While President Donald Trump’s older children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, were regularly seen stumping for their old man throughout the election campaign, his only child with second wife Marla Maples largely shunned the spotlight.
Tiffany Trump addressed the Republican national convention in July, when her father became the party’s official nominee, and was by his side as he delivered his victory speech at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Nevertheless, the younger Trump daughter is still something of a mystery to the US and the world. Here are some lesser-known facts about the elusive Tiffany.
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Tiffany’s mother, Marla Maples, was married to Donald Trump from 1993 to 1997. She started her career as an actress with small roles in films including Maximum Overdrive, the only movie directed by horror author Stephen King, and the Steven Seagal vehicle Executive Decision. A more credible appearance was in US auteur Todd Solondz's 1998 film Happiness.
Maples’s connection to Trump led her to present Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants in the 1990s and she has also appeared as a celebrity guest on TV wrestling. In addition, she has her own radio show, been a co-host on The View – the US version of ITV's Loose Women – and will be a contestant in the next series of Dancing With the Stars.
Earlier this year, Maples told People magazine she had effectively raised Tiffany as a single mother. The 52-year-old said: “Her daddy is a good provider with education and such, but as far as time, it was just me. Her father wasn’t able to be there with day-to-day skills as a parent. He loves his kids. There’s no doubt. But everything was a bit of a negotiation.”
She’s pursuing a legal career
After completing her undergraduate degree in sociology and urban studies at the University of Pennsylvania, in 2017 Tiffany enrolled at Georgetown University’s prestigious Law Center in Washington D.C. to study for a doctorate in law.
Earlier this year, her mother told the New York Post that, despite the pressures and temptations of being one of the so-called “rich kids of Instagram”, Tiffany was taking her studies seriously. “She’s working so hard. I’m like, ‘Honey, do we have time to eat?’ And she’s like, ‘No, mom, I have to study.’” Maples said. “That’s how it is now, but I’m very, very proud of her.”
She toyed with a music career
Tiffany released a catchy pop song called Like a Bird when she was 17, but the reviews weren’t kind. “It’s extremely Auto-Tuned, so it’s hard to tell what Trump’s voice actually sounds like, but the bleary melody and synth effects will probably get stuck in your head for at least the next few hours,” said Vanity Fair.
There was a suggestion that Tiffany might soon be part of the family business in October 2017, when she attended the grand opening of Trump International Hotel Vancouver with half-brothers Eric and Donald Jr, CNN reports.
“Tiffany, soon to be within the organisation, but always great to have you with us,” Donald Jr said.
Tiffany also joined her brothers for a red ribbon cutting ceremony.
A Trump Organization spokesperson later clarified that there were “no immediate plans for Tiffany to join the company”, but did not rule out the possibility that she might do so after she finishes university.
“The Trump Organisation is proud to be a family business with an incredibly strong bond. While there are no immediate plans for Tiffany to join the company as she is currently applying to law school, the family looks forward to her potentially joining the business in the future if she chooses,” they said.
She has a 'fairy fashion godfather'
Throughout her father’s presidential campaign, Tiffany had to do most of her own styling. According to CNN, "she had no wardrobe budget, no style team, no glam squad. And the 23-year-old was in the thick of law school applications."
Then Phillip Bloch arrived.
Bloch, an old friend of Tiffany’s mother, used to be creative style director for the Miss Universe pageant. Maples asked him to lend a hand in styling her daughter for the inaugural weekend.
“My goal is to make her a style star,” he told CNN. “This is not about politics. This is a girl who loves her dad and my job is making dreams come true. I create princesses and fashion stars and that is my goal.”
Bloch also said he was styling Maples for the ceremony.
“The point is to look beautiful,” he said. “She wanted something light and positive.”
Unlike other fashion industry figures who have said they will not associate themselves with the Trump regime, Bloch said he was proud to help the president-elect and his daughter.
“He’s my president and I am honoured to serve one of the first daughters of our country,” he said.
She’s a social media star
With more than one million followers on Instagram, President Trump’s youngest daughter has a large and growing fan base. “And really, in today’s day and age, a well-curated Instagram account seems to often be worth more than any number of cable news interviews,” says Bustle.
So popular are Tiffany and her rich and famous friends, who document every detail of their extravagant lives on social media, the New York Times has given them a nickname. “Las Vegas in the 1950s and ’60s had the Rat Pack. In Los Angeles in the ’80s there was the Brat Pack,” the newspaper says. “Now, New York has become home base to a young, wealthy and itinerant group that one may think of as the Snap Pack.”
She often goes to her sister for advice
Tiffany gets advice from her sister Ivanka on all things, according to Vanity Fair.
According to the magazine, “Tiffany looks up to her sister.”
“Ivanka has such a brand and a personality and consistency in her Instagram,” a friend told Vanity Fair’s Sarah Allison.
Tiffany “is jumping into this whole process with both feet. She hasn’t polished it yet," the friend added.
Ivanka offers her younger sister “politics advice, boy advice, and sisterly advice", as well as guidance on the likes of “this is the colour that looks best on camera” or “make sure when you sit down you cross your legs” when wearing a dress. Basically, “all the things she picked up from being famous”.
Tiffany’s first appearance in Ivanka’s book The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life sees her asking for advice on the delicate matter of how to get access to her father’s credit card.
It had been an embarrassing request for the younger Trump daughter to make, Ivanka said, and Tiffany asked “not because she was spoiled”, but because she wanted to fit in with her peers at school, all of whom had access to their parents’ credit cards.
Seeing her sister hesitate on the question made Ivanka proud, continued the businesswoman, because it demonstrated how their father had instilled important values in “all of his children”.
Her father is 'less proud' of her than his other kids
In an interview with Fox and Friends, Trump said he was proud of all his children, but his youngest daughter "to a lesser extent”.
“I’m very proud of my children,” he said. “I mean, I’m just looking at them right now, as an example for your show. But I’m very proud, because Don and Eric and Ivanka and – you know, to a lesser extent because she just got out of school, out of college – but, uh, Tiffany, who has also been so terrific. They work so hard.”
According to the Daily Mail, it appears Tiffany “might need to put in a little more legwork if she wants to win her father’s affections”.
But she doesn’t think her dad is sexist
Donald Trump faced endless backlash throughout the presidential campaign for his blatantly sexist and misogynistic comments about women, which included comments about their appearance, asking how Clinton could “satisfy America” if she “can’t even satisfy her husband” and a “joke” about Ivanka’s attractiveness and how he would date her if she was not his daughter.
“He evaluates female worth in relationship to male worth and appears to view women as either baby-makers or sex toys,” says Quartz.
Tiffany, however, disagrees. “He wants us to do the best and he has the utmost faith that we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to just as well as men, if not better,” she said in 2017
She often goes to her sister for advice
Tiffany gets advice from her sister Ivanka on all things, according to Vanity Fair.
According to the magazine, "Tiffany looks up to her sister."
"Ivanka has such a brand and a personality and consistency in her Instagram," a friend told Vanity Fair’s Sarah Allison.
Tiffany "is jumping into this whole process with both feet. She hasn’t polished it yet," the friend added.
Ivanka offers her younger sister "politics advice, boy advice, and sisterly advice", as well as guidance on the likes of "this is the colour that looks best on camera" or "make sure when you sit down you cross your legs" when wearing a dress. Basically, "all the things she picked up from being famous."
Tiffany’s first appearance in Ivanka’s book The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life sees her asking for advice on the delicate matter of how to get access to her father’s credit card.
It had been an embarrassing request for the younger Trump daughter to make, Ivanka said, and Tiffany asked "not because she was spoiled", but because she wanted to fit in with her peers at school, all of whom had access to their parents’ credit cards.
Seeing her sister hesitate on the question made Ivanka proud, continued the businesswoman, because it demonstrated how their father had instilled important values in "all of his children."
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