Ivana Trump
Ivana Trump | |
|---|---|
 Ivana Trump, October 2007. Photo by Christopher Peterson. | |
| Born | February 20, 1949 |
| Occupation(s) | Designer, Author |
| Spouse(s) | George Syrovatka (1968 - 1976) Donald J. Trump (1977 - 1992) Riccardo Mazzucchelli (1992 - 1994) |
| Children | Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump |
| Website | IvanaTrump.com |
Ivana Trump (born Ivana Marie Zelníčková IPA: [ˈɪvana ˈmarɪjɛ ˈzɛlɲi:tʃkova:] on February 20, 1949) is a former Olympic athlete and fashion model also noted for her celebrity brand and marriage to mogul Donald J. Trump.
Early years
Ivana was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, now Zlín, Czech Republic. She had been encouraged from a very young age by her father, when he noted her skiing talent.
In 1968, Ivana Zelníčková was selected as an alternate on the 1968 Czechoslovakian Olympic Ski Team which allowed her several opportunities to travel outside the Communist Bloc. Soon after, she married childhood friend George Syrovatka in order to attain a foreign passport so that Communist leaders would not deem her a defector.
In the early 1970s she earned a master's degree in physical education from Charles University of Prague. In 1975 she left Czechoslovakia for Canada to be with George, who owned a ski boutique there.
For the following two years she lived in Montreal, working as a model for some of Canada's top fur companies. In 1976 she moved to New York to promote the Montreal Olympics. That same year she also divorced Syrovatka. It was in New York that she met Donald J. Trump, son of prominent real estate developer Fred Trump.
Marriages
On April 7, 1977, she married Trump in a lavish society wedding. The Trumps became leading figures in New York high society and business during the 1980s. They set to work on several massive projects, including the construction of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
They had three children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.
Ivana Trump took a major role in the Trump Organization. She became the Vice President of Interior Design for the company, spearheading the signature design of Trump Tower. Afterwards, Donald appointed her to head up the Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino as president.
In the late 1980s, Trump decided to leave Atlantic City in order to devote more time to her family. However, Donald asked her to oversee the restoration of the landmark Plaza Hotel, and she took over as its president. She was named Hotelier of the Year in 1990. Trump's work at the Plaza would be the zenith of her work within the Trump Organization.
Towards the end of that year, rumors began to circulate that Donald was having an affair with a former beauty queen from Georgia, Marla Maples. While the family was on holiday in Aspen, Colorado that Christmastime, Ivana had a confrontation with Maples on the ski slopes which was reported in the New York Post the following day. In 1991, Ivana retained entertainment attorney Neil Papiano and filed for divorce, seeking a greater amount of the family fortune than had been set out in her prenuptial agreement. Donald fought back in court, protesting Ivana's claims that she had contributed to the Trump Organization.
The divorce battle fueled extensive pieces in the gossip columns. The situation was resolved after the sudden death of Ivana's father from a massive heart attack. The Trumps stood side by side at the funeral and their divorce was settled soon after.
Although the settlement remains sealed by the courts it is rumored that Ivana received $20 million, the $14 million family estate in Connecticut, a $5 million housing allowance, all of her jewellery and partial use of Mar-A-Lago, the family home in Palm Beach which also serves as a private club for the Palm Beach elite.
After the divorce, she married Riccardo Mazzucchelli. They divorced in less than two years.
Ivana Trump became a grandmother when Vanessa Haydon Trump, wife of Donald Jr., gave birth to a girl, Kai Madison Trump, on May 12, 2007.
Trump is currently engaged to her on/off mate, Rossano Rubicondi, who is 23 years her junior. [1].
Career
Soon after the divorce, Trump signed on with the William Morris Agency and developed lines of clothing, fashion jewelry and beauty products that have been sold through television shopping channels, all massive successes. She has also written several books including the bestselling novels For Love Alone and Free to Love as well as the bestselling self-help books The Best is Yet to Come: Coping with Divorce and Enjoying Life Again. In 2001, Trump penned an advice column for Divorce Magazine.[2] She played a cameo role in the Hollywood film The First Wives Club with the memorable line: "Remember girls, don't get mad, get everything."
Not long after her divorce from Trump, Ivana married Riccardo Mazzucchelli. The marriage did not make it to its second anniversary. Trump filed a $15 million breach of contract suit against Mazzucchelli for violating the confidentiality clause in their prenuptial agreement. The suit was settled out of court. Her companion for the last few years has been Italian model Rossano Rubicondi, who is several decades younger than she.
Ivana is presently involved in a trademark dispute with Donald regarding the use of her name for use with real estate services. Source
Ivana was the host of Oxygen's reality-dating series Ivana Young Man in 2006.
Currently, Trump resides between New York City, London, Palm Beach and St. Tropez. Her website, IvanaTrump.com, features her "Ivana Haute Couture" perfume and cosmetics lines as well as her line of cameo jewelry, designed in conjunction with Italian cameo sculpting firm M+M Scognamiglio.
References
- ^ Ivana Trump to Become a Bride – Again - Donald Trump, Ivana Trump : People.com
- ^ Zwecker, Bill, "Ivana's trump? Divorce column that shares all she's learned", Chicago Sun-Times, January 24, 2001.