PHOTOS: Donald Trump, wife Melania and others mourn Ivana Trump at funeral service in NYC church
Loved ones mourned Ivana Trump on Wednesday, July 20, at a funeral held at St Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church in New York City. Present at the funeral was Ivana's former husband Donald Trump and his present wife Melania Trump. Trump was spotted in a navy suit while Melania wore a midi-length black dress. Trump's and Melania's son Barron was also present at the funeral.
Ivana's daughter Ivanka Trump was also seen at the funeral service. Dressed in a long-sleeved, knee-length black dress, she appeared alongside her husband, Jared Kushner. Eric Trump, the youngest of Ivana and Donald's three children, was spotted alongside his wife, Lara Trump, ahead of the funeral service.
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Ivana's eldest child, Donald Trump Jr, attended the event with his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump, and his second ex-wife Marla Maples' daughter, was also seen at the funeral along with her fiancé, Michael Boulos.
“She had brains; she had beauty,” her son Eric Trump said in a speech at the church. “She was the embodiment of the American dream … She was a force of nature." He said that Ivana, who was a onetime professional skier, “could beat any man down the slopes, any woman on the runway.” "She ruled the three of us [kids] with an iron fist but also a heart of gold,” Eric said of himself and his siblings.
Lara Trump and Ivanka Trump also addressed the mourners. “Growing up, my mother didn’t tell me a woman could do anything she wanted to — she showed me,” Ivanka said. "She was a trail blazer by men and women alike.” “My mother once told me there was nothing she couldn’t do in heels," she added. "She taught us how to spear fish and then cook what we caught.”
Ivana died on July 14, aged 73, in an accident. A medical examiner said that she died of blunt impact injuries to the torso after falling down a staircase. Trump had announced the death of his ex-wife on his Truth Social platform following the tragedy. Ivana was the mother of Trump's three children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka.
Ivana's rise from a poor Czech immigrant to a business tycoon was fueled by a massive $14 million divorce settlement. An Olympic athlete, socialite, and fashion model, Ivana had a net worth of $100 million at the time of her death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Born in the Czech city of Zlin in 1949 to electrical engineer father Miloš Zelníček and telephone operator mom Marie Zelníčková, Ivana was a skier. She worked as a ski instructor and model after moving to Canada in the early 1970s following her marriage to Austrian ski instructor Alfred Winklmayr. Winklmayr was the first of her four husbands.
Ivana said she considered modeling as only a temporary job, but this is what eventually prompted her first meeting with Donald Trump in 1976, during a booking in New York City. During her marriage to the ex-president, Ivana worked as executive vice president of interior design at his business. She oversaw the décor at Trump Tower in Manhattan, including the famously known pink marble interior. She also oversaw the construction of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC, and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City. After Trump bought New York City's iconic Plaza Hotel back in 1988, Ivana became its manager.
Ivana and Trump split in 1992, following which she received a settlement of $14 million. She also received a 45-room Connecticut mansion, as well as an apartment at Trump's New York Trump Plaza apartment complex. Her assets doubled after she sold the Connecticut mansion for $15 million in 1998. Ivana also got Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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During her last years, Ivana was often spotted in the Upper East Side neighborhood where her townhouse was located She would occasionally go shopping, or for meals. After her death, her son Eric confirmed the news to the Daily Mail. "Our mother was an incredible woman - a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend," he said. "Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren."