Melania Trump’s sister who has spent 20 years out of the limelight | World | News
As Donald Trump prepares for a return to the world stage, all eyes are on Washington DC and the President‘s family and close allies. But one in-law cuts an especially elusive figure.
Ines Knauss, the 53-year-old sister of Melania Trump, hasn’t been photographed in 20 years – not even at the funeral of their mother last January or her brother-in-law’s first inauguration in 2017.
The last photos publicly taken of her were during an event at the Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago home in February, 2005.
Despite preferring to stay out of the spotlight, Ines has been a rock for Melania and her son, 18-year-old Barron, during Trump’s meteoric political rise, insiders say.
“Melania and Ines are very close and since Melania’s mother died, Ines and their father are probably the two people Melania trusts the most,” a source told the Daily Mail.
The 53-year-old couldn’t avoid some mention in the press after she made around 30 appearances in the First Lady’s memoir, published in July.
Melania, who is just one year older at 54-years-old, described her sister as “awe-inspiring” and a “guiding light” in the eponymous book, celebrating the “close bond” the two have enjoyed since childhood.
Ale de Basseville, a French photographer who worked with Melania when she was modelling in the 1990s, said the reclusive sibling was “really polite and very mellow”.
Philanthropist Audrey Gruss also described her as “a lovely person” and “extremely creative” in an interview with the New York Post in 2017.
However, the First Lady’s former aide Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, wrote “even upon threat of death, I couldn’t remember a thing about her” after encountering Ines while planning Trump’s first inauguration.
“I’ve heard she is a homebody,” she added. “She flies so far below the radar, many people are surprised to learn that Melania has a sister at all.”
The sisters grew up in the small town of Sevnica on the banks of the Sava river in Slovenia, where their mother Amalija worked as a patternmaker for a fashion company and their father Viktor as a car parts salesman.
Despite being described as quiet and under-the-radar, Melania described Ines as “an excellent communicator” in her biography, crediting her with “a vibrant energy that drew people towards her”, allowing her to “make friends with ease”.
“Her artistic talents were evident from a young age,” the First Lady added, “as she effortlessly created beautiful works of art.”
