Ivana Trump

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Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Ivana Marie Trump (Template:Nee;Template:Efn February 20, 1949 – July 14, 2022) was a Czech and American businesswoman, socialite, and model. She lived in Canada in the 1970s, before relocating to the United States and marrying Donald Trump in 1977. She held key managerial positions in the Trump Organization, as vice president of interior design, CEO and president of Trump's Castle casino resort, and manager of the Plaza Hotel.

Ivana and Donald Trump were prominent figures in New York society throughout the 1980s. The couple's divorce, granted in 1990, was the subject of extensive media coverage.Template:Efn Following the divorce, she developed her own lines of clothing, fashion jewelry, and beauty products which were sold on QVC UK and the Home Shopping Network. She wrote an advice column for Globe called "Ask Ivana" from 1995 through 2010, and published several books, including works of fiction, self-help, and the autobiography Raising Trump.

Early life and education

Ivana Marie ZelníčkováTemplate:Efn was born on February 20, 1949, in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (present-day Zlín, Czech Republic), the daughter of Miloš Zelníček (1927–1990) and Marie Zelníčková (née Francová, b. 1926).Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was raised in a Catholic household.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Her father was an electrical engineer and her mother worked as a telephone operator.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Her father encouraged his daughter's skiing abilities, a practice she began at age four.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref> After developing skills as a skier, Ivana joined the junior national ski team, which offered her opportunities to travel beyond the Soviet-era communist boundaries of what was then the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.<ref name=":1" /> She attended Charles University in Prague and earned a master's degree in physical education in 1972.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":4" /> In 1970 Ivana appeared on Czechoslovak Television in the children's television series Pan Tau.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An (StB) informant with the cover name Lubos reported to his superiors in 1977 how Ivana had begun work at a petrol station in Austria, where she had met her first husband in 1968. She had then emigrated to Canada, where she married Trump.<ref name="theguardian/czech-ivana-files">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1988 Ivana told journalists she had been selected as a substitute on the Czechoslovak ski team during the 1972 Winter Olympics, specializing in downhill and slalom.<ref name="mmw">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":4" /> However, Czechoslovakia only sent four female athletes to the 1972 Winter Olympics and none were alpine skiers. In 1989 Petr Pomezný, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, denied Ivana's claim and stated that, despite searching extensively, no record could be found of her involvement.<ref name=":5" /> In 2021 Snopes confirmed that Czechoslovakia had not sent female alpine skiers to the 1972 Winter Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emigration to Canada

In 1971 Ivana married Alfred Winklmayr, an Austrian ski instructor and her platonic friend, in order to obtain a passport.<ref name="Lague"/><ref name="McCauley" /><ref name="Conconi" /> The marriage granted her the freedom to leave Czechoslovakia without defection so she could retain the right to return to visit her parents.<ref name="Lague">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="McCauley">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gross">Template:Cite news</ref> As Ivana Winklmayr, she received her Austrian passport in March 1972.<ref name="Conconi">Template:Cite news</ref> In August 1973,<ref name="tampabay/1990/02/22/chorus-line">Template:Cite news</ref> she obtained an absentee divorce from Alfred Winklmayr in Los Angeles, California, where he had moved to teach skiing.<ref name="Lague"/>Template:Sfn<ref name="Conconi"/>

Ivana was romantically involved with the lyricist and playwright Template:Ill who was killed in a car accident in 1973.Template:Sfn After Štaidl's death, Ivana moved to Canada where she lived with George (Jiří) Syrovátka whom she had dated since 1967; Syrovátka had defected to Canada in 1971 and owned a ski boutique in Montreal.Template:Sfn<ref name="Lague" /><ref name="Gross" /> She claimed at the time to be married to Syrovátka, though the two never wed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ivana worked as a ski instructor while living in Canada.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> She lived in Montreal for two years where she continued to improve her English via night courses at McGill University.<ref name="Gross" /> Working as a model, Ivana told the Montreal Gazette in 1975 that she considered modelling to be a job, rather than a career.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her modelling clients included Eaton's department store and the fashion designer Auckie Sanft, along with promotional work for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.<ref name="Gross" />

Marriage to Donald Trump

Ivana and Donald Trump in receiving line of state dinner for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in 1985, with U.S. president Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan

Ivana was in New York City with a group of models in 1976 when she met Donald Trump.<ref name="Gross"/> On April 9, 1977, the couple married at Marble Collegiate Church in a wedding at which Norman Vincent Peale officiated.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="townandcountrymag/trump-family-tree">Template:Cite news</ref> They became tabloid figures in New York society during the 1980s and worked together on several large projects, including the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the renovation of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, and the construction of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref>

Ivana (on the right) and Estée Lauder at a Red Cross ball in Palm Beach in 1986
Ivana greeting First Lady Barbara Bush in 1990

During the marriage, Ivana and Donald had three children: Donald Jr. (born 1977), Ivana (Ivanka) Marie (born 1981), and Eric (born 1984). Donald Jr. learned to speak fluent Czech (with the help of his maternal grandfather), while Ivanka gained only a basic understanding of her mother's native tongue, and Eric was not exposed to the language since his grandparents were comfortable using English.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

"While still married to (redacted) and presumably still living in Austria, she became a citizen of Austria in 1972. One year after her marriage to Trump, she became a Canadian citizen. And, 5 months after that she became a permanent resident of the US."<ref name="independent/b2354794">Template:Cite news</ref>

A reviewer of the 2018 Netflix documentary miniseries on Donald, Trump: An American Dream, described Ivana as "a charismatic workaholic, a career woman, an equal", and a life partner deliberately chosen by Trump to "work beside him and challenge him".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Trumps' troubled marriage became the subject of public interest over the Christmas holidays in 1989, when they were seen fighting after Ivana encountered Donald's mistress, Marla Maples.<ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref> The Chicago Tribune reported that by February 1990, Donald had locked Ivana out of her office at the Plaza Hotel, and a legal battle ensued over the legitimacy of the four prenuptial agreements the pair had successively negotiated over the years.<ref name=":11" />

In October 1990 Ivana's 63-year-old father, Miloš Zelníček, died suddenly from a heart attack. According to The Guardian her father was an informer for Czechoslovakia's Státní bezpečnost (StB) intelligence service who relayed information from his daughter, including a correct prediction that George H. W. Bush would win the 1988 presidential election.<ref name="The Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> Despite their marital troubles and pending divorce, Donald stood at her side at her father's funeral in Zlín<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> held in November 1990.<ref name="The Guardian"/>

The Trumps' divorce proceedings received worldwide publicity.<ref name=":12" /> Front-page coverage appeared in New York tabloid newspapers for eleven days in a row, and the story was the subject of gossip columnist Liz Smith's entire news coverage for three months.<ref name="leland20170730">Template:Cite news</ref> In a deposition relating to their divorce, Ivana accused Donald of rape.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Harry Hurt's book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, she confirmed that she had "felt violated". However, in a statement provided by Donald and his lawyers, she said that she had used the word rape, but she did not "want [her] words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense".<ref name=":0"/> The uncontested divorce was granted in December 1990 on the grounds of cruel and inhumane treatment by Donald.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ivana had to sign a non-disclosure agreement as a condition of the divorce settlement, and she was required to seek Donald's permission before publicly discussing their marriage.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times reported in 1991 that Ivana's divorce settlement included $14 million, a 45-room Connecticut mansion, an apartment in the Trump Plaza, and the use of Mar-a-Lago for one month a year.<ref name=":15">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

During her marriage to Donald, Ivana took on major roles in The Trump Organization, working as a senior executive for seven years,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including executive vice president for interior design.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":7"/> She led the interior design of Trump Tower with its signature pink marble.<ref name=":8"/> Ivana was appointed CEO<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and president of the Trump Castle Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, later becoming the manager of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Donald Trump won in 2016, she turned down his offer to become the ambassador to her native Czech Republic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Business ventures

Soon after the divorce, Ivana developed lines of clothing, fashion jewelry, and beauty products which have been sold through television shopping channels, including the Home Shopping Network<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> and QVC London.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1995 she presided over The House of Ivana, a fashion and fragrance company with a showroom located on Park Avenue in New York.<ref name=":9" />

In 1998 Ivana pursued business interests in Croatia (a vacation destination her parents frequently visited), which included the purchase of 33% of the nation's second largest daily newspaper, Polo+10.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Ivana-branded Bentley Bay development in Miami, Florida, filed for bankruptcy in 2004.<ref name="brand">Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, she was involved in several proposed condominium projects, including the never-built Ivana Las Vegas.<ref name="brand" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010 Ivana sued Finnish fashion company Ivana Helsinki, accusing it of selling women's clothing that incorporated her name without permission.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Writing

Ivana wrote several books, including For Love Alone (1992), Free to Love, (1993) and a self-help book called The Best Is Yet to Come: Coping with Divorce and Enjoying Life Again (1995).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trump wrote an advice column about love and life for Globe, titled Ask Ivana, from June 1995 through January 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In February 1999 Ivana launched her own lifestyle magazine titled Ivana's Living in Style.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She contributed an advice column for Divorce Magazine in 2001.<ref>Zwecker, Bill, "Ivana's trump? Divorce column that shares all she's learned", Chicago Sun-Times, January 24, 2001</ref>

Ivana released an autobiography, Raising Trump, in 2017. It covered her own upbringing and the early years of raising her children with Donald.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Media appearances

Ivana at the Life Ball 2009 in Vienna

Ivana and Donald made several appearances together on television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show in April 1988,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> followed by the BBC's Wogan in May 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After her divorce from Donald, Ivana was interviewed by Barbara Walters for ABC's 20/20. In 1991 Donald cut off her alimony payments after the interview and announced his intention to sue Ivana for monetary damages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She returned to The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1992 with the message, "I will not let men dominate me anymore."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ivana had a cameo role in the Hollywood film The First Wives Club (1996) with the line, "Ladies, you have to be strong and independent. And remember: don't get mad, get everything."<ref name="Cettl">Template:Cite book</ref> She was the host of a reality TV special titled Ivana Young Man, which aired on Oxygen Network in 2006. In the reality dating program she helped a wealthy, middle-aged woman find a younger partner.<ref name=":2" /> In 2010 Ivana appeared in the UK television series [[Celebrity Big Brother (British series 7)|Celebrity Big BrotherTemplate:Spaces7]]; she placed 7th.<ref name=":2" />

Personal life

Ivana was married four times. Her first marriage, to Alfred Winklmayr, was for the goal of securing Austrian nationality.<ref name=":1"/>

Ivana was married to Donald Trump from 1977 to 1990, and they had three children, Donald Jr. in 1977, Ivanka in 1981, and Eric in 1984.<ref name="The Washington Post"/> She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn

Ivana married Italian entrepreneur and international businessman Riccardo Mazzucchelli in November 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":16" /> They divorced in 1997.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref> That same year she filed a $15 million breach of contract suit against Mazzucchelli for violating the confidentiality clause in their prenuptial agreement,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Mazzucchelli sued Ivana and her ex-husband Donald in a British court for libel.<ref name=":16">Template:Cite news</ref> The suit was later settled on undisclosed terms.<ref name=":14" />

In the summer of 1997 Ivana began dating Italian aristocrat Count Roffredo Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona Lovatelli.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their relationship continued until his death in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ivana dated Italian actor and model Rossano Rubicondi for six years before they married on April 12, 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":6" /> The marriage to Rubicondi, 36, was the fourth for Ivana, who was 23 years his senior at the age of 59.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> The couple's $3 million wedding for 400 guests was hosted by ex-husband Donald at Mar-a-Lago with daughter Ivanka as her maid of honor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The wedding was officiated by Ivana's ex-sister-in-law Judge Maryanne Trump Barry.<ref name=":6" /> Although Ivana and Rubicondi divorced less than a year later, their on-again, off-again relationship continued until 2019, when Ivana announced they had once again "called it quits".<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rubicondi died on October 29, 2021, at the age of 49, reportedly from melanoma.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ivana had ten grandchildren.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the late 2010s she reportedly split her time between New York City, Miami, and Saint-Tropez.<ref name=":2" /> She stated she was fluent in Czech, English, German, French, and Russian.<ref name=":8" />

Security Inquiries

FBI Inquiry

On February 14, 1989, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington, D.C., recommended a preliminary inquiry into Trump's connections to Czechoslovakia based on information from a confidential source. The inquiry was initiated by the FBI New York Field Office the following week, and is reported to have spanned at least two years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2023 it was revealed that Ivana had been investigated by the FBI's counterintelligence division into allegations connected to her native Czechoslovakia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Czechoslovakian secret police

The StB spied on Ivana, in the 1970s and 1980s when she visited her father, Miloš Zelníček.<ref name="theguardian/czech-ivana-files" /><ref name="theguardian/C-S--spy-Trump-1980s">Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

On July 14, 2022, Ivana died at age 73 of blunt impact injuries to the torso after falling down steep spiraling stairs<ref name="vanityfair/ivana-death">Template:Cite news</ref> at her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her ex-husband, Donald Trump, and their three children, alongside a number of politicians and celebrities, posted condolences on social media.<ref name="People tributes">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="The Washington Post">Template:Cite news</ref> Her funeral was held on July 20 at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, a Catholic church near her home.<ref name="funeral">Template:Cite news</ref> Ivana is buried at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ivana left behind an estate worth $34 million.<ref name=":3" /> The majority of her assets were willed equally to Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Other beneficiaries include personal friend Evelyne Galet and the family's former nanny, Dorothy Curry.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Films and television

Written works

Title Year Publisher ISBN / ASIN
For Love Alone 1992 Pocket Books Template:ISBN
Free to Love 1993 Atria Template:ISBN
The Best Is Yet to Come: Coping with Divorce and Enjoying Life Again 1995 Pocket Books Template:ISBN
Raising Trump: Family Values from America's First Mother 2017 Gallery Books Template:ISBN

Awards and honors

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Citations

Template:Reflist

Cited sources

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