Melania Trump has acknowledged her as her ‘guiding light and inspiration,’ someone who has been by her side for years, although she has not been seen in public for two decades.
Meet Ines Knauss, Melania’s elder sister, a figure shrouded in mystery with limited information available about her, yet she plays a significant role in the hearts of the future first family.
Aged 56, Knauss rarely appears in the media. She did not attend her mother Amalija’s funeral in January last year or her brother-in-law Donald’s initial inauguration in 2016.
Yet sources tell the Daily Mail that she is an ever-present source of comfort and advice to Melania, 54, and her nephew Barron, 18.
Now, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal more details of Knauss’s life from interviews with those who know her, a review of Melania’s writings and an investigation of Knauss’ suspected social media accounts.
‘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,’ an insider familiar with the first lady’s thinking told the Mail.
Melania mentions her sister by name 30 times in her eponymous biography, published in July. She praises her as ‘awe-inspiring’ and describes the ‘close bond’ they formed as children that blossomed in adulthood.
At Melania’s wedding to Donald in 2005, Knauss was her younger sister’s maid of honor.
Introducing Ines Knauss, Melania’s older sister, about whom very little is known, except for the key place she holds in the incoming first family’s hearts. (Pictured:Â Ines Knauss (left) and Melania Trump (right) at Mar-a-Lago on February 4, 2005)
Knauss wasn’t pictured at her mother Amalija’s funeral in January of last year. (Pictured:Â Viktor Knauss with Melania at funeral of his wife Amalia in Palm Beach on January 18, 2024)
‘Melania and Ines are very close,’ an insider near to the first lady told the Mail. (Pictured, left to right, Amalija Knauss, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Barron Trump, man in Santa Claus custome and Viktor Knauss in 2008. Ines Knauss is not pictured.)
That’s where Italian designer Luisa Bonaccorsi met Knauss for the first time. At a second encounter in New York, Bonaccorsi, who has been friends with Melania for 25 years, said she found Knauss ‘really lovely… and yes, she was very private.’
It was Ale de Basseville, a Paris-based photographer who took pictures of Melania for a French men’s magazine when the future first lady was living in New York in the mid-1990s, who had a slightly different impression.
He met Knauss as she was trying to break into the fashion industry. ‘Ines wasn’t like the other girls you would meet there, who behave like queens,’ he said in 2017. ‘She was really polite and very mellow.’
Melania’s former senior aide Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, who helped plan Trump’s first inauguration, has also shared her impressions of the enigmatic Knauss, though she has been far less charitable than others.
‘I have met… Ines, but even upon threat of death, I couldn’t remember a thing about her,’ wrote Winston-Wolkoff in her memoir, Melania and Me, published in 2020.
‘I’ve heard she is a homebody,’ she wrote. ‘She flies so far below the radar, many people are surprised to learn that Melania has a sister at all.’
Despite Knauss’ low public profile, she does appear to have multiple active social media accounts.
Daily Mail attempted to reach Knauss to confirm the authenticity of the online profiles but has yet to receive a reply. The Mail has also reached out to Melania Trump’s representatives for comment. They have not responded.
‘I have met… Ines, but even upon threat of death, I couldn’t remember a thing about her,’ wrote Winston-Wolkoff in her memoir. (Pictured: Undated picture of Ines Knauss, right)
An X account believed to belong to Ines Knauss posted a photo on December 8, 2023 of Barron Trump with Donald and Melania Trump
Melania mentions her sister by name 30 times in her eponymous biography. (Pictured: Photo posted by account believed to belong to Ines Knauss of her with Melania Trump as children)
A Facebook profile appearing belong to Knauss, which is followed by Melania’s official Facebook page, shares childhood photos of Knauss and Melania.
One black-and-white family photo is captioned: ‘mom, 22, from 1967 #pregnant w/ me’, another of a young woman that appears to be Knauss in front of the Eiffel Tower is captioned ‘I 22 in Paris 1990’.
The account also features photos of Knauss’ nephew Barron – many of which show him as a child in a uniform being picked up from school or playing in his playroom in Trump tower.
Another extraordinary post on December 2024 purports to show a 2009 email sent to Knauss from her sister, in which Melania asks Knauss to help her fill out a questionnaire from Barron’s elementary school that requests a list of his strengths and needs.
In the email, Knauss replies with a lengthy recitation of Barron’s skills and attributes, stating that he is ‘brilliant universaly [sic] unique, communicative, active, perfect’.
Writing in her sister’s voice, Knauss continues, ‘I would like you to make the hours in school for my child attractive, fun and interesting… he is my best and most precious child, boy with enormous, unlimited potential, one and only, Barron William Trump.’
On an X (formerly Twitter) account established in Knauss’s name and followed by Melania’s official X account – one of only 58 accounts the first lady follows – there is some unusual content.
The account has retweeted posts which refer to Barron as a figure who will lead a ‘new Atlantis into the Golden Age’ as well as missives claiming ‘extraterrestrials and terrestrials have been messing with time.’
The meaning of those odd posts is ambiguous – but what does come through loud and clear is a deep loyalty to family.
Immigration attorney Michael Wildes has known both Knauss and Melania for many years. He told the Mail that Knauss is a ‘fine person,’ ‘extraordinarily talented’ and a dedicated sister and aunt.
Wildes was hired by Knauss to file her applications for her temporary work visas and eventually her Green Card. He decline when asked to provide a timeline of Knauss approval process.
Immigration attorney Michael Wildes (pictured above with Ines Knauss) has known both Knauss and Melania for many years. He told the Mail that Knauss is a ‘fine person,’ ‘extraordinarily talented’ and a dedicated sister and aunt.
On an X (formerly Twitter) account established in Knauss’s name and followed by Melania’s official X account – one of only 58 accounts the first lady follows – there is a post showing a Time Magazine cover that appears to be signed by Donald Trump.
A X account believed to belong to Ines Knauss posts a picture captioned: ‘When I was 3. From 1971’
‘They’re a very close family,’ said Wildes, a partner at Wildes & Weinberg P.C, ‘Family ranks extremely highly for Mrs Trump, too. [Melania] doted on her parents while her mother was alive and dotes on her sister too.’
In turn, he said, Knauss ‘is a very proud aunt [to Barron] and much loved and appreciated.’
Both women, he added, are ‘very elegant in the way they treat their friends and extremely humble which is really refreshing to see.’
It’s unclear when Knauss finally settled in New York City but since 2015 she has lived in a reportedly $1.5 million apartment held by The Donald J Trump Revocable Trust.
The building is also a Trump property that the developer bought for $115 million in 2001 and then renovated with an additional $100 million investment.
The opulent 1920s skyscraper with a striking lobby featuring double-height coffered ceilings, wood-panelling and checkered marble floors was home to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, 43, and husband Jared Kushner, 44, before the couple decamped to Washington DC in 2021. They now live in Miami.
Knauss also seems to spend a good deal of time in Palm Beach and is a frequent visitor at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
No doubt, her life today is a world away from her idyllic childhood in Slovenia. She and Melania were raised in the small town of Sevnica, on the banks of the Sava River, in the country’s east.
Writing in her memoir, Melania described the atmosphere in the three-bedroom apartment in which she, her sister and her parents lived as ‘vibrant and lively.’
The town, she writes, was ‘a storybook setting for a happy upbringing.’
Their mother, Amalija, was a patternmaker for a fashion company, and their father, Viktor sold car parts. Despite their relatively humble trades the couple could afford a private nanny to care for their daughters.
Their nanny, according to Melania’s memoir, baked them delicious cakes, their father taught them to play tennis, and they thrived at school.
Writing in her memoir, Melania described the atmosphere in the three-bedroom apartment in which she, her sister and her parents lived as ‘vibrant and lively.’ (Pictured: The Knauss family)
Their mother, Amalija, was a patternmaker for a fashion company, and their father, Viktor sold car parts. (Pictured: Viktor Knauss with daughters Melania and Ines)
Knauss excelled, Melania writes: ‘Her artistic talents were evident from a young age, as she effortlessly created beautiful works of art. Ines was an excellent communicator with a vibrant energy that drew people toward her, making friends with ease.’
They are only two years apart in age and they shared similar interests, staying up late together, listening to music on their record player and discussing the ‘latest trends.’ They loved the Bee Gees and Pink Floyd and watched music videos on MTV.
Knauss left home to go to the Secondary School for Design and Photography in the Capitol city of Ljubljana at 15, living alone in an apartment their parents bought for her.
The school was ‘fiercely competitive,’ according to Melania, but two years later she too passed the entrance exam and went to live with her sister in the flat.
Reflecting on that time Melania wrote, ‘Ines was more than just a sister to me; she was a guiding light who illuminated my path and inspired me to reach for the stars.’
They travelled together for Melania’s modelling and for concerts. One of Melania’s most abiding memories was one shared with her sister at Elton John’s European Express Tour, on April 19, 1984. She was just shy of 14 years old, Knauss was 16, and their parents drove the excited girls to the arena in Zagreb.
In 1992, Knauss started studying at the Academy of Fine Arts at Edward Kardelj University in Ljubljana.
It is around this time that Melania credits Knauss with making the suggestion that would change her life.
‘Ines…told me about a Slovenian modelling contest called the ‘Look of the Year,’ organized by Jana magazine. The winner would secure a modelling contract with Metropolitan Model Agency, a prestigious Paris-based agency.
‘Ines urged me to submit my photos. ‘No one looks like you,’ she said.’
Melanie submitted her photos and quickly received an invitation to take part. She didn’t win but came in second and secured a contract with Milan based agency, RVR. She was 22 years old.
Now that Melania is once again stepping firmly back into the spotlight sources tell the Mail that she will be depending on her sister for her counsel and support.
With their mother gone, it is Knauss who is expected to be Melania’s go-to confidante. Whether that will push Knauss to lead a more public life remains to be seen.
In the meantime, she will be a figure to look for in the crowds at the inauguration. It may offer a chance for her first sighting in 20 years.
