Modeling Career

From the same report on the New York Post, Melania’s modeling career started at the same time during her study at the University of Ljubljana.

The acclaimed Slovenian fashion photographer Stane Jerko discovered the 17-year-old Melania in Ljubljana in 1987 during a modeling contest. He directly asked Melania if he could take some pictures of her. Stane Jerko, now 77, told the New York Post. “She struck me more like a bookworm. I never expected that she would become a world-famous beauty.”

Not long after that, Melania abandoned her study, moving first to Milan and signed with a modeling agency there to pursue a bigger career in fashion industry. In 1996, during the Milan Fashion Week, Melania met New York City-based entrepreneur and agent Paolo Zampolli – the matchmaker who later introduced her to Donald Trump. Paolo kindly invited Melania to join his agency in the United States at once. Melania then moved to New York City in the same year as being determined and very ambitious when it came to her career.

According to the biography posts on Melania’s official website, after settling in New York City in 1996, this Slovenian-born brunette has appeared in high profile ad campaigns, and has worked with some of the top photographers in the fashion industry, including Patrick Demarchelier, Helmut Newton, Arthur Elgort, Ellen Von Unwerth, Peter Arnell, Antoine Verglas and Mario Testino. At 5 feet 11 inches, Melania has a captivating presence in front of the camera. She has graced the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, British GQ, Ocean Drive, Avenue, In Style, and New York Magazine. Her major layouts include the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Allure, Vogue, Self, Glamour, Vanity Fair, and Elle. As a model, she was associated with several well-known modeling agencies, including Paolo Zampolli’s ID Model Management and Donald Trump's Trump Model Management.

In addition, Melania has appeared in numerous television commercials to highlight her power of fashion endorsements, most recently for Aflac, in which she stars with one of America's top icons, the Aflac duck. She has also co-hosted The View with the renowned Barbara Walters.