America's next First Lady Melania Trump - in pictures

Image 1 of 10

As Obama delivered a tearful farewell address following the most remarkable election in US political history, the world is beginning to prepare for Donald Trump's presidency.

But it won't be just him making the big move into the White House, he will be accompanied by wife Melania, so what can we expect from the soon-to-be first lady?

Melania Trump – nee Melanija Knavs – was born in the town of Novo Mesto in Yugoslavia (now modern-day Slovenia), making her the second foreign-born first lady after London-born Louisa Adams, John Quincy Adams's wife.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Despite being second in that list, she takes first place on a number of others: she will be the first non-native English speaker, the first third wife of a president and the first to be fluent in five languages.

Another unusual first is that she will become the only first lady to have posed nude. Three years before she met her husband, Melania was photographed naked by Ale de Basseville for a French men's monthly magazine. The "bombshell" photo set was uncovered during the presidential campaign by the New York Post, but didn't seem to have any effect on the outcome of the election.

As for her character, Jean Wahl Harris, who studies the role of the first lady at the University of Scranton, tells USA Today Melania is probably going to take on a role similar to that of Jackie Kennedy, rather than Michelle Obama. "In terms of the evolution of the first lady, I see her moving us back to the more traditional role," says Wahl Harris. "She's not going to want to be in the public eye. Jackie Kennedy wanted to protect her children and herself."

However, Melania may face an uphill struggle, with polling website Gallup suggesting in July that her favourability rating "makes her among the least well-known and least well-liked" of all potential first ladies it has measured over the years.

Later in July, she made a rare foray into the spotlight to campaign for her husband's presidential bid, but faced a backlash when her speech at the Republican National Convention was later revealed to have been mostly copied from a similar address given by Michelle Obama.

The Sydney Morning Herald says "subsequent interviewers failed to press her on the gaffe" before she returned to the campaign trail to announce that "ending online abuse" would be her first assignment as first lady.

"I see now in 21st century, the social media, it's very damaging for the children," she said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "We need to guide them and teach them about social media because I see a lot of negativity on it and we need to help them."

Some noted the irony of Melania's commitment to protecting children from abuse on social media, given her husband's track record of attacking his political enemies online.

Again, she faced criticism from high-profile celebrities, including singer Lady Gaga.

When Cooper asked whether there was anything she would like to change about her husband, Melania replied: "His tweeting."

But after being married to the businessman for more than a decade, she "knows what to expect from her spouse," the Daily Telegraph says.

Asked about her husband's controversial statements about women that were released midway through the campaign and temporarily threatened to derail his presidential bid, she said: "People talk about me like, 'Oh, Melania, oh poor Melania.' People don't really know me. I'm very strong. I can handle everything. Don't feel sorry for me."

Melania has hinted she is unlikely to be as politically active as Michelle Obama was during her time as first lady, telling GQ Magazine: "I chose not to go into politics and policy... Those policies are my husband's job."

Despite her desire to take a back-seat role, Melania has already come under fire for announcing she intends to stay in New York next year rather than move with her husband to the White House in Washington DC. More than 100,000 New Yorkers have signed a petition demanding the former model leave the city, given keeping her secure there will reportedly cost city taxpayers $1m (£870,000) per day.

Before her husband is inaugurated, Melania may be able to profit from the guidance of the current First Lady, whom she met when she visited the White House last month. Obama has enjoyed massive popularity throughout her husband's presidency and is now tipped by some to be a prospective presidential candidate in her own right.