Melania Trump's Hair Transformation Is Truly Stunning

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Melania Trump is one of America’s most stylish first ladies — outside of trashy outfits Melania would never wear today — following in the footsteps of some fashionable predecessors, like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Nancy Reagan. Vogue has called her wardrobe “conservative, yet opulent,” and her modeling past has certainly shaped her fashion, hair, and makeup choices. Trump’s long-time personal hairstylist, Mordechai Alvow, first worked with her nearly two decades ago on a Vogue Japan photo shoot. In 2016, he reminisced about their introduction to the Los Angeles Times, sharing, “When we first met, I was stunned at her natural beauty, with no makeup and her hair in a towel.”

The hairstylist also touched on the usual plan for her stunning hairstyles over the years, explaining, “Her fashion has been looking demure and chic, which is what we will work off of. The length, smoothing the style or a modern shape, but, of course, [will be] still feminine, textured and elegant, which is how she likes it. She never wants to look overdone.” In honor of the first lady’s typically perfectly coifed hairdo, we’re taking a look back at her amazing hair transformation.

Though Melania Trump has rocked dark and light tresses, the beauty was born a brunette. Her humble beginnings began in Slovenia, where she was born Melanija Knavs. Her father, Viktor Knavs, worked as a chauffeur and car salesman, while her late mother, Amalija Knavs, was a patternmaker — and their careers both had a hand in inspiring her future plans. Trump explained how her parents were an inspiration for her future during the Republican National Convention in July 2016, sharing in her speech (via People), “My elegant and hard-working mother Amalija introduced me to fashion and beauty. My father Viktor instilled in me a passion for business and travel.”

Amalija’s career ended up truly paving the way for her daughter’s, as she was responsible for putting Trump on her first runway. In Betty Boyd Caroli’s book, “First Ladies: The Ever Changing Role, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump,” it explains, “When [her textile company] enlisted young girls as informal models for their latest children’s fashions, Amalija arranged for Melanija to walk the runway.”

As a teen, Melania Trump — then-known as Melania Knavs — scored 2nd place in a Slovenian modeling contest. That win gave her the confidence to really try her hand at modeling, which meant she needed to leave her native country. One of Trump’s former classmates, Petra Sedej, told GQ, “She was sure that there was nothing for her in Slovenia. She wanted to leave.”

The beauty signed with a modeling agency at age 18 and moved to Milan. From there, her career really took off, and she started traveling the world as a model. She’s seen here modeling in Paris in her 20s, showing off a brand new hairstyle that featured blunt bangs. Melania’s throwback look is completely different from the lighter locks we know today, but this was a trendy cut at the time, sported by many of the era’s top supermodels.

Melania Trump’s modeling career brought her to the United States in 1996. The future first lady talked about the big move in her autobiography, “Melania,” writing, “I packed up my apartment in Paris, met with my agent in Milan, and said goodbye to my family in Slovenia. The distance between America and Europe felt immense and my family and I found these goodbyes particularly difficult … I carried their love with me as I stepped into the unknown.”

Once in America, Melania opted for a major hair makeover in the late ’90s, ditching the bangs for a dark, straight hairstyle. It apparently helped her get noticed — in 1998, she would meet her future husband, Donald Trump, at a party at the Kit Kat Club in New York City. Melania opened up about the encounter to Harper’s Bazaar in 2016, sharing that she refused to give him her number that night. “I said, ‘I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.’ I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me,” she explained. According to the model, Donald gave her all of them, ones for “the office, Mar-a-Lago, home in New York, everything.”

Before dating Donald Trump, Melania Trump wasn’t really aware of the mogul. She told GQ in 2016, “I had my life, I had my world. I didn’t follow Donald Trump and what kind of life he had.” Upon meeting Donald and refusing to give him her number, Melania believes it may have been why she stood out to him. “I’m not starstruck. We had a great connection, we had great chemistry, but I was not starstruck. And maybe he noticed that,” she told the outlet.

The beauty, seen here in 1999 rocking much longer and lighter tresses, dated Donald until 2000, when they briefly split after she reportedly spotted one of his ex-girlfriends leaving his apartment. Author Ronald Kessler spoke about the break up in his book, “The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game,” where he claims Melania said, “‘Screw that, I don’t care about all his billions of dollars, I am breaking up.'” According to Kessler, Donald’s former butler at Mar-a-Lago, Tony Senecal, told him Donald won her back a week later.

In January 2005, Melania Trump and Donald Trump wed in a star-studded ceremony at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The model and future first lady rocked an updo and a side-swept long bang hairstyle at the big event, which was attended by notable names like Hillary Clinton, Billy Joel, Barbara Walters, Kelly Ripa, and Heidi Klum. Elton John was even there to serenade the couple. Her Dior wedding gown was designed by John Galliano and reportedly cost $187,000 and took 1,000 hours to create. Her beautiful look ended up landing the beauty her first (and only) cover of Vogue.

Wedding planner Preston Bailey reminisced to the outlet about the wedding and how hands-on Melania was throughout the process. “She was a great hostess — I have to hand it to her. She was so involved with every detail, and she was making sure that everyone was comfortable. She studied the evening very carefully to make sure there were no boring moments,” Bailey shared with Women’s Wear Daily.

Melania is seen here sporting lighter layered tresses just a few weeks after her glamorous nuptials, this time at yet another star-studded event. She attended their wedding singer Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar Party that February with new husband, Donald.

In September 2005, Melania Trump shared some very exciting news — she was pregnant. The model and husband Donald Trump revealed they were expecting their first child together the following spring, making the announcement on “The Martha Stewart Show” (via WFMY News 2). Host Stewart, who famously has since feuded with Donald, asked Melania how the future president reacted to the news. She revealed that he told her, “‘Oh, yes! That’s great!'” and that the couple had decided to wait until the baby would be born to find out the gender.

During the pregnancy, Melania cut a few inches off her long locks and appeared to go a little darker. She told Stewart while calling in that she was excited to start “preparing everything.” The pair welcomed son Barron Trump about six months later on March 20, 2006. Donald told People magazine at the time, “Everyone’s perfect. She’s really happy and it’s really great.” The baby boy was Melania’s first child, and Donald’s fifth.

In 2010, Melania Trump decided to start her own business venture. The former model launched a jewelry line with QVC in April 2010 called Melania Timepieces and Jewelry. She’s seen here at an appearance at SiriusXM to promote the line, sporting lighter tresses with her new signature middle part.

She told ET of the collection, “It’s great when you see a sketch that I sketched then come to life and you get the sample. It’s really something very creative for me. I studied design and architecture. For me to have pieces that women can enjoy and … spoil themselves [with] — everything under $200 — it’s really something I enjoy.” Unlike many famous faces who were cashing in on their own brands during that era, Melania insisted that she was taking the venture very seriously. “I’m from A to Z; hands-on because every piece I would wear,” she told the outlet.

Melania Trump experimented with bangs in her early modeling days, but revisited them once again in 2011. This time, the Slovenian-born beauty donned the blunt fringe and paired it with a high ponytail while attending the 2011 Met Gala. Her locks were a rich brown shade at the time, which complemented her stunning golden Reem Acra gown.

2011 wasn’t the first time the future first lady attended the Met Gala. In fact, back in 2004 Donald Trump actually proposed to Melania at her very first appearance, popping the question with a stunning 12-carat diamond ring. “It was a great surprise, we are very happy together,” Melania told the New York Post at the time.

The couple attended the glamorous gathering every year after until 2012. Reportedly, after that point they were no longer welcome. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour would later open up about the snub on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in October 2017, revealing Donald Trump as a celebrity who would never again receive an invitation.

When it comes to an important occasion, Melania Trump — who has had many controversial fashion moments — opts for an ultra glamorous updo. The beauty, who arrived at husband Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in a baby blue dress and coat combo by Ralph Lauren, rocked her hair up with a deep side part.

Melania’s longtime hairstylist, Mordechai Alvow, shed some light on the style decision while speaking with US Weekly, confirming that her outfit played a large part. Alvow explained that they set out to create “a super chic look to work with the silhouette of the sky blue Ralph Lauren set.” “The outfit had beautiful tailoring, including a super high collar that is great for her long neck, and a 1950s feel, modernized with a touch of origami shapes,” he told the outlet.

“It was important to make sure her hair not interfere with the clean lines and monochrome color,” Alvow said. “So we decided to put her hair up, which also allowed her amazing bone structure to take center stage.” When it came to the actual styling of her hair, he recalled them making her look more natural and “not so solid” by pinning her hair up in ways that left “an organic texture that felt carefree, natural and modern as well.”

Melania Trump was a unique first lady, marking the first one to be a naturalized citizen and only the second ever not born in the United States (the first being the sixth president John Quincy Adams’ wife, Louisa Adams, who was born in London). Melania also became the only first lady whose first language wasn’t English, as her native tongue is Slovenian.

Melania remained largely out of the spotlight during her husband’s first term, but made a return during Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. She’s seen here rocking her signature waves in a slightly lighter shade while campaigning that October in West Bend, Wisconsin. The event took place just seven months after the COVID-19 virus began raging in the United States, and Melania made sure to note the importance of following CDC guidelines at the event, stating (Fox 6), “As we approach the holiday season, we must all do our part to ensure we practice responsible safe behaviors.”

When it came time for Melania Trump to head back to life at the White House following her husband, Donald Trump’s, 2024 election win, the first lady arrived in style. Melania rocked her slightly longer tresses down at the inaugural ball in January 2025. The soft waves complemented her black and white strapless gown, which featured geometric black designs, made by Hervé Pierre.

Pierre also created her look at the 2017 inaugural ball, and at the time spoke to The New York Times about his decision to work with her, sharing, “The beauty of this country is it’s a democracy, so some people want to dress certain people and some people don’t want to. I choose to.”

Earlier that day, during the inauguration festivities, Melania sported a navy blue silk-wool coat and skirt combo by Adam Lippes. Like Pierre, Lippes put out a statement (via ABC News) after dressing the first lady, sharing, “The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy, and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen, and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”

During her second term as first lady, Melania Trump has taken on a more active role. The former model has chosen to sport longer wavy locks with blonde highlights this time, as seen here while she attended the Military Family Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025. She even got in on the fun of the occasion, copying husband Donald Trump’s signature dance moves on the White House balcony while they watched the fireworks.

Melania arrived at the White House on the first day of Donald’s presidency, unlike her last term when she waited until June to move into the iconic residence. Back in 2017, she opted to stay back in New York City with their son, Barron, while he finished school. The first lady tweeted about her arrival in June 2017, writing, “Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home! #Movingday” alongside a picture of her view from the White House.

This time around, Melania is ready to work. Anita McBride, the director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University, told NPR, “The perceptions that she didn’t want to do the job before because she came later, I think are all erased now. By breaking precedent, she made it easier for anyone that comes after her … It was a way to advance the position the same way Dr. [Jill] Biden advanced it by having a job outside the home.”

Melania Trump hoped to enjoy more acceptance her second time in the White House. Aside from moving into the White House on the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency, Melania is also more comfortable with the press. She spoke to Fox News anchor Ainsley Earhardt on “Fox and Friends” in January 2025, revealing, “I feel people didn’t accept me, maybe. They didn’t understand me — the way maybe they do now. I didn’t have much support.”

Melania also gave the public a glimpse into her private life, telling Earhardt, “Maybe some people see me as a wife of a president, but I’m standing on my own two feet. Independent. I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no.” The former model revealed that she doesn’t always agree with him, adding, “Sometimes, he listens. Sometimes he doesn’t, and that’s okay.”

She’s seen here on July 11, 2025, donning her blonder hair in loose waves ahead of a visit to Texas to see the devastation following deadly flash floods. The first lady chose a casual look, pairing a khaki jacket and green t-shirt with Converse sneakers. After the visit, Melania explained a new meaningful accessory she received during the visit, sharing during a press conference, “I met beautiful young ladies who gave me this special bracelet from the camp in honor of all the little girls who lost their lives. We are here to honor them and also to give support and help.”