Ivana Marie Zelníčková athlete, model and businesswoman died on July 14, 2022 at the age of 73. In addition to being known as the first wife of Donald Trump, she helped expand the former president’s hotel and casino network in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Donald and Ivana Trump in 1986
Ivana and Donald Trump were married for thirteen years: from 1977 to 1990. She was the mother of three of their children: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. And, although they divorced a long time ago, Ivana was always a part of Donald’s life.
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His life before Donald Trump
In the 1970s, before marrying Donald Trump, Ivana was already married. Her first husband was the Austrian skier Alfred Winklmayr, whom she met in Canada.
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A Czech woman in Canada during the Cold War
Born in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at the time) in 1949, Ivana had studied Sports Science and started skiing professionally. As an elite skier, she managed to represent Czechoslovakia at the 1972 Olympics.
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Ivana escaped to Canada
Athletics allowed Ivana to leave the country, which in those days was under Soviet rule. Marrying Winklmayr in Canada was a way for her to live outside of Czechoslovakia without being considered a traitor.
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Ivana’s second husband: Donald Trump
Ivana Trump favored capitalism over the socialism of her home country. Donald Trump, a businessman in the United States, was a suitable partner for her. After she divorced Winklmayr and married Trump in 1977, he introduced her to America’s business and entertainment elite.
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The Age of Triumphs
Ivana Trump was always an important and active part of the Trump Empire. She managed and designed her husband’s New York hotels, the Grand Hyatt, the Plaza Hotel and the Trump Tower, as well as Trump Castle in New Jersey and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
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Ivana was very involved in the family business
Instead of staying home, raising the kids, and spending Donald’s money, Ivana “travels to Atlantic City by helicopter to run Trump’s Castle casino,” Vanity Fair reported in 1988. She had her own $2 million helicopter with the name IVANA written in big. At the casino, she “would spin the wheels,” the magazine added.
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the apple of his eyes
With such a strong mother, it’s no wonder the family holds her daughter Ivanka in high regard. She is considered the great Trump heiress, despite the fact that she was born second in the family.
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Ivanka ‘the most talented’
The Trump couple’s three children are Donald Jr. (1977), Ivanka (1981), and Eric (1984). Her mother always considered Ivanka to be the most talented in the family and recognized in her daughter a true political ambition.
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Donald Trump infidelity
After more than a decade of marriage, rumors have surfaced of an affair between Donald and former Georgia beauty queen Marla Maple. In 1990 Ivana filed for divorce. When it ended, Trump married Marla Maple.
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A million dollar divorce
Trump didn’t divorce Ivana without giving up some mansions, jewelry, $25 million in cash and $5.35 million a year in alimony. In fact, divorce is “pretty much his specialty,” writes Nicki Swift. Ivana tells the divorcees to “get a great deal, and before you do, take your wallet to the dry cleaners.”
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She told Marla Maple to “get lost”
In her memoir ‘Raising Trump,’ Ivana recalled finding out regarding Donald’s affair with Maple in 1989. The beauty queen came up to her “out of the blue” and said, “I’m Marla and I love your husband.” Ivana says she responded as follows: “I told him, ‘Get lost, I love my husband.’ It wasn’t ladylike, but he was in shock.”
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Ivana Trump’s offspring
At the time of her death, Ivana and Donald Trump had ten grandchildren together. Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife Vanessa have five children. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have three children, and Eric Trump has two with her partner Lara.
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Living life following Donald
After her divorce from Donald Trump, Ivana relaxed considerably. She returned to the world of fashion, she partied with designers like Thierry Mugler in Paris and developed a preference for Italian men.
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Her first Italian husband
He had two marriages. The first was with Riccardo Mazzucchelli. They did not spend their second anniversary together.
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Ivana and her young, second Italian
Her second Italian husband was Rossano Rubicondi, 24 years her junior. In this image, she poses friendly with Donald Trump and his then-girlfriend, Melania Knauss. Ivana and Rossano would barely last a year: from 2008 to 2009.
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From husband to lover
After their divorce in 2009, Ivana and Rossano Rubicondi performed together in various parts of the world, including New York and Capri. It seemed that they went from spouses to lovers. “Without her I feel 50% alone,” Rubicondi said.
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life was a party
Ivana lived her life like a party. Here we see her dancing with Robin Williams and Sharon Stone at the 2006 Cannes gala.
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a citizen of the world
After her divorce from Donald, Ivana Trump’s life was full of travel and adventure. She spent as much time in Europe as she did in the United States, with France and Italy being her favorite countries.
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Ivana as TV Personality
Ivana became a reality TV star just like her ex-husband. She participated in the Italian reality show ‘L’isola dei famosi’ (The Island of the Famous) and in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ (photo).
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dancing with the stars
In 2018, she appeared with her ex-husband Rossano Rubicondi in the Italian show ‘Ballando Con Le Stelle’ (Dancing with the Stars).
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Ivana Trump on Donald’s politics
Ivana Trump always got along with her ex-husband but preferred to stay away from his political activities.
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Ivana continued to give advice to ‘El Donald’
Still, behind the screens, the shrewd businesswoman and matriarch had quite a bit of influence. She was the one who, for example, came up with the nickname ‘The Donald’. And it was Ivana who recommended he use Twitter to outwit the media, Newsweek reported.
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Ivana as US ambassador?
In fact, Donald Trump offered her the position of Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Ivana turned him down, CNN reported.
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The glamorous matriarch of the Trump family
Being an ambassador would interfere too much with her glamorous lifestyle, she said. As matriarch and ‘glam’-ma of the Trump clan, she preferred to keep a low profile, travel and party.
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Found dead at the age of 73
On July 14, 2022, Ivana Trump was found unconscious at the foot of the stairs in her New York apartment. Authorities are still investigating “whether she fell and, if so, whether the fall contributed in any way to her death,” reports The New York Times.
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Recorded by Ivana Trump
Having passed away at the age of 73, Ivana Trump will be remembered as a key figure in 1980s consumer culture, the Cold War, a keen strategist and the inventor of ‘The Donald’.
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