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What modeling agencies represented Melania Trump in Slovenia and Europe during the 1990s?
Executive summary
Reporting on which agencies represented Melania Trump in Slovenia and across Europe in the 1990s is consistent but incomplete: multiple sources say she was discovered in Slovenia by photographer Stane Jerko and that she signed with a Milan agency (often named as RVR or an unnamed Milan firm), later working in Paris and joining Paolo Zampolli’s agency that brought her to New York in 1996, but detailed, corroborated lists of every European agency she used in the 1990s are not supplied in the available reporting [1] [2] [3] [4]. Below I summarize the claims in published profiles, note where sources agree or differ, and identify gaps that remain in the public record.
1. Discovered in Slovenia by Stane Jerko — the consistent starting point
Every biographical account in the provided reporting begins the story the same way: Melania (born Melanija Knavs) was scouted in Slovenia by photographer Stane Jerko as a teenager, and those early photos formed her first portfolio and launched her into professional modeling [5] [1] [2] [6]. This fact is presented as foundational by Wikipedia, Business Insider, Shortform and archival pieces such as Today; the common, cited fact is that Jerko discovered and photographed her and those images were used to start her modeling career [5] [1] [2] [6]. These sources portray Jerko as the gateway from Sevnica/Ljubljana to the broader European market, but they do not list an exhaustive agency roster for Slovenia beyond that initial connection [5] [1].
2. Milan entry: RVR (or a Milan agency) is repeatedly named, but with variation
Several profiles state that Melania won or placed in a European contest that led to a contract in Milan, and they specifically cite a Milan-based agency—commonly named as RVR Reclame—as the early European agency she signed with at about age 18 [2] [3]. Shortform and The Mirror both say she won or placed in the Jana Magazine Look of the Year contest and that the prize or follow-up work included a Milan contract [2] [3]. Britannica likewise summarizes that she "found success" in Milan and Paris before moving to the U.S. [4]. The consistent key fact across profiles is that a Milan agency launched her continental career — usually referenced as RVR — though direct original-document citations for the agency contract are not provided in these summaries [2] [3] [4].
3. Paris and Karin Models/Jean‑Luc Brunel appear in some accounts — but sourcing varies
Profiles note that after Milan she worked in Paris and lived there in the mid‑1990s; some pieces mention agencies in Paris, and one later blog-style account links her to Karin Models (associated with Jean‑Luc Brunel in other reporting), but that connection appears in a single, partisan piece and is not corroborated across the mainstream biographical sources provided here [7] [8]. Mainstream summaries (Britannica, White House history, Business Insider) say she worked in Paris but do not provide a firm, widely cited Paris agency name in their short biographies [4] [9] [1]. Because the provided sources disagree in detail and some claims come from less formal outlets, those Paris‑agency assertions should be treated as less firmly established in this set of reporting [7] [8].
4. Paolo Zampolli / Metropolitan Models — the bridge to New York in 1996
There is clearer agreement in the sources that Paolo Zampolli and his agency played a pivotal role in bringing Melania to New York in 1996; Britannica and several profiles say she was "brought to New York by Paolo Zampolli’s modeling agency" and that he later became an important contact in her U.S. career [4] [3]. Shortform and The Mirror echo this, noting Zampolli’s role and the subsequent connection to Trump Model Management in 1999 [2] [3]. The reproducible fact across multiple mainstream biographies is that Zampolli’s agency acted as the conduit from Europe to New York for her career [4] [3].
5. Trump Model Management and later U.S. affiliations — well documented for the U.S., not Europe
By 1999 Melania appears in U.S. materials as one of the early models associated with Trump Model Management; that is a frequent element of the U.S.-focused biographies [5]. However, the question asked is about representation “in Slovenia and Europe in the 1990s,” and the sources provide only partial European agency names (Milan/RVR, a general Paris stint, and the Zampolli connection). Comprehensive, cited lists of every European agency that represented her in the 1990s are not present in the available reporting [5] [2] [4].
6. Gaps, inconsistencies and where to look next
The reporting consistently gives a sequence—discovered by Stane Jerko in Slovenia, a Milan contract (commonly RVR), work in Paris, and Paolo Zampolli’s move to New York—but it does not provide a fully sourced roster of European agencies or contracts with dates and documentation [5] [1] [2] [4]. Some outlets insert agency names (Karin Models, RVR) or tie her to specific Paris figures, but those claims are unevenly sourced across the set. Available sources do not mention a definitive, independently verified list of every Euro agency that represented Melania throughout the 1990s; further confirmation would require primary records from the agencies, contemporary trade press, or direct agency rosters [2] [4].
Conclusion: Based on the provided reporting, the best-supported account is that Melania was discovered by Stane Jerko in Slovenia, signed with a Milan agency often named RVR, worked in Paris, and was brought to New York by Paolo Zampolli’s agency in 1996; beyond those touchpoints, the public record assembled here leaves room for ambiguity and lacks a complete, corroborated list of European agencies [5] [2] [4].