{"id":41701,"date":"2026-04-24T16:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/41701\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:40:11","slug":"ivanka-trump-opens-up-about-her-mother-ivana-calling-her-a-trailblazer-who-did-it-all-in-5-inch-heels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/41701\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivanka Trump Opens up About Her Mother Ivana, Calling Her a Trailblazer Who Did It All \u2018In 5-Inch Heels\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, Ivanka Trump<\/a> had a pretty idyllic childhood. In a recent interview on Steven Bartlett\u2019s Diary of a CEO<\/a> podcast, the First Daughter opens up about her parents (of course, as we all very much know, Ivana Trump and Donald Trump<\/a>), her childhood, and the pivotal role her mother played in shaping who she is today.<\/p>\n

When you think of Ivanka Trump, President Donald J. Trump comes to mind. And while her famous father certainly holds a major role in her life, he isn\u2019t the only one in the family who has had a major impact. The mother of three (Arabella Rose Kushner, Joseph Frederick Kushner, and Theodore James Kushner) credits her own mother and grandmother<\/a> as being instrumental figures in her life.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/p>\n

American real estate magnate Donald Trump with his first wife, Ivana (nee Zelnickova) at the annual dinner dance of the Costume Institute, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, December 1987. (Photo by Tom Gates\/Pictorial Parade\/Archive Photos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ivanaka Trump On Her Mother Ivana<\/p>\n

Ivana Trump was an icon in her time, embodying 1980s style. At a time when men dominated the boardroom, working their way up the corporate ladder, Ivana shattered the glass ceiling. And of course, as Ivanka says, she did it all in five-inch heels.<\/p>\n

How did Ivana influence her daughter? Ivanka spoke candidly to Bartlett, revealing, \u201cMy mother was an incredible trailblazer. An amazing example for me of strength and resilience and glamour and determination and ambition. And she was a great mother, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cSo she showed me a lot at a time when you know not many women were doing what my mother was doing inside the boardroom and on the construction sites. So she made it look incredibly easy, but it was and continues to be very challenging to balance work and life like that, especially at a time where what she was doing was so singular. So she really, my mother served as an unbelievable role model for me, for what is possible. How to be an amazing mother who is loving and nurturing and fun and provides for her children and also to be unabashedly and doggedly pursuing one\u2019s goals in a professional capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most working mothers, Ivanka realizes that it took a village to raise her (and her brothers, Donald Trump Jr.<\/a>and Eric Trump). With this in mind, she explains, \u201cBut she would also say she couldn\u2019t do it alone and she wasn\u2019t pretending she could. So she surrounded us with people who loved us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who Helped Raise Ivanka Trump?<\/p>\n

While she credits her mother for being an \u201camazing mentor,\u201d she also opened up about her grandmother. Affectionately known as \u201cBabi,\u201d Ivanka\u2019s grandmother, Marie Zelnickova, had a major role in raising the Trump children. As she tears up, Ivanka says, \u201cShe taught me a type of unconditional love and tenderness\u2026I have a lot of love for this woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Did Ivanka Say About Donald Trump and Her Childhood?<\/p>\n

Even though her parents\u2019 fame and money gave Ivanka advantages most children don\u2019t have, her early years weren\u2019t always easy. She notes, \u201cI grew up the child of wealthy and accomplished parents. And so I do think there\u2019s like a natural barrier that goes up. You\u2019re worried about people, especially when you\u2019re a kid, liking you for the wrong reasons. I see this now with my son. You know, he wants to be loved by his friends, and I appreciate that, that\u2019s good for who he is, not for who we are, and certainly not for what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Jackson At the Nutcracker?<\/p>\n

Being the daughter of Donald Trump has always put Ivanka in a somewhat different position from other children. And she certainly knows it. The First Daughter recounted her experience as a young ballet dancer getting the chance to perform a small role in the Nutcracker.<\/p>\n

At the time, Michael Jackson<\/a>was living in Trump Tower. And like any other proud father, Donald Trump invited the pop star to watch his daughter dance. So what happened? According to Ivanka, it was kind of a disaster, \u201cIn retrospect, I could be like, wow, what a cool experience. But I was horrified\u2026I was so embarrassed. I thought we had ruined the Nutcracker. Everyone was dancing with one glove\u2026I had things like that happen that were so far from normal that it\u2019s actually comical in retrospect.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on Apr 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By all accounts, Ivanka Trump had a pretty idyllic childhood. In a recent interview on Steven Bartlett\u2019s Diary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[26866,12,81,972,26864,105,26865,26867,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-41701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ivanka-trump","8":"tag-arabella-rose-kushner","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-eric-trump","11":"tag-ivana-trump","12":"tag-ivanaka-trump","13":"tag-ivanka-trump","14":"tag-joseph-frederick-kushner","15":"tag-theodore-james-kushner","16":"tag-trump"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116460678750235396","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}