The businesswoman, one of five children of the 47th U.S. president, was raised with her mother’s firm discipline. Now a parent herself, she once divulged how she balances her career with quality time for her children.
Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald and Ivana Trump, is a mother of three. She has reflected on her upbringing and the 5 a.m. routine that defines her approach to parenting. Her commitment to structuring her day demonstrates the values instilled in her during her formative years.
Ivanka’s parents married in April 1977 and welcomed their first child, Donald Jr., later that year. Ivanka, who once clarified that her name is the Czech diminutive of “Ivana,” was born in 1981. Her younger brother, Eric, arrived in 1984, completing the family. Together, the siblings grew up in a household where discipline and ambition were cornerstones of their upbringing.
Ivanka’s childhood was defined by a mix of structure and varied experiences, guided largely by her mother, a Czechoslovakian model who passed away in July 2022. “She was very much my cultural influence,” Ivanka shared during an interview, adding that her mom was also a disciplinarian, occasionally spanking her in public.
“I guess it was for the typical stuff. I once broke a chandelier with a beach ball. That didn’t go over well. And then I blamed it on my brother,” the New York native, whose parents divorced in December 1990, recalled.
Ivanka’s disciplined yet dynamic upbringing flew seamlessly into her teenage years, which brought their own challenges and opportunities. Though not a rebellious child, she admitted to having her moments.
“I think my mom threatened to put me up for adoption a few times,” she recounted in another interview. At 15, Ivanka transitioned to life at Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite boarding school in Connecticut.
“I was all of a sudden in the prison of boarding-school life, and all my friends in New York were having fun,” she further divulged. Adding to the adjustment, her mother insisted she pay her own phone bills.
During her teenage years, she turned to modeling as a change of pace and a way to earn money, collaborating with renowned designers like Versace and Thierry Mugler. Ivanka also appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine.
Despite these achievements, she viewed modeling as a temporary endeavor rather than a career. “I didn’t particularly enjoy the act of it. It’s as ruthless an industry as real estate — the people you meet in that business are just as fricking tough,” she noted.
For Ivanka, the experience was more about exploring new opportunities and breaking up routine. Although she values what modeling brought to her life, she feels constrained by the lasting impression it left. “That’s how they remember me, and I want to be a little bit more serious than that,” she admitted.
The family also enjoyed an opulent lifestyle that included a 50-room triplex, a 45-room oceanfront estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the iconic Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach. At Mar-a-Lago, her personal bathroom—one of 33—was adorned with hand-painted tiles by Walt Disney.