Pictures of Melania Trump Modeling At 16 Will Make You Do A Double-Take


With Michelle Obama no longer setting fashion trends for the nation, new First Lady Melania Trump is on deck to showcase her styling prowess — and it looks like teen modeling gave her a head start.

Melania has already set the bar high with a number of exhilarating dresses, and when throwback pictures of Mrs. Trump surfaced again today, it served as a reminder that dressing fashionably is in her blood.

MSN Lifestyle ran a story on Thursday and posted a series of back-in-the-day photos of Melania Trump when she was a 17-year-old aspiring high fashion model.

Melania’s fashion career began decades ago when she was discovered by chance in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. While waiting for a companion outside of a fashion show, photographer Stane Jerko stopped in his tracks.

Jerko was so taken by Melania’s modelesque looks, he invited her to a photoshoot in his nearby studio.

“She was tall and slim so she caught my eye and I approached her and suggested that she come in for a trial photo shoot.”

The year was 1987, and apparently, the timing was on the sides of Melania and an astute shutterbug. Sterko said he decided to head home before the show ended, according to his statement via email to Today.

That’s when the magic happened.

“On the stairs of the Festival Hall, I saw a girl that immediately caught my eye. There stood a tall, slender, and attractive long-haired girl with distinct eyes.”

Trump, then Melania Knauss, showed signs of independence from the start. Melania brought her own change of clothing for each shoot and Sterko said the first round of shots “were promising.”

On her second session, Melania modeled attire from a textile company in Slovenia. They formed the basis by which her professional modeling career was born.

Jerko said that what he recalls the most about young Melania was her shyness. Early on, she appeared inhibited, but she soon relaxed and appeared like a pro in front of the camera. Knauss also expressed eagerness to learn all aspects of modeling: lighting, makeup, and hair.

Mirjana Jelancic, Melania Trump’s high school principal, recalled how “wise” she was as a student.

“She was always very sophisticated, extremely well brought up in a very traditional way. In that respect, she was different from us.”

To her point, Melania is said to be fluent in six languages. Among them are Italian and French.

America’s new first lady has Slovenian roots, according to CNN. She was born in 1970 during a time in which a communist ruling party dominated her birthplace, Yugoslavia.

According to the Hill, here is one of 19 things you may not know about Melania Trump.

“Melania was raised away from the glamor of New York high society in a concrete tower block in then Yugoslavia during the rule of Marshal Josip Tito. Now that her husband has become president, Melania is the first First Lady to be born in a communist nation and only the second to be born abroad, after Louisa Adams, the English wife of the sixth president John Quincy, who served from 1825 to 1829.”

Currently, Melania Trump is fending off criticism over a lawsuit she filed against Mail Online and a blogger. The first lady is seeking $150 million for being defamed by the two defendants.

At the heart of the complaint is an article that Mail Online and the blogger published. It suggests Trump’s modeling agency was a front for an escort service. It was later retracted.

Reportedly, Melania settled her case against the blogger for a “substantial” amount of money, according to Reuters. However, her case against Daily Mail’s parent company continues.

And in a nod to her long-term modeling career, as Inquisitr previously wrote, Melania Trump is likely to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine at some point in the future — despite the editor-in-chief endorsing Hillary Clinton for POTUS. Michelle Obama appeared three times in the same publication since 2009.

[Featured Image by Star Max via AP Images]

Share this article: Pictures of Melania Trump Modeling At 16 Will Make You Do A Double-Take
More from Inquisitr