In the 1980s and 1990s, Ivana Trump was part of New York’s dazzling high society. Donald Trump’s first wife got involved in her husband’s business. The divorce of the two was accompanied by scandals. Now the former model has died.
Washington – She was an athlete, model and businesswoman: Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of former US President Donald Trump, died at the age of 73.
“Our mother was an incredible woman – a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty and a caring mother and friend,” the family said on Thursday. The background to the death was initially unclear. Her marriage to Donald Trump produced three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.
Cause of death not yet exactly clarified
The New York police responded to an emergency call on Thursday and discovered the lifeless woman in her home near Central Park, Fox News reported, citing a police spokesman. She was found in the immediate vicinity of a staircase. The New York Times wrote that the police are investigating whether Ivana Trump fell down the stairs. There was no evidence of forced entry into the home and it may have been an accident, the newspaper said, citing police sources. However, further investigations are still pending.
Donald Trump commented on his ex-wife’s death on the Truth Social platform he co-founded: “She was a wonderful, beautiful and amazing woman who lived a great and inspiring life.” Their daughter Ivanka published a photo on Twitter that shows her as a child with her mother. “She lived life to the fullest and never missed an opportunity to laugh and dance,” she wrote. “I will miss her forever.” US television showed their son Eric Trump leaving his mother’s house on Thursday and getting into a car. “This is a very sad day,” he said.
Ivana and Donald Trump part of New York’s high society
Ivana Trump is best known as the first wife of future US President Donald Trump. The former model and then real estate mogul broke into New York’s high society in the 1980s before their highly publicized divorce in the 1990s and Trump married his second wife, Marla Maples.
Ivana Marie Zelnícková was born in 1949 in what is now the Czech Republic. She showed sporting talent as a skier early on. She left her homeland and emigrated to Canada, where she began a modeling career in the 1970s. In New York she met Donald Trump, whom she married in 1977.
She subsequently took on numerous positions in her husband’s conglomerate and played a central role in his business. She has worked at Trump Tower in Manhattan and oversaw the construction of a Trump Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Books and Reality TV appearances
After splitting with Trump, she wrote several books, including The Best Is Yet To Come: Coping With Divorce And Enjoying Life Again. In 2010, she returned to the limelight when she appeared on the British TV show Celebrity Big Brother. In 2016, Ivana Trump brought herself into play as US Ambassador to Prague. “I’m from there, it’s my language and everyone knows me there,” she said in an interview at the time. However, nothing came of the ambitions. The White House eventually nominated someone else for the post.
After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Ivana Trump publicly made it clear how little she thought of her ex-husband’s vehement attempts to challenge the result. “He has to go and say he lost. But he hates being a loser, I’m sure,” she told People magazine at the time. “He doesn’t like losing, so he’s going to fight, fight and fight some more,” she predicted. At the time she was annoyed and continued: “I just want the whole thing to be over – no matter how it turns out. I really don’t care.” dpa
