Ivana Was Never The Same After Marrying Donald Trump
Lifestyle - News
By LAUREN CAHN
Ivana’s humble past
Before she married Donald Trump, Ivana Marie Zelnícková grew up in the Eastern European country once known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The daughter of Miloš Zelníček, an electrical engineer, and Marie Zelnícková, a telephone operator, Ivana's talent for ski racing let her escape communist rule.
Ivana ski raced
In 1967, Ivana escaped to Canada after her "Cold War marriage" to Austrian skier and ski instructor Alfred Winklmayr, which "dissolved" in 1973. In 1976, Ivana met Donald Trump while she was transitioning from a world class athlete to a fashion model; her life would be forever changed by this meeting.
Ivana was a model
Ivana's modeling was a temporary job, until she met Donald. Ivana claimed that upon meeting him, he offered to help her friends secure a table at Maxwell's Plum, an eatery where business moguls dined with fashion models; Donald gave Ivana a ride home that same day, and thus began their courtship.
Ivana’s children
Ivana and Donald had three children together: Donald Trump Jr., born nine months after the former couple’s wedding in 1977; their daughter, Ivanka, born in 1981; and another son, Eric, in 1984. In a joint statement, Ivana's children called her an "amazing mom, teacher, and inspiration to all of us."
Marriage with Trump
Ivana’s marriage to Trump gave her celebrity status, which she carried extremely well; she and Donald commanded attention at every high-class event they went to. In its obituary for Ivana, The New York Times wrote that Donald's marriage to her helped make the future president a "household name."