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Maura Zurick is the Newsweek Weekend Night Editor based in Cleveland
Maura joined Newsweek in 2023 and has previously worked for Cleveland.com and the Chicago Tribune
She is a graduate of Kent State University and the University of Illinois
You can get in touch with Maura by emailing m.zurick@newsweek.com
either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/melania-trump" data-sys="1" class="multivariate">Melania Trump</a>
Melania Trump said on social media Tuesday night
Knavs was born on July 9, 1945, in Judendorf-Strassengel, Austria, and grew up there and in Slovenia, The New York Times reported. Knavs and her husband Viktor had Melania Trump in 1970. The first lady's <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/melania-trump-parents-us-citizens-immigration-1066653" class="multivariate">parents became U.S. citizens in 2018</a>, while their son-in-law, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/donald-trump" data-sys="1" class="multivariate">Donald Trump</a>
Melania Trump announced her "beloved" mother's death in a post on X, formerly <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/twitter" class="multivariate">Twitter</a> just before 9 p.m
"It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother
Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace
We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy."
The cause of death was not released at the time of publication
Newsweek reached out via email and website to representatives of Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump for comment
The former president confirmed earlier this month that his wife's absence from holiday celebrations was because she was staying with her sick mother
During a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump said that Knavs was "very ill" and that Melania was with her mother in a hospital in Miami
describing the situation as "a very tough one."
so I just want to say 'hello' to the First Lady&mdash;we just spoke
great hospital&mdash;and hopefully they'll be ok
it's a very tough one," the former president said to partygoers
"So she sends her love to everybody and she knows probably about 95 percent of the people here like I do
And we just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible."
Former President Donald Trump described his mother-in-law as an "incredible woman" in a tribute to Knavs shared on his Truth Social platform
"This is a very sad night for the entire Trump family!!
has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky," Donald Trump said
the former president shared a photo of himself with Knavs and captioned it
Knavs worked at a Slovenian clothing factory from 1964 to 1997
according to a 2016 profile of Melania Trump in The New Yorker
which reported that Knavs was responsible for "creating patterns for mass production." She also made clothes for her daughters
ET: This article has been updated with additional information
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