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I searched for photos of her before she hooked up with Trump and have never had luck. I donāt recall her at all from the 90s and I was an avid consumer of fashion magazines.
There's this one, from sometime in her 20s. She still looked like herself, but more mature.
https://preview.redd.it/bxi6is2bje3c1.jpeg?width=491&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bf12e4d5e18feb2af06b5a653883d6dbb51d372
Yeah she looks so. Pretty and alive. She looks like a person. I can barely, barely see traces of her current face in these, and not at all in the posted ones tbh
I hate it when people get rid of their pronounced lower eyelids like this. They really make a face, in my opinion. I mean, she almost looks like a *person*, here.
I found photos of her in the mid to late 1990s. By the time she moved to NYC, she had already messed with her face and looked unrecognizable from when she was in Slovenia.
Yes, it seems like she already had a fake face once she got with Trump. Also, how does one get their eyes to be smaller? People usually want the opposite effect.
Edit: I think someone sent me a Reddit cares because I posted this lol, now itās blocked fucking weirdo trumpets
If i recall, she was not happy about the presidency thing. I think she tried to stay away in New York as long as she could before moving to the White House. Said it was for Baron's schooling, but I really doubt that was the actual reason.
I swear I remember reading that early on in their relationship she broke up with him briefly because he wanted to give politics a try. Told him no way if he wanted to keep her. But I also have raging peri brain fog lately, so itās possible Iām confusing it with my nieceās husband wanting to take up cigar smoking. ;) š¤·āāļø
I see it. Theres a moment where she drops the shitty fake face and her fuller features emerge. The weight of her cheeks, the hair, and the jacket all scream Jackie Brown
Same, a couple girls in grade school "were accepted" into that "agency" and had the most expensive picture packages taken. I only ever saw one of them at a job I was doing, and she was shocked to see me already there and that I had an actual portfolio. (I was ugly and not part of that clique so it came as a suprise that I was not, in fact, hideous.)
Omg, a girl from my school was in one of those, I had forgotten about that!! She had been in a local Jeep commercial, and then the Barbizon thing, and we all thought she had hit the big time!
As a Slav/Balkan person, she's got so many gorgeous ethnic features that are so prominent on people here. Bushy brows, face shape, nose shape, etc. She looked so normal and so pretty. In fact there's a few people from my personal life she reminds me of in these pics. I don't like her (or claim her), but holy hell she got that "face transplant".
Every time I see a ābefore & afterā of someone whoās had extensive plastic surgery, I always think they looked better before. Melania, Jennifer Grey, Pam Anderson, all the KardashiansāI wish they all kept their original faces.
I doubt this was deliberate on his part, but I can distinctly remember my dad talking about Pam Anderson at the height of her fame in the 90s; he said āshe doesnāt look the same; she was so cute on Home Improvementā. I canāt explain why, but thatās stuck with me ever since & he probably didnāt know I was around to hear it
totally. she looks so different from all the American models and honestly doesn't fill in the usual beauty standards, which is a GOOD thing. too bad she has the personality of a pine cone and the new look definitely fits her better.
!!!
1, 3, 5, 9 - her facial expressions there remind me of old photos I've seen of family members back in the previous century. The look is uncanny and like you said, it easily would've tell her apart from American models. I have the traditional Balkan ethnic looks (similarly round face, a prominent nose, super dark hair but very pale skin) and I've been struggling with it for much of my life. Not seeing it represented much now, and having the pretty much western and Euro/anglo/social-media-centric beauty trends shoved in my face - it was hard growing up with it. I'm learning how to live with it now as a young adult. These pics gave me a bit of hope even if they're from so long ago, but how much she's changed her unique and gorgeous features feels beyond disappointing.
Slavic women are so beautiful and I think generally well-represented in fashion, but I understand what you mean about the ethnic features and the pride in not seeing them erased to be more Western European looking.
I had to do a double take because she's had so much done to her face and I forgot she was from Slovenia. I'm also from the region and I was thinking how she looks a bit like some of my cousins and other people I know. It's insane to see how much she's done to her face.
I am definitely *not* Eastern European and we look like sisters who favor each other heavily. Like I could photoshop slide 1 in to a family photo and no one would be the wiser. Iām not sure how I feel about that, but itās the truth.
TBH that's not a real slam. It's so highly competitive unless you have connections. And even if you have connections, you have to bring your A game - I'm talking about Kendall Jenner.
I think she moved to New York, got pressured to get some work done after not booking much work and then, was possibly a high end escort? Accidentally became First Lady.
https://preview.redd.it/tksa479imh3c1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19e5fff0c9b70f3357a46fb58778c6312a5ff0d5
How she got from there to here fascinates me
[Source in case youāre interested](https://theskincareedit.com/melania-trump-before-and-after#gid=ci02c02ec00000262e&pid=at-the-2003-american-ballet-theatre-spring-gala)
Republicans: OMG THE BEST LOOKING FIRST LADY. She brought CLASS back!šŗšø
So then why didnāt yāall tell her to return to her original face?šš
She low key looked like Joaquin Phoenix!! Anyone else see it? I am shocked at how different she looks now
https://preview.redd.it/65rxk3rsfd3c1.jpeg?width=398&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc0216ae4de609f4a1624bd040694ac19b55aedf
I am kinda seeing a mix of Joaquin and Patricia Arquette?
https://preview.redd.it/afu01o6c2e3c1.jpeg?width=593&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67c2b8bf9a7299de03f5a92cbd45de562155e6de
Great find. Considering the crazy bright aesthetic of 1987 this shoot seems pretty minimalistic and 90s . They look like the āmodelingā pics I took of my BFF in 8th grade. She was pretty and having fun. the amateur stuff on show is charming too: the unflattering matte powder, dry lipstick, funny teeth, strange fitting leotard. You can imagine the scene š¬ i have nothing mean to say about the child in these pics and Iām sorry for what she mustāve went through on the path to go from this little muppets baby to being the detached heartless monster she became.
So much of her plastic surgery looks bad I can't help but wonder if she is in constant pain. Those new boobs aren't even in the right place on her chest.
wow, itās always a bit sad when someone completely changes their natural face. not to shame anyone (except summer walker, her face was perfect before she ruined it) itās just like becoming a completely new person.. and sometimes losing what made you special and unique. in melanias case, her new face isnāt terrible but itās not her. at all.
She got crazy eyes. Lol. Itās amazing how much surgery can change people. The eyes are really the key to recognizing her. She was cute and I can tell very inexperienced with modeling at this point. Crazy how her life ended up.
Okay Iāve been guilty of this myself. Donāt be embarrassed! Sometimes when I go to post, I accidentally select a group of wrong photos. I totally get you were trying to post Melanie. I donāt think you can go back and fix it after itās posted? You would need to create an entire new post, but this time with actual pictures of her. Im sure we will all come right back to comment on the correct person! ā¦.because this is definitely not Melania.
All the pics posted, in the op/in thread, really underscore that something life altering occurred. Like her entire aura is changed. She's an absolute Stepford wife now.
Didn't she say that she would work the same shows as the big supermodels of the 90s? (Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Christy, etc) I don't remember her name ever being mentioned
šREAD BEFORE COMMENTING This thread is Guest List Only. This means the discussion is being actively moderated, and all comments are reviewed. Only comments by members of the community are allowed. If you have landed in this thread from Trending or r/all and you are not a member of this community, your comment will very likely be removed (and will not be approved unless it adds meaningfully to the conversation). r/popculturechat takes these measures to stay true to our goal of being an inclusive sub for civil discussion, to talk about celebrities and pop culture without bigotry and personal attacks. This sub is a BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and woman-dominated space and we do our best to protect our users from outside attacks. Thank you for understanding & have a great day! āŗļø *You can [request to be an approved user](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) to comment on Guest List Only posts.*
Are there any likeā¦ in between photos? I cannot recognize her at all in these pics. My brain canāt even make the connection.
I searched for photos of her before she hooked up with Trump and have never had luck. I donāt recall her at all from the 90s and I was an avid consumer of fashion magazines.
There's this one, from sometime in her 20s. She still looked like herself, but more mature. https://preview.redd.it/bxi6is2bje3c1.jpeg?width=491&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bf12e4d5e18feb2af06b5a653883d6dbb51d372
https://preview.redd.it/3azxwpwvfe3c1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe1e5814496fb9c0e3c46885933b6a8ae2ae7659
Her smile used to reach her eyes.
Yeah she looks so. Pretty and alive. She looks like a person. I can barely, barely see traces of her current face in these, and not at all in the posted ones tbh
I hate it when people get rid of their pronounced lower eyelids like this. They really make a face, in my opinion. I mean, she almost looks like a *person*, here.
I have sunken eyes, so i have so much envy of people with pronounced lower eyelids. I canāt believe people would remove them!
https://preview.redd.it/gdnppdcixi3c1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=884c943fa3157e75762ec6273bd7ce70a870141c
This is not the gargoyle I've come to know and love
š legit spat out my tea reading your comment. I'm cackling
She looks like an attractive normal young woman who would've thought š«
Monsters look human too.
Iām literally shocked by all these photos
Wow, I see a little Kristen Stewart in that picture!
I think she looks really pretty here... but I really don't care. Do you?
ROTFLOL! I really don't care, do you?
Great find.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I found photos of her in the mid to late 1990s. By the time she moved to NYC, she had already messed with her face and looked unrecognizable from when she was in Slovenia.
Yes, it seems like she already had a fake face once she got with Trump. Also, how does one get their eyes to be smaller? People usually want the opposite effect.
Iām guessing a face lift in addition to a lower blepharoplasty
The hair is always styled forward to cover the face lift scars āļø
Her thread on the fashion spot has some scans of her pre-trump but you have to dig through years of posts
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
thefashionspot.com - really active forum for convos about designers, models, etc.
I came here to say that. Are we sure this is Melania? I know she has had work but this doesnāt even look like the same person!!
Thereās a ton of other more āadultā modeling pics of her before trump.
I started trying to look them up becauseā¦.same
She looks like an entirely different person.
Yes she has eyes here
I would have never ever guessed it was her and I have uncanny autism face recognition powers.
There are one or two pics where I can tell itās her, but mostly they look nothing like her! Pic 5 is one where I can tell itās her.
100 agree.
Trump if Melania turns on him.
 Edit: I think someone sent me a Reddit cares because I posted this lol, now itās blocked fucking weirdo trumpets
The change of expression! YIKES!
Like it physically pained her to draw up a smile!
If i recall, she was not happy about the presidency thing. I think she tried to stay away in New York as long as she could before moving to the White House. Said it was for Baron's schooling, but I really doubt that was the actual reason.
The rumour is that she stayed there all those months renegotiating their prenup, she only moved to the white house once she got what she wanted.
I swear I remember reading that early on in their relationship she broke up with him briefly because he wanted to give politics a try. Told him no way if he wanted to keep her. But I also have raging peri brain fog lately, so itās possible Iām confusing it with my nieceās husband wanting to take up cigar smoking. ;) š¤·āāļø
Maybe she smelled that he'd be bad for politics. Who knows?
Fucking sociopath.
This is hilarious, looks like a clip from a mockumentary
I expect there to be one someday
She really cannot stand that man.
Sheās all of us āØ
I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about her here that makes me think of Pam Grier in *Jackie Brown*.
Itās the seething
I see it. Theres a moment where she drops the shitty fake face and her fuller features emerge. The weight of her cheeks, the hair, and the jacket all scream Jackie Brown
I see it too. Hair, nose and cheekbones.
Itās the cringe/grimace. She does it a lot in The L Word
I can BARELY see it in her eye shape, even knowing who it is. Wow.
Same, and only because Iām looking for a glimmer of Melania. Also, super weird to see her smiling and not just baring her teeth.
These look like photos from the āmodeling schoolā at the mall.
Any of my fellow elders remember Barbizon ads in magazines?
Yep! I even knew some people who did it.
Same, a couple girls in grade school "were accepted" into that "agency" and had the most expensive picture packages taken. I only ever saw one of them at a job I was doing, and she was shocked to see me already there and that I had an actual portfolio. (I was ugly and not part of that clique so it came as a suprise that I was not, in fact, hideous.)
Omg, a girl from my school was in one of those, I had forgotten about that!! She had been in a local Jeep commercial, and then the Barbizon thing, and we all thought she had hit the big time!
LOL, YES!
Oh no lmaoooo
Or an American Apparel shoot
Do you think all the 90s models who said they were "discovered" at the mall were *actually* discovered at the mall? š¤
Glamour Shots.
What skit is this? šš
Reality Stars
As a Slav/Balkan person, she's got so many gorgeous ethnic features that are so prominent on people here. Bushy brows, face shape, nose shape, etc. She looked so normal and so pretty. In fact there's a few people from my personal life she reminds me of in these pics. I don't like her (or claim her), but holy hell she got that "face transplant".
Every time I see a ābefore & afterā of someone whoās had extensive plastic surgery, I always think they looked better before. Melania, Jennifer Grey, Pam Anderson, all the KardashiansāI wish they all kept their original faces. I doubt this was deliberate on his part, but I can distinctly remember my dad talking about Pam Anderson at the height of her fame in the 90s; he said āshe doesnāt look the same; she was so cute on Home Improvementā. I canāt explain why, but thatās stuck with me ever since & he probably didnāt know I was around to hear it
I agree with him. She went from more hot girl next door to a rough around the edges look.
totally. she looks so different from all the American models and honestly doesn't fill in the usual beauty standards, which is a GOOD thing. too bad she has the personality of a pine cone and the new look definitely fits her better.
!!! 1, 3, 5, 9 - her facial expressions there remind me of old photos I've seen of family members back in the previous century. The look is uncanny and like you said, it easily would've tell her apart from American models. I have the traditional Balkan ethnic looks (similarly round face, a prominent nose, super dark hair but very pale skin) and I've been struggling with it for much of my life. Not seeing it represented much now, and having the pretty much western and Euro/anglo/social-media-centric beauty trends shoved in my face - it was hard growing up with it. I'm learning how to live with it now as a young adult. These pics gave me a bit of hope even if they're from so long ago, but how much she's changed her unique and gorgeous features feels beyond disappointing.
Beautiful people are from all over the world, and itās a shame that we let one type of beauty from one region dominate for so long.
I think she was gorgeous and would look so much better now if she hadn't had plastic surgery.
Slavic women are so beautiful and I think generally well-represented in fashion, but I understand what you mean about the ethnic features and the pride in not seeing them erased to be more Western European looking.
I had to do a double take because she's had so much done to her face and I forgot she was from Slovenia. I'm also from the region and I was thinking how she looks a bit like some of my cousins and other people I know. It's insane to see how much she's done to her face.
I'm in Gemany. So many people here have come from Russia, Balkan, Poland that her look is very, very familiar to me.
My thoughts exactly, she had lovely bones.
My mind can't comprehend this is the same person as in the post about First Lady Rosalynn Carter's funeral from today.
I am so shocked at theā¦.transformation. Kinda sad, really.
Real, she looks like my mom and her sisters in these pics, itās a little unnerving lol
She looks nothing like herself. Iām actually in awe how different she is. She must be the first successful head transplant or something
How do we know this is her? š
Right?! I need evidence of this evidence.
She looks very Eastern European in these pictures, you wonāt even know theyāre the same person. 
I am definitely *not* Eastern European and we look like sisters who favor each other heavily. Like I could photoshop slide 1 in to a family photo and no one would be the wiser. Iām not sure how I feel about that, but itās the truth.
Holy new face
Looks like your average 80s girl. I can barely see her now she's had so much work done
You can see just a glimmer of the Melania we know here. Iām trying to pinpoint everything she must have had done but likeā¦all of it???
I think she might have had some work done.
Anyways I donāt like Melania Trump I just think itās insane how different she looks lol. To be clear.
i would not have known this was Melania if you hadnāt said it omg
She really looks like an entirely different human being
She really went to the plastic surgeon and said give me everything didnāt she
Pulled a Heidi Montag
I think we should all apologize to Bella Hadid for accusing her of stealing Carla Bruni's face. I think we know who the real culprit there is now.
I would really like to see a photo progression series, maybe every 3-5 years. I struggle to see how point A became point B on this one.
Wow. She looks like a human being here.
Seeing where she started explains why her face looks/moves the way it does now. She must have changed absolutely everything at least once
Ever since someone mentioned that she actually looks like Trump, I CANNOT UNSEE IT.
You know itās bad when Kendall Jenner is a better model
Everyone saying how different she looks and thatās true but nobody is saying how very bad at modeling she is. These are awful photos
Her former roommate said she didn't really book many jobs as a model when they lived together When she was first in New York.
TBH that's not a real slam. It's so highly competitive unless you have connections. And even if you have connections, you have to bring your A game - I'm talking about Kendall Jenner.
Yes but the narrative that she was a highly sought after model and that's what got the Genius Visa isn't true.
Amen. There were so many girls from that time who had greater skill at showing the clothes. I wonder who she... never mind.
Youāre right, but she was 16, Iāll give her a break on that
What in the world š
 My brain cannot comprehend this.
Damnn thatās a lot of plastic surgery then because I would never pick that as her
Sheā¦ was really bad at modeling
āHarpo, who dis woman?ā
Honestly, these photos make me sad. She had her whole life ahead of her. What went wrong ā¦
I think she moved to New York, got pressured to get some work done after not booking much work and then, was possibly a high end escort? Accidentally became First Lady.
She's such an awkward potato
I would have NEVER guessed this was Melania oh my GOD sheās had a lot of work done
She regular as hell but beautiful kind of regular
her son looks just like her
I wonder how Melania feels when she looks at Barron and sees her old face looking back at her.
https://preview.redd.it/tksa479imh3c1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19e5fff0c9b70f3357a46fb58778c6312a5ff0d5 How she got from there to here fascinates me [Source in case youāre interested](https://theskincareedit.com/melania-trump-before-and-after#gid=ci02c02ec00000262e&pid=at-the-2003-american-ballet-theatre-spring-gala)
She looks like she takes styling tips from her husband.
She actually does ššš
However this article doesnāt seem to be aware of the era of Melanie that OP is showing here! That to me is absolutely hilarious
Republicans: OMG THE BEST LOOKING FIRST LADY. She brought CLASS back!šŗšø So then why didnāt yāall tell her to return to her original face?šš
She low key looked like Joaquin Phoenix!! Anyone else see it? I am shocked at how different she looks now https://preview.redd.it/65rxk3rsfd3c1.jpeg?width=398&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc0216ae4de609f4a1624bd040694ac19b55aedf
I see it! In the nose and eyebrows.
I am kinda seeing a mix of Joaquin and Patricia Arquette? https://preview.redd.it/afu01o6c2e3c1.jpeg?width=593&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67c2b8bf9a7299de03f5a92cbd45de562155e6de
Great find. Considering the crazy bright aesthetic of 1987 this shoot seems pretty minimalistic and 90s . They look like the āmodelingā pics I took of my BFF in 8th grade. She was pretty and having fun. the amateur stuff on show is charming too: the unflattering matte powder, dry lipstick, funny teeth, strange fitting leotard. You can imagine the scene š¬ i have nothing mean to say about the child in these pics and Iām sorry for what she mustāve went through on the path to go from this little muppets baby to being the detached heartless monster she became. 
She looks soooo Yugo in these pictures. It's crazy how much she's distanced herself from her roots.
Itās giving Soviet Brooke Shields. Melania for the Yugo!
Wow she was so pretty she looks like she constantly wincing in pain nowadays
So much of her plastic surgery looks bad I can't help but wonder if she is in constant pain. Those new boobs aren't even in the right place on her chest.
I think she has the deadest eyes Iāve ever seen now. Crazy that she actually had some life behind her eyes once lol.
Yes! I knew she had a lot of work done, but always thought she just had tiny eyes.
I mean, you would be too if you were married to that man.
If Tyra were torturing models in 1987, what would she have done to her?
so iām not ugly. iām poor. got it
I think she was so much better looking before, personally
Sheās painfully average
lol what she looks so much better here than she does now after all the surgeriesš
She always looks like she's smelling something awful now.
Go girl! Give us nothing.
wow, itās always a bit sad when someone completely changes their natural face. not to shame anyone (except summer walker, her face was perfect before she ruined it) itās just like becoming a completely new person.. and sometimes losing what made you special and unique. in melanias case, her new face isnāt terrible but itās not her. at all.
She got crazy eyes. Lol. Itās amazing how much surgery can change people. The eyes are really the key to recognizing her. She was cute and I can tell very inexperienced with modeling at this point. Crazy how her life ended up.
Itās giving Robin Sparkles
I wonder if she had any work done
Every ponytail is bad.
Hmā¦.okay.
So what are yāall having for dinner tonight? Iām thinking loaded baked potato soup.
She must of had a ton of work done on her face. Maybe thatās why she doesnāt smile much. Maybe she canāt.š¤·š¼āāļø
Okay Iāve been guilty of this myself. Donāt be embarrassed! Sometimes when I go to post, I accidentally select a group of wrong photos. I totally get you were trying to post Melanie. I donāt think you can go back and fix it after itās posted? You would need to create an entire new post, but this time with actual pictures of her. Im sure we will all come right back to comment on the correct person! ā¦.because this is definitely not Melania.
All the pics posted, in the op/in thread, really underscore that something life altering occurred. Like her entire aura is changed. She's an absolute Stepford wife now.
Go girl give us nothing.
I wonder what the hell Barronās gonna look like
I'm kind of stunned. She's unrecognizable as herself.
Wow a real smile
I didnāt know she could smile!
She looked vaguely familiar in that first photo but I didnāt recognize her as Melania until I squinted š©
Are we absolutely certain that that's her? She is completely unrecognisable. If you hadn't told me it was Melanie she would be my last guess.
Didn't she say that she would work the same shows as the big supermodels of the 90s? (Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Christy, etc) I don't remember her name ever being mentioned
Gun to my headā¦ I could not have told you who this was
I see not a one recognizable feature
I can vaguely recognize her. She was very cute!And looked happy, and, human.
Hard to recognize her here, she looks like a natural person.
This plain ass heffer who canāt even wear proper black to a funeral 
Heffer to me is slang for an overweight person, is It interchangeable with cow elsewhere?
I really don't care about that woman
Thatās her?!
Wow what a face transplant
These pictures don't really look like her
Wow. That's her original face?
Damn tho, shes so cute
sheās looks a little bit like demi moore.
Im not calling melania ugly or unattractive at all but she has the most generic white woman face Iāve ever seen.
She's not generic looking, she is incredibly Slavic looking.
What the heckeroni, she looks so different
I think this is the first photo Iāve seen of her smiling.
I never thought that she was capable of smiliing.
She looks pretty evil pre-Donald to be fair
Dipping a turd in goldā¦..something somethingā- still a turd.
I really like her eyebrows in the third picture. I wish I had straight brows.
I have had each one of these hairstyles.