Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump, has died suddenly at the age of 73 in New York City.
Ivana Trump was the first wife of the former US president, with Trump paying tribute on his social media platform Truth Social.
He wrote: “I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City.
“She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life.”
He added: “Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!”
Ivana grew up under Communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia and married Trump, who was her second husband, in 1977.
The couple divorced in 1992 in what was a very public split.
Their marriage broke down after it was discovered the former president was having an affair with Marla Maples, who would later become his second wife.
Her family confirmed the news of her death to ABC News and released a statement about the “incredible woman”.
The family said: "Our mother was an incredible woman - a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend.
"Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country.
"She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination.
"She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren."
Paramedics rushed to reports of a woman in cardiac arrest in Manhattan and found a 73-year-old woman in the Upper East Side apartment where Ivana Trump lived just after 12.30pm on Thursday, the New York City Fire Department said.
Ivana was found unconscious and unresponsive at the bottom of a set of stairs in her Manhattan apartment, according to an ABC News correspondent.
The police are investigating whether she fell and whether the fall contributed in any way to her death, but officers say there were no signs of a crime.
The medical examiner's office will determine the cause of her death in due course.
Ivana worked in Trump's business empire as a senior executive for years and was appointed CEO of Trump's Castle in Atlantic City.
She helped design interiors for the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Trump Tower and, after their divorce, authored multiple bestselling books and created her own clothing line.
She also became an icon in her own right, dripping with ’80s style and elegance, complete with accent and her signature beehive hairdo.
She would eventually appear in the 1996 hit film The First Wives Club with the now-famous line, “Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don’t get mad, get everything.”
In her 2017 memoir, Raising Trump, Ivana wrote about her close bond with her children.
"No matter how busy I was, I had breakfast with my children every day," it read.
"I sat with them at dinner every night and helped them with their homework (I loved algebra) before going out in a Versace gown to a rubber-chicken charity event.
"The kids and I celebrated, travelled and grieved together. Our bond was, and is, our most valuable possession."
In recent years, Ivana Trump had been on good terms with her former husband.
She wrote in her 2017 book that they spoke about once a week.
She told the New York Post in 2016 that she was both a supporter and adviser to the former president.
“I suggest a few things,” she told the paper.
“We speak before and after the appearances and he asks me what I thought.”
She said she advised him to “be more calm”.
“But Donald cannot be calm,” she added. “He’s very outspoken. He just says it as it is.”
Born Ivana Zelníčková in 1949 in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, she left the then-communist country in 1971 after marrying an Austrian ski instructor.
Ivana divorced him one year later after getting Austrian citizenship and eventually moved to California, then New York, before beginning work as a model.
She met Trump in 1976, the couple married in April 1977 and their first child, Donald Trump Jr, was born just over eight months later.
After divorcing Trump, she married and divorced twice more.
She married an Italian businessman in 1995 before divorcing two years later.
Ivana then married an Italian actor in 2008 who was more than 20 years her junior, with that marriage ending in less than a year.
Ivana had 10 grandchildren and was said to be fluent in English, German, French, Czech and Russian.
