Melania Trump steps back in as first lady: What to know about her career, initiatives, more

Melania Trump stood by her husband, now President-elect Donald Trump, during his speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday morning.

"I want to also thank my beautiful wife, Melania, first lady," Trump said, causing his crowd of supporters to cheer, adding, "who has the number one best-selling book in the country. Can you believe that?"

Trump walked toward her and kissed her on the cheek before walking back to the podium.

"She's done a great job, works very hard to help people," he continued.

Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris will make Melania first lady for a second term. Here's what to know about her.

More on the Trump family: A guide to the Trump family: The whole tree including children, wives, parents

How old is Melania Trump?

Melania Trump, born Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, is 54 years old. She eventually changed her name to Melania Knauss.

Where is Melania Trump from?

Melania Trump was born in Slovenia. She moved to New York in 1996 and met Trump two years later at a fashion event.

She obtained US citizenship in 2006, a year after tying the knot with Trump. Their wedding was held at Mar-a-Lago.

She was a fashion model

According to The Palm Beach Post, part of USA TODAY Network, Melania Trump started modeling at a young age. She was only 16 when she started her career and eventually signed with an agency. She was able to work in Milan and Paris.

Recently, in a video to promote her new memoir, "Melania," she defended her previous nude modeling work.

"Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?" Trump asks in the 45-second video. "We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self expression."

Melania is a mother and stepmother

Melania and Donald Trump share one child, Barron, age 18.

She has four stepkids: Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric, and Tiffany.

Her speech at Republican National Convention in 2016 was controversial

Melania was accused of plagiarizing a portion of an old speech from former first lady Michelle Obama while speaking at the RNC in 2016.

Trump's campaign denied that the speech was intentionally plagiarized, touting it as "beautiful." They also blamed Hillary Clinton's team for pushing the story. However, NPR reported that a Trump campaign writer apologized for using elements of Obama's speech from 2008.

"This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama," employee Meredith McIver reportedly said in a statement at the time. "No harm was meant."

Melania Trump became first lady in 2017

In 2017, Melania Trump became the first foreign-born first lady in nearly two centuries. She attended the Inauguration in a custom sky-blue Ralph Lauren ensemble.

Melania decided not to move into the White House during the early days of Trump's administration so Barron could finish the school year in New York. She and her son moved from Trump Tower to Pennsylvania Avenue that June.

According to CNN, her former senior advisor, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, unknowingly recorded her complaining about carrying out first lady traditions, particularly decorating for Christmas, in 2018.

“I’m working … my a- off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f- about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?” she reportedly said on the tape.

In 2018, her Christmas theme was "American Treasures."

'Be Best' campaign

Melania Trump launched the "Be Best" campaign in 2018, a program to address "three" pillars: social media use, well-being, and opioid abuse.

"As a mother and a First Lady, it concerns me that in today's fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions. And oftentimes turn to forums of destructive or addictive behaviors such as bullying, drug addiction or even suicide," she said. "I'm very excited to announce 'Be Best' an awareness campaign dedicated to the most valuable and fragile among us, our children."

According to CNN, the announcement came more than a year into her position as first lady. The pillar on condemning cyberbullying on social media was met with criticism, with people calling out how Trump utilized social media platforms to take digs at political opponents.

In 2019, the "Be Best" slogan went viral after Trump mocked teen climate activist Greta Thunberg after being named TIME Magazine "Person of The Year."

She released a self-titled memoir this year

In her memoir, released on Oct. 8, she addressed the 2020 presidential election and how she believes it was stolen, her stance on abortion rights, and her response to Rosie O'Donnell who insinuated that her son Barron was on the autism spectrum after Trump won in 2016.

"I was appalled by such cruelty. It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism,” Melania wrote. “I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband.”

She added: “There is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic,” she says. “...Bullying a ten-year-old boy is egregious, but doing so under the flimsy pretense of ‘bringing awareness’...is truly repulsive.”

Contributing: Dan Morrison, Rachel Barber, USA TODAY

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Melania Trump back in as first lady: Age, family, book, career, more