Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump, dies at 73
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| From 1977 through 1992, Ivana Trump was married to former President Donald Trump. |
Key points:
The New York Fire Department responded to a report of cardiac arrest and discovered a 73-year-old lady dead in her Upper East Side apartment.
In 1977, she married the future president, whom she divorced in 1992.
Her family remembers her as a "survivor" who "fled from communism."
Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump and mother of his three eldest children, died in New York City on Thursday, local time, at the age of 73. She assisted her husband in the construction of some of his hallmark projects, including Trump Tower.
"I am deeply saddened to notify all of those who loved her, of whom there are many, that Ivana Trump died at her home in New York City," Trump said on Truth Social.
The pair tied the knot in 1977 and divorced in 1992.
They shared three children.
The Trump family has not disclosed the reason for her death, but the New York Post claimed on Thursday, local time, that she experienced cardiac arrest in her Manhattan apartment and was dead by the time paramedics arrived, citing anonymous police sources.
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| Ivana and Donald Trump divorced in 1992 after having three children together. |
The New York Fire Department said it couldn't identify names but did say in a statement that paramedics responded to a complaint of cardiac arrest and found a 73-year-old lady dead at Ivana Trump's Upper East Side apartment on Thursday.
Mr. Trump wrote in his post: "She was a fantastic, beautiful, and incredible woman who lived a wonderful and inspiring life. Her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, were her pride and delight. She was ecstatic for them, as we were for her. Ivana, may you rest in peace!"
"It's been a really terrible day," Eric Trump remarked as he walked out of his mother's home near Central Park.
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| On Thursday, Eric Trump exits his mother's Upper East Side residence. |
In a statement, he and his brothers described her as "a remarkable lady — a business powerhouse, a world-class athlete, a dazzling beauty, a devoted mother and friend, and a survivor."
"She welcomed this nation after fleeing communism," the three stated in a statement.
"She instilled in her children courage and resilience, compassion and drive."
"Ivana Trump was a fighter."
"Her mother, three children, and ten grandkids will miss her terribly."
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| Ivana Trump with her two children, Ivanka, left, and Eric, whom she described as her "pride and pleasure." |
The Czech-born ski racer and model rose to prominence after marrying Mr. Trump, but she quickly established herself as an icon in her own right, oozing with 1980s flair and elegance, replete with accent and her iconic beehive hairstyle.
She would later participate in the 1996 smash film The First Wives Club, with Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton, and deliver the now-famous line: "Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember — don't get furious, grab everything."
Partners in love and business, Ivana played a key role in Trump's media success.
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| In the 1980s, the Trumps were a prominent couple in New York. |
Donald and Ivana were one of New York City's most recognized power couples in the 1980s.
And Ivana was instrumental in enhancing Trump's media image.
While Mr. Trump took credit for his early success in the very competitive Manhattan real estate market, Ivana collaborated with her husband on the development of Trump Tower, his trademark structure on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
According to the New York Times, she also ran the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
According to Donald Trump biographer Wayne Barrett, Ivana overruled the architects to have a 60-foot waterfall put in Trump Tower's atrium, and she traveled to an Italian quarry to select the rosy-beige Breccia Pernice marble that famously covers its floors and walls.
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| Ivana Trump strongly supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. |
Barbara Res, a former Trump Organization official in charge of the skyscraper's development, remembers Ivana assisting the decorator and taking a keen interest in details such as the uniforms of the doormen.
"She did everything to impress Donald, to gain his approval," Res said.
"She was always moving back and forth and leaving her children."
"She had an incredible work ethic."
Before their equally prominent, acrimonious divorce when Donald Trump met his next wife, Marla Maples, the two were staples of New York's see-and-be-seen scene.
In her autobiography, Ivana Trump writes, "I couldn't turn on the television without hearing my name."
Ivana Trump accused him of rape in a sworn declaration in the early 1990s during the divorce.
She then clarified that she didn't mean it literally, but that she felt violated.
Nonetheless, she stayed close with her ex-husband, whom she dubbed "The Donald."
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| During the 1972 Winter Olympics, Ivana Trump was chosen as an alternate for the Czechoslovak ski team. |
She avidly supported his 2016 presidential campaign, telling the New York Post that she was both a supporter and an adviser.
"I have a few ideas," she told the tabloid.
"We talk before and after the shows, and he asks me what I think."
She instructed him to "be more calm."
"However, Donald cannot remain calm," she continued. "He's an outspoken individual. He simply states the facts."
She told Good Morning America in 2017 that she spoke with the then-president about every two weeks and had his direct White House number, but she didn't want to call too frequently "because Melania is there and I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I'm basically the first Trump wife, OK?" she laughed.
"I'm the first lady, OK?"
At the time, Melania Trump's spokesman reacted, saying there was "obviously no substance to this remark from an ex, regrettably this is merely attention-seeking and self-serving drivel."
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| In 1988, Donald and Ivana Trump appeared outside the Federal Courthouse in New York as she was sworn in as a US citizen. |
She was born Ivana Zelnková in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov, which had recently been renamed by the Communists who had taken over the nation in 1948.
Ivana had four marriages, the most recent to Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi.
