Long before she was known as Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana Zelníčková was already carving out a remarkable path of her own. Born in 1949 in socialist Czechoslovakia, she became a competitive skier in her teenage years — skilled enough to earn a spot on the national Olympic team. That athletic drive opened a window to the outside world, and she wasn’t going to let it close.

A strategic first marriage to an Austrian man gave her the papers she needed to leave Eastern Europe behind. Once in the West, she pivoted to modeling, and her striking looks quickly made her a fixture in fashion magazines. The career took her to New York — and New York gave her Donald Trump. They married in 1977, and for the next 15 years, Ivana wasn’t just standing beside one of Manhattan’s biggest developers. She was in the room making decisions, contributing directly to major real estate projects and overseeing hotel design. She was a businesswoman in her own right, even if the headlines rarely framed her that way.

Her signature look — sky-high hair, bold ensembles, statement jewelry — made her impossible to miss. Some found it excessive. She didn’t care.

When the marriage ended in the early 1990s, Ivana walked away with a $25 million settlement and immediately got to work building something that was entirely hers. She launched clothing and cosmetics lines, wrote multiple books including one that became a bestseller, and kept herself firmly in the public eye with the same unapologetic energy that had always defined her.

Two more marriages followed, neither lasting long — but Ivana remained someone who never stopped reaching for connection and joy. Well into her 60s she continued living fully, on her own schedule and no one else’s.

Age never slowed her down or softened her style. She wore what she wanted, looked how she wanted, and lived how she wanted — right up until her passing in July 2022 at the age of 73.

A woman who escaped communist Czechoslovakia and built an empire. That’s the real Ivana Trump story. 💫