Amalija Knavs, mother of former First Lady Melania Trump, dies at 78
Former First Lady Melania Trump announced on Wednesday morning that her mother, Amalija Knavs, who had been “very ill,” has passed away. She was 78.
Former First Lady Melania Trump “with deep sadness” announced on Wednesday morning that her “beloved mother” Amalija Knavs had passed away. She died at 78 years old in Florida.
No cause was given but former President Donald Trump had said at a New Year’s Eve party that his mother-in-law was “very ill.” This explained his wife’s absence from the event as she was with her mother at a Miami hospital.
Amalija Knavs, mother of former First Lady Melania Trump, dies at 78
“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother, Amalija,” Mrs Trump wrote in a statement posted on X.
“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity. She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law. We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.”
Born Amalija Ulcnik in Judendorf-Strassengel, Austria on July 9, 1945 to parents of humble backgrounds. Her mother was a homemaker and seamstress while her father was a cobbler who later became a red-onion farmer. She and her family moved to what is now Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia.
She worked on her family’s onion farm in her youth and later as a patternmaker at a state-owned children’s clothing factory starting in 1964 until 1997. In 1966, she met her husband Viktor Knavs who worked as a chauffeur before becoming a car and motorcycle salesman and later a dealership manager.
The couple had two children together, Melania and Ines. Amalija and Viktor became naturalized US citizens in 2018 after living in the US on green cards sponsored by Mrs Trump. She herself became a naturalized US citizen in 2006 allowing for them to use the process of family-based immigration to enter the country.
The naturalization of Mr and Mrs Knavs didn’t come without some controversy as then-President Trump was denouncing the same process his in-laws used calling it derisively “chain migration” where “some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil.”