Ivanka Trump had already reached socialite fame thanks to being the daughter of Manhattan
real estate mogul Donald Trump, but her celebrity profile burst through the stratosphere when
her father shockingly defeated Hillary Clinton in the intensely polarizing 2016 presidential
election.
Soon, Ivanka went from being a mogul in her own right in the fashion world to a chief
adviser to the president of the United States.
But how much does the world really know about Ivanka Trump?
Here's the untold truth of the most powerful first daughter in American history.
Not Ivanka
When Ivanka was born in 1981 to parents Donald and Ivana Trump, she was actually given her
mother's name, Ivana, and according to Us Weekly, that's the name listed on her birth
certificate.
As for how she became Ivanka, in 2010, the real estate heiress explained that the name
change honors her mother's heritage, tweeting: "In Czech, Ivanka is the baby name for Ivana,
like Bobby is to Robert."
According to the Daily Mail, the business mogul has turned "Ivanka Trump" into a $50
million dollar personal brand.
Like her father, she has mastered the world of real estate, but she also branched out
into fashion with her own line of clothing and accessories.
"There's something very special about jewelry."
Ivanka is also an author who published The Trump Card in 2009, a book that, like her
famous last name, proved to be a tad divisive.
But there's no denying that Ivanka has clearly made a name for herself — even if it's not
the one that she was born with.
Modeling attempt
At age 14, Ivanka decided she wanted out of boarding school and negotiated her way into
a modeling career.
"So it's a shock, you stumble upon yourself, and it's like, oh!
I don't need to model.
My family has money and they can support me, but I model because I love to model."
According to The Guardian, her parents allowed her to pursue modeling only if it didn't get
in the way of her education — and if her school signed off on it.
In her book, Ivanka explained that she had to convince the school by pointing out that,
quote,
"...they’d granted similar leave to a student who was training to be an Olympic skier, so
I used precedent to my advantage and got what I wanted."
Ivanka quickly made a name for herself after signing with Elite Model Management.
She landed several covers, along with a Tommy Hilfiger campaign, but she ultimately decided
the industry wasn't for her.
She told Marie Claire,
"Models were the meanest, cattiest, bitchiest girls on the planet […] entitled, unsupervised,
undereducated, pampered teenagers whose every success came as the direct result of someone
else's disappointment."
"And that's really all there is to it."
Ivanka wasn't kidding about the cattiness, which was often brought on by her famous last
name.
A former Elite employee told The New York Times,
"She never stood a chance to have a normal modeling career because her name was associated
with her dad."
At a movie premiere, Jennifer Lopez reportedly commented within earshot of the teenage Ivanka,
"She's only here because of her dad."
"I think it went well.
Definitely."
Famous boyfriends
Before settling down with real estate developer Jared Kushner, Ivanka had her share of famous
boyfriends.
In 2006, according to People magazine, she went on several dates with cycling great Lance
Armstrong, but it didn't last long.
Ivanka quickly rebounded with That '70s Show star Topher Grace, and the two were spotted
getting very close at her 25th birthday, but things quickly fizzled out between them as
well.
As it turns out, the problem apparently came down to Ivanka not wanting to bring boys home
to dad.
"I was not going to subject boyfriends to the scrutiny of my father or mother, for that
matter."
Ivanka ultimately subjected her now husband Kushner to Donald Trump for inspection.
Celebrity crush
In 2015, Ivanka participated in Us Weekly's "25 Things You Don't Know About Me" feature
and confirmed her undying love for a certain Batman star, saying,
"My most enduring celebrity crush would be Christian Bale — purely on a looks basis.
I've never met him!"
And she wasn't kidding.
Eight years earlier, she gushed about Bale in an interview with Marie Claire, saying,
"Aesthetically, Christian Bale is like a god — I find him to be so good looking.
I mean, he was great in American Psycho.
Very attractive."
In recent years, Ivanka's tastes may have softened.
She was famously seen making eyes at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at least according
to The Telegraph.
Granted, he's not a villainous Wall Street broker like Bale's American Psycho character,
but he does have the bod.
Stage and screen
Despite not having any known acting or musical experience — aside from dancing in The Nutcracker
at the Lincoln Center as a kid — Ivanka told Us Weekly that she auditioned for the
lead role of Cosette in Les Miserables on Broadway.
Needless to say, it didn't work out.
However, the hotel heiress did get a chance to try out her acting skills when she made
a 2010 cameo on the hit TV series Gossip Girl, and she wasted no time promoting her appearance.
She told InStyle,
"I never miss an episode of Gossip Girl.
I think I'm a cross between Blair Waldorf and Lily van der Woodsen when it comes to
the style.
I like the uptown city style and a clean-cut, streamlined silhouette."
Of course, it should probably be noted that characters on the show often wore pieces from
Ivanka's jewelry line, so, obviously she loves their style.
And it's that kind of nose for promotion that's made Ivanka the savvy businesswoman she is
today.
Sisterly support
While Ivanka Trump and her brothers have soaked up the spotlight as Donald Trump's most famous
children, he has a less well-known daughter, Tiffany Trump, from his marriage to Marla
Maples.
Despite the fact that Trump cheated on Ivanka's mother with Maples, Ivanka has handled the
emotional situation well and made sure that her half-sister is an essential part of the
family.
According to Vanity Fair, Ivanka encouraged Trump to provide Tiffany with a credit card
while she attended the University of Pennsylvania, and the two became even closer during her
father's campaign and presidency.
A friend of Tiffany's told Vanity Fair that Ivanka not only gives her younger sister,
quote, "politics advice, boy advice, and sisterly advice," but she also gives Tiffany plenty
of helpful tidbits about being in the public eye, like:
"'This is the color that looks best on camera', or [...] 'make sure when you sit down you
cross your legs.'
[...] All the things she picked up from being famous."
Tiffany's next move is to secure a law degree, and we're sure Ivanka will be there every
step of the way.
Chummy with the Clintons
As the 2016 presidential election became one of the most divisive moments in American history,
it must have been pretty awkward for Ivanka.
Prior to Donald and Hillary winning their respective primaries, the Trumps and the Clintons
were actually close friends.
In fact, Ivanka even donated money to Hillary's 2008 campaign, according to Slate.
Awkward.
But despite the polarizing events that saw her dad become the leader of the free world,
Ivanka had nothing but kind words for her longtime friend, Chelsea Clinton, in the days
leading up to the inauguration.
"She's a very good friend of mine, she's been a friend of mine long before the campaign."
"Our friendship didn't start in politics, it certainly is not going to end because of
politics."
However, it should be noted that Ivanka and the former first daughter weren't exactly
speaking at the time.
"Are you still friends?
- Of course.
I haven't spoken about the specific challenges about this next chapter with her just yet."
No maternity leave?
As part of her unorthodox advisory role in the White House, Ivanka positioned herself
as a "women's advocate" who had her father's ear on issues like maternity leave and reproductive
rights, both of which have have had some unfortunate bumps in the road under the Trump administration,
according to Vogue.
But things got especially shady for Ivanka when it was revealed that she hadn't exactly
been the best boss to pregnant employees.
A former female executive told The New York Times that she happened to be pregnant when
Ivanka offered her a job, so naturally she inquired about Ivanka's maternity leave policies.
She claimed that Ivanka's response was,
'Well, we don't have maternity leave policy here; I went back to work one week after having
my child, so that's just not something I'm used to."
The good news is that the company began offering paid maternity leave and flexible working
hours a year later, according to the Times, which shows that Ivanka is willing and able
to evolve her thinking and empathize with others.
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