Donald Trump has been leading the headlines ever since he decided to run to be the 45th President of the United States.

But his wife Melania is every bit as eye-catching as the billionaire's surge to claim the Republican nomination and then the White House.

The Yugoslav-born model today became the first First Lady to be born abroad since John Quincy Adams' wife Louisa, First Lady from 1825 to 1829.

But she appeared to follow current First Lady Michelle Obama a little too literally at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, when Melania was accused of plagiarising parts of Mrs Obama's 2008 convention speech.

How old is Melania Trump?

Melania Trump is 46, while her husband has already hit 70 (
Image:
Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters)

Born on April 26, 1970, Melania is 46 - meaning there is a 24 year age gap to her 70-year-old husband. She was raised by her Communist party member father Viktor Knavs, who managed car dealerships for a state-owned vehicle manufacturer, and her mother Amalija Ulnik, a pattern maker at a textile factory.

Where is she from?

Slovenia used to be part of Yugoslavia (
Image:
GoogleMaps)

She was born in Sevnica, which is now in Slovenia but was then part of Yugoslavia. Her name was originally Melanija Knavs but she found fame as a model under the name Melania Knauss.

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What did she do in her modelling career?

Melania Trump in 1987 (
Image:
Stane Jerko/Reuters)

She began modelling at 16. Photographer Stane Jerko spotted her as a 17-year-old in Ljubljana as he left a fashion show, and invited her for a trial photoshoot. Her shoot with acclaimed Jerko catapulted her into the spotlight, leading to a contract with Italian model agency ID in Milan aged 18, and went on to work in Paris too.

She graced the world’s catwalks and magazines, appeared naked on the front of British GQ magazine, in a shoot on Trump's customised Boeing 727 featuring Melania wearing handcuffs, wielding diamonds, and holding a chrome pistol.

She also appeared in the 2000 swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated.

She has said: “My mom was in the fashion business. I was five years old when I did my first catwalk and did commercials at 16. I went professional after my studies. My mum loved fashion. We loved to travel and go to Italy and Paris.”

Melania now runs a jewellery business, selling her products on shopping channel QVC. She has joked that after looking after her son and running her business, her husband is her third job.

And in April she said she would stick to a natural look and grow old gracefully.

She told GQ: “A lot of people say I am using all the procedures for my face. I didn’t do anything. I live a healthy life, I take care of my skin and my body. I’m against Botox, I’m against injections; I think it’s damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It’s all me. I will age gracefully, as my mom does.”

How did she end up in America?

Melania Trump could now end up as First Lady if husband Donald becomes President (
Image:
Mike Segar/Reuters)

She continued to educate herself as she worked across Europe, becoming fluent in English, French and Serbo-Croat. She then went to New York in 1996 when ID Models founder Paolo Zampolli got her a contract and a visa. She reportedly arrived in the US on an H-1B visa which, through a quirk in immigration law, admits models as highly skilled workers alongside scientists and computer programmers.

Trump is a fierce critic of the scheme and has vowed to rail against the “rampant, widespread H-1B abuse”.

He said in March: “These are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.”

She obtained her green card in 2001 before becoming a citizen five years later.

How did she meet Donald Trump?

Donald Trump and Melania seem to enjoy their date at the Star Wars: Phantom Menace premiere in 1999 (
Image:
Jeff Christensen/Reuters)

Melania was 28 when she met Trump in 1998 at a party thrown by Zampolli at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan.

Trump was there with Norwegian cosmetics heiress Celina Midelfart but made a beeline for Melania and asked for her number. But, because he had a date, she refused to give it to him - and instead asked the billionaire for his.

She said later: "If I give him my number, I’m just one of the women he calls.

"I wanted to see what his intention is.

“It tells you a lot from the man what kind of number he gives you. He gave me all of his numbers.”

She played it cool, waiting a week before calling and they began seeing each other, only to break up for a few months when Trump toyed with the idea of running for US President in 2000 as a member of the Reform Party. In 2000 Melania also gave a rare joint ­interview with Donald to Howard Stern, telling the shock jock: “We have incredible sex at least once a day.” Trump then boasted about how hot Melania looked in “a very small thong”.

What was their wedding like?

Melania posed in her wedding dress for the cover of Vogue magazine (
Image:
Mario Testino/American Vogue/Reuters)

Married twice before, Trump proposed at the glitzy Costume Institute Gala in New York and they married January 2005 at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.

Given the engagement ring was a $2million Graff diamond number dubbed 'Lord of the Rings', it's no surprise the big day itself was also an extravagant affair.

The bride wore a £140,000 dress made by British designer John Galliano, then partied the night away at her new husband’s palatial Mar-a-Lago estate in a second gown by Vera Wang.

The reception was attended by presidential rival Hillary Clinton and her former President husband Bill.

Donald Trump and his bride Melania's A-list guests included Hillary and Bill Clinton (
Image:
Maring Photography/Getty Images)

Other A-list guests included model Heidi Klum, rapper P Diddy and Simon Cowell – all ­serenaded by Billy Joel singing Just the Way You Are.

She told Larry King during a 2005 interview: “To marry a man like Donald, you need to know who you are. You need to be very strong and smart.”

Do they have children?

Baby Barron makes an early visit to the US Open in 2006 with his mum and dad (
Image:
Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Melania gave birth to the couple's only child, Barron William Trump in 2006.

As an infant, Barron reportedly had his own floor of the Trumps’ apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan, but often slept in a cot in his parents’ bedroom. He is said to like wearing a suit and tie, and Melania’s nickname for him is “Mini-Donald”.

He is fluent in Slovenian - Melania's parents moved to America and live near the family in Trump Tower.

Donald and Melania Trump pose proudly with their son Barron at a golf event in January 2015 (
Image:
Getty)

Melania is also stepmother to Donald Jr, 38, Ivanka, 35, Eric, 32, from Trump's first marriage to Ivana, and Tiffany, 22, from his marriage to Marla Maples.

What is Melania like?

Betty Ford and Jackie Kennedy probably wouldn't have posed in a bikini on a mock-up of an Oval Office motif, as Melania did in 2000

In 2000 when Trump considered a run for office, Melania was asked what kind of role she would play if he ever became commander-in-chief.

“I would be very traditional like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy,” she replied.

US political commentator Stephen Fisher told the Mirror: “Melania would make an exceptional First Lady.

“They say never to judge a book - or perhaps in her case, a magazine - by its cover, and nothing could be more true about her.

“She is refined, highly educated, carries herself with incredible dignity, and her beauty is not just skin deep. Unlike her husband, she is a model New Yorker... quite liberal.”

What happened with her Republican convention speech?

Melania Trump praised her husband at the Republican National Convention - but some words sounded strangely familiar (
Image:
Rex)

Speaking at the first day of the Republican Convention which marked a new phase in her husband's campaign to be President, Melania painted Trump as a talented, compassionate and unrelenting leader who would unify rather than divide the country if elected as president.

But following her moment in the spotlight, social media commenters were quick to note the striking similarities between her words and those of Michelle Obama's from the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The two speeches, ironically on the importance of hard work, use the same phrasing "work hard for what you want in life," "your word is your bond" and "we want our children in this nation...to know the limits of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

When asked about the speech during an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Melania Trump said, " I wrote it...with as little help as possible."

Is she on Twitter?

Yes, and Facebook and Instagram - but she is leaving Snapchat to other members of the Trump clan for the moment.

Follow her journey to the White House at @MELANIATRUMP (yes, it is all capital letters) on Twitter, although she is far from a prolific tweeter, and @MelaniaTrump on Facebook, where the posts are also somewhat sporadic. Her Instagram account is the newest and started in February - graduating from @realmelaniatrump to @firstladymelaniatrump on 9 November.

What is her wardrobe like?

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Melania chose a a £3,200 white Grecian-style one-shoulder jumpsuit by Ralph Lauren as she stood alongside her newly elected husband.

Her campaign outfits were an exercise in modesty. Playing the dutiful wife was a role she embraced whole-heartedly and she dressed down accordingly as expensive furs, thigh split dresses and revealing outfits were put to the back of the wardrobe.

What will she be like as First Lady?

Melania will stay in New York with son Barron while Donald settles into the White House

Donald Trump has confirmed Melania will initially be staying at home in New York with their son Barron while he finishes school. The 10-year-old is a fourth grader at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and the family want to keep disruption to a minimum.

It is unclear whether finishing school means the end of this school year or completing school all together.

Usually the First Lady takes up residence in the official apartment at the White House after the inauguration and has offices in the East Wing, while the President's staff occupy the West Wing.

In November, Melania said she hoped to use her prominent position to tackle cyberbullying in a speech during the closing stages of the campaign - viewed as ironic given the tone of her husband's Twitter presence.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are set for prominent roles in the Trump regime (
Image:
REUTERS)

But while Melania remains in New York, it is likely Trump's daughter Ivanka, 35, will take on some of the duties of the First Lady.

She has already stepped down as head of her fashion line, left the Trump Organization and sold her shares in preparation for following her dad to Washington.