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Which modeling agency first signed Melania Knauss (Melania Trump)?
Executive summary
Contemporary reporting and biographical summaries agree that Melania (born Melanija Knavs, later styled Melania Knauss) began her career in Europe and signed with a Milan agency at about age 18; U.S. accounts credit Paolo Zampolli — then connected to Metropolitan Models and other firms — with bringing her to New York and arranging her U.S. work visa (Zampolli says he secured it while a partner at Metropolitan Models) [1] [2] [3]. Sources do not name a single, universally acknowledged "first" U.S. modeling agency that signed her before her Milan representation; European agencies named in reporting include RVR Reclame in Milan [4] [1].
1. Early European start: Milan was the first clear agency connection
Biographical profiles and legacy coverage consistently report that Melania began modeling as a teenager in Slovenia and, at about 18, signed with a Milan modeling agency — often named in reporting as RVR Reclame or generically “an agency in Milan” — which is presented as her first formal agency affiliation before the move to Paris and later New York [1] [4] [5].
2. Paolo Zampolli’s role: the bridge to New York and Metropolitan Models
Multiple contemporary pieces focus on Paolo Zampolli, a Milanese agent who worked internationally and later partnered with Metropolitan Models in New York; Zampolli is described as the person who encouraged Melania to come to New York, helped place her with housing and work, and says he obtained her U.S. work visa while at Metropolitan Models [6] [2] [3]. The New York Times and AP reporting highlight Zampolli’s pivotal intermediary role between her European career and U.S. modeling work [6] [3].
3. Trump Model Management appears later in her U.S. timeline
Some summaries note that Melania was recruited among the first models for Donald Trump’s agency, Trump Model Management, after it was created in February 1999, but this is described as an affiliation that came after her initial U.S. modeling activity and after she had already been working with agents like Zampolli/Metropolitan [7]. That means Trump Model Management is frequently mentioned in her biography, but it is not universally framed as the agency that “first signed” her overall.
4. Conflicting or partial records about the very first U.S. signatory
Available reporting documents show she worked in the U.S. in 1996 and that ledgers and agent statements trace payroll and visa activity to Zampolli and agencies he worked with [8] [3]. However, none of the supplied sources offer a single, definitive contract naming a specific U.S. agency as the absolute first to “sign” her; instead the narrative emphasizes Zampolli’s sponsorship and his Metropolitan Models connection as the key early U.S. affiliation [2] [3] [8].
5. Visa and payment records add context but not a different “first agency”
Investigative reporting (Associated Press reporting cited in other outlets) found detailed ledgers showing Melania was paid for U.S. jobs in mid‑1996 before a formal H‑1B approval in October 1996, and these ledgers tie her to modeling agency records for that period — reinforcing that an agency relationship existed as she established herself in the U.S. [8]. Those records, and later agent statements, are consistent with Zampolli/Metropolitan being central to her early U.S. career rather than identifying some other U.S. agency as the origin point [8] [3].
6. What different sources emphasize — and why it matters
Profiles (Biography.com, Fashion Model Directory) stress the Milan signing at age 18 and then the New York move in 1996, because for modeling careers the first agency that launches a talent (often in Europe) is considered the “first” signatory [5] [9]. U.S. news outlets and investigators emphasize which New York agency and agent managed her visa and payments — Zampolli and Metropolitan Models — because of legal and political scrutiny surrounding visa timing and payments [2] [8] [3]. These differing emphases reflect editorial priorities: fashion biographies focus on career milestones; news outlets focus on immigration and contractual detail.
7. Bottom line — how to answer the original query now
If your question is which agency first signed Melania when she began modeling professionally, contemporary biographies cite a Milan agency (signed at age 18) as her first formal agency connection [1] [5]. If your question is which U.S. agency first took her on or arranged her U.S. work, reporting attributes that role to Paolo Zampolli’s operation and his association with Metropolitan Models, with Zampolli saying he secured her U.S. work visa while a partner there [2] [3]. Available sources do not present a single, undisputed U.S. agency contract predating those accounts [8].
Limitations: public sources vary in naming specific early European agencies and in the level of documentary proof for the “first” U.S. signatory; much of the U.S. timeline is reconstructed from agent statements and accounting ledgers rather than a single, universally cited first contract [8] [3].