping to break into the fashion world as a designer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe really wanted to be in fashion but didn\u2019t know how to break in,\u201d said Paris-based photographer Ale de Basseville. \u201cInes wasn\u2019t like the other girls you would meet there, who behave like queens. She was really polite and very mellow.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Milan to Manhattan
\nWhen Melania met Italian businessman Paolo Zampolli, he offered to help her get a U.S. work visa. Naturally, Ines came along for the journey to New York.<\/p>\n
It was 1998 when everything changed. During Fashion Week, Melania attended a Kit Kat Club event. Zampolli introduced her to his friend \u2014 real estate mogul Donald Trump. But Melania was unimpressed by his flashy entrance.<\/p>\n
He was with a date at the time and asked for Melania\u2019s number, but she refused.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelania said, \u2018He\u2019s here with a woman. I am absolutely not giving him my number,\u2019\u201d friend Edit Molnar told the New York Post. \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t even consider it. Donald did all the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melania herself confirmed that story to Tatler. \u201cHe wanted my number,\u201d she said. \u201cBut he was on a date, so of course I didn\u2019t give it to him. I said, \u2018I am not giving you my number; give me yours and I will call you.\u2019 If I give him my number, I\u2019m just one of the women he calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move worked \u2014 and the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n
Quiet role in Melania\u2019s life
\nOver the years, Melania has fiercely guarded her privacy. But one name that quietly remains close is Ines.<\/p>\n
According to People, Ines was Melania\u2019s maid of honor when she married Donald Trump. The sisters remain incredibly close, even if Ines chooses to stay out of the public eye and has maintained an ultra-private lifestyle.<\/p>\n
She reportedly lives just four blocks from Melania\u2019s penthouse in Trump Tower, in a Trump-owned building that once housed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Even though her life remains low-key \u2014 she\u2019s never far from her sister\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
Audrey Gruss, a Palm Beach philanthropist who met Ines at a 2005 Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, remembered her as \u201ca lovely person, and extremely creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, Melania has occasionally shared her sister\u2019s artwork online. Ines appears to be an illustrator \u2014 and someone Melania has leaned on through the most pivotal moments of her life.<\/p>\n
When Melania gave birth
\nWhen Melania gave birth to Barron, it wasn\u2019t staff she turned to most \u2014 it was Ines.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelania had all the professional help she needed at that point,\u201d said Milan-based fashion designer Luisa Beccaria. \u201cBut it was her sister she trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she avoids the cameras, Ines Knauss has been a quiet force behind one of the world\u2019s most photographed women.<\/p>\n
She may not attend state dinners or speak at rallies, but her presence is felt \u2014 as Melania\u2019s closest confidante, her creative collaborator, and her lifelong friend.<\/p>\n
Their bond is a reminder that behind every public figure is a private story \u2014 and often, a sister who\u2019s been there since the very beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Melania Trump may be one of the most recognizable names on the planet \u2014 a model, a First Lady, and the wife of business tycoon and president… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n